52 FEATHERED GAME 



months, but of late years very rarely indeed is 

 one taken. 



The Willow Grouse inhabits a wide range of 

 country, including the northern parts of Eu- 

 rope and Asia and the whole of North America 

 from the northern boundary of the United 

 States far into the Arctic regions, in summer 

 spreading out over the almost treeless ''barren 

 lands" which extend along the shores of the 

 Arctic ocean, and in winter retreating to the 

 shelter of the thick woods which stretch away 

 northwesterly mile after mile across Canada 

 from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 



It is a dweller on the rocky heaths and 

 swampy grounds, and not so fond of the woods 

 as are most northern grouse. As a rule, the 

 Ptarmigan takes to the forests only when 

 obliged to do so for safety or when driven by 

 stress of weather, coming out into the openings 

 as soon as ever the sun gets a bit of ground un- 

 covered in the spring. 



During the summer months they live upon 

 berries and insects. Through the long Arctic 

 winter they subsist on the buds of the brush 

 and dwarfed willows which are scattered 

 through the frozen bogs. 



They are somewhat nocturnal in their habits, 



