WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN. 
yy inhabitant of the high mountain ranges, both of 
certain parts of the United States and the countries 
lying to the north of our border, this beautiful bird is 
not very often met with below the timber line. It is the 
only species of Ptarmigan having a white tail. It ranges 
from Alaska through British Columbia, and the 
Western part of the United States to New Mexico, 
where it has been obtained at Taos. In certain parts 
of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado it is not 
uncommon near the summits of the mountains. It 
may be regarded as truly an Alpine species. It does 
not migrate, and wherever found there it breeds, and 
descends perhaps a few thousand feet when the 
weather is very severe, but seldom below 6000 or 7000 
feet. I have met with this species in the Cascade Range 
in autumn, where it is usually found in small com- 
panies of perhaps half a dozen, occasionally twice this 
number. They were not what may be called tame, unlike 
the Willow Grouse in this respect, but were always very 
uneasy at my presence, and ran about with uplifted tail 
as if uncertain which way to fly, but when they once got 
started there seemed to be no farther difficulty in their 
minds as to the proper direction, which I noticed never 
led near where I stood. Sometimes [I have seen them 
light on the bare limbs of a stunted tree or large bush at 
the edge of the timber line, where they stood perfectly 
motionless for quite a length of time, observing every 
movement I made, and then suddenly burst away with 
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