TETRAONID^ — THE GROUSE. 465 



habits of the other Ptarmigans, and to inhabit the snowy peaks near the 

 mouth of the Columbia, as well as the lofty ridges of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains. 



We have but little reliable information in regard to the habits and dis- 

 tribution of this species. It seems to be confined entirely to the range of 

 the Eocky Mountains, and to be found only among their highest points, oc- 

 curring at least as far to the south as Cochetope Pass, in latitude 39°, and ex- 

 tending north to an undetermined extent. Specimens were procured in 1858 

 by Captain R. B. Marcy, on his march from Fort Bridger, in Utah, across the 

 Eocky Mountains to Santa Fe. They were met with near the summit of the 

 mountains not far from Cochetope Pass. 



Mr. Charles E. Aiken writes me that he has been informed that this bird 

 is common on Snowy Eange, in Colorado Territory. He was informed by 

 an old miner, who claimed to have met with these birds breeding near the 

 top of the range in June, that their nest, composed of leaves and grass, is 

 placed on the ground among bushes on hillsides ; that the eggs are fourteen 

 in number, of a light bluish-brown, marked and spotted with a darker shade 

 of brown. 



Mr. J. A. Allen (Am. ISTat, June, 1872) mentions finding, among the 

 snow-fields of the higher parts of the mountains of Colorado, this Grouse 

 as one of the essentially Arctic species that were not met with below the 

 region of snow. The Ptarmigans were quite common, and in the winter 

 descend into the timbered land, where a great number are killed by the 

 miners for food. 



An egg, given to Mr. Allen as a genuine egg of this species, was taken on 

 Mount Lincoln, Colorado, by Mr. Arthur Meade. It is of an oblong-oval 

 shape, and measures, as w^ell as its imperfect condition permitted its length 

 to be estimated, about 1.80 inches by 1.20 in breadth. Its ground is a deep 

 ochraceous cream-color, marked with small rounded spots of a deep chest- 

 nut. These are pretty uniformly sprinkled over the surface. Except in 

 size, it bears a close resemblance to the eggs of the European Tetrao uro- 

 () alius. 



VOL. III. 59 



