208 



NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



changing tlicir summer |iliiniagc at llie n|i|iroacli of winti-r, to one of a pure white. 

 They dwell aitioitu' the snow-clad hills and peaks, are inono:;anious, hoth sexes devoting 

 themselves to the care of the vouni;; and Imt one brood is raised, as a rule, in a season. 

 The eggs are about a dozen in number, varying in color from buff to a bright rufous, 

 thickly spotted and blntehcd with black. Wliile the lien is incubating, the male re- 

 mains in the vicinity and keeps a bright look-out for enemies of every kind. One 

 8]>ecies is restricted to the New World, L. hncurus ; three to the Old World, L.sco- 

 ticiis, of Great Brit.-iin and Irelaml, A. /i('////A »/<•»//•//.<, duiibtfiilly distinct from L. rupes. 



Fio. 98.— Lftyopus athitg, planiiiguii, in winter pluiiiago. 



tris, from Spitzbergen, and L. miUns ; while L. ulhn.t and L. riijtentn'.i are inhabitants 

 of both hemis]p|ieres. They go in flocks, are not wild when not much hunted, and 

 their flesh is tolerably good for food. An exception may be m.ade for the Scotch 

 grouse, whose flesh is excellent, but this species, from causes perha]is incident to its insu- 

 l:ir existence, has lost .some of the jttarmigan trails, and adopted others pertaming more 

 to those of the true grouse. .Vlihou^h apparently nearest allied to the L. albns, of 

 which it may be considered an island form, it does not turn white in winter, and is 

 chiefly a bird of the moors, ascending at times, however, to the base of the higher 

 ])eaks. It varies in the colors of its plumage according to the localities it frequents, 

 those individuals iidiabiting rocky ground being usually lightest iu hue. 



