168 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
great speed, uttering a low cackle as they flew. They 
are very skillful in concealing themselves, either squat- 
ting in the snow with only the head exposed to view, or 
else crouching behind some stone or large bowlder. In 
summer their peculiar gray plumage assimilates so well 
to the hue of the ground and the moss-covered stones 
lying about in all directions that it is next to impossible 
to perceive them, and at this period, especially during the 
breeding season, they rarely move when approached, per- 
haps only going a few feet on one side to avoid being 
stepped upon. 
In winter their white dress makes them so absolutely 
indistinguishable from the snow that, unless they move, 
a person could pass close to them and never notice them 
at all. The nesting season commences in June, and the 
eggs are deposited in a slight depression in the ground, 
lined with grass and a few feathers from the bird’s breast, 
or in a patch of short grass pressed down by the hen 
into a circular shape. These so-called nests are always 
at a very high elevation, in some localities rarely below 
12,000 feet, and eight to ten is the usual number of the 
eggs. They have a ground color varying from a creamy 
to a salmon buff, with spots and blotches of reddish and 
chocolate brown, but not nearly so completely covered 
with markings as is the case with the eggs of the other 
species of Ptarmigan. When incubating, the hen leaves 
the nest with great reluctance, and will often remain 
when the danger of being trodden upon by both man 
and beast is imminent, and, when she does move, will 
go but a little way before she stops and watches the 
intruder, expressing her disapprobation at having her 
eggs handled by uttering a low, rolling note. It has been 
said that instances have occurred when a hen has per- 
mitted herself to be lifted from the nest and, when re- 
