Reinhardt's Ptarmigan 241 



THE ROCK PTARMIGAN 

 (Z,. rjipestris') 



This bird is somewhat smaller than the willow- 

 ptarmigan, and has one distinguishing mark, i.e. 

 a black line extending from the bill to the eye. 

 The summer plumage shows a grayer tone than 

 that of the willow species, and there are conspicu- 

 ous black blotches on the upper part of the back. 

 In winter the sexes are white, with the exception 

 of the black tail and the stripe from bill to eye. 

 Its range embraces Arctic America, Alaska to 

 Labrador, south to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 

 Greenland. During summer it frequents the hills, 

 mountains, and the barren grounds. At the ap- 

 proach of winter it descends to the valleys for 

 shelter. The courtship, nest, eggs, and young 

 resemble those of the willow-ptarmigan. The 

 sporting and edible qualities are about the same. 



reinhardt's ptarmigan 



{L. r. reinhardW) 



The male of this race has little to distinguish 

 him from the male of L. rupestris, but the plu- 

 mage of the female presents a distinctly black-and- 

 white effect. The habits, nesting, eggs, and 

 young show no marked variation from the pre- 

 ceding race. The range includes Northern Lab- 

 rador, the islands on the west of Cumberland Gulf, 



