78 LIFE HISTOKIES OF NOKTH AMEKIGAN BIRDS. 



smaller and better definerl, and seldom running- into indistinct and irregular 

 blotches as is frequently the case in the eggs of that species. 



The ground color ranges from a pale cream to a decided yellowish-buff, 

 and in many specimens this is entirely hidden by a vinaceous rufous suffusion. 

 The spots and blotches range from a dark clove brown to a dark claret red, 

 with Y>a\er colored edgings; they are of various sizes, from the size of a buck- 

 shot to that of No. 10 shot, and are irregularly distributed over the egg. 



The average measm-ement of ninety.nine specimens in the U. S. National 

 Museum collection is 42 by 30 millimetres. The lai-gest egg in this series 

 measures 44 by 32.5, the smallest 39 by 29 millimetres. 



The types selected to show the different styles of markings are as follows: 

 No. 7642 (PI. 2, Fig. 11), from an incomplete set of three eggs, taken near 

 Franklin Bay, Arctic coast, June 26, 1883; No. 9268 (PI. 2, Fig. 12), from a 

 set of eight, taken near Anderson River, Arctic America, June 10, 1863; No. 

 9273 (PI. 2, Fig. 13) from an inc(implete set of four, same locality, taken 

 July 7, 1863; and No. 9284 (PI. 2, Fig. 14), from a set of six, same locality, 

 June 3, 1863; all having been collected by Mr. MacFarlane. No. 14997 

 (PI. 2, Fig. 15) is from a set of ten eggs, taken. in the Gens-du-large or 

 Romanzof Mountains, Alaska, by Mr. James McDougall, of the Hudson Bay 

 Company, in the latter part of May, 1869. 



27. Lagopus rupestris reinhardti (Bkehm). 

 reinhardt's ptarmigan. 



Lagopus rrinhnrdi {evv. tj'p.) Brehm, Lehrbuch europaischer Vogel, 1823, 440. 

 Lagopus rupestris reinhardti Blasius, List European Birds, 1862, 16. 



(B — C — , R — , C -, U 3U2oO 



Geographical range : Greenland, islands on western side of Cumberland Gulf, 

 and northern extremity of Labrador (Ungava). 



The breeding range of Reinhardt's Ptarmigan, as known at present, 

 includes both shores of Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, and Hudson Strait, ranging 

 well up into the Arctic circle. It is a common bird in Greenland, and a 

 number of its eggs collected in the vicinity of Sukkertoppen are in the U. S. 

 National Museum collection. 



It is not at all rare in the northern portions of Labrador, and Mr. . L. M. 

 Turner, of the U. S. Signal Service, makes the following statement regarding 

 this subspecies, in his "Notes on the Birds of Labrador and Ungava:" 



"This Ptarmigan is known to the white people as the Rock Grouse, or 

 simply as 'Rocker.' In the southern portion of Labrador these Ptarmigan are 

 uot very numerous, but become so as the more northern and elevated portions 

 of the country are reached. They prcjfer more open ground ^and rarely straggle 

 even into the skirts of the wooded tracts.'' The hilltops and 'l)arrens' (hence often 

 called Ban-en Ground Bird) are their favorite resorts. As these tracts are more 



