The terrestrial mammals and birds of North-East Greenland. 



115 



— certainly young — only some dark spots are to be found near 

 the base of the bill and the dark colour is seldom continued behind 

 the eye. Only exceptionally I secured female Ptarmigans without 

 any trace of black in the lores. 



It is already indicated, that almost all Ptarmigans left the 

 country during October and reappeared in the first days of Febru- 

 ary. Then all the Ptarmigans were white with exception of the 

 lores, tail-feathers and the shafts of their primaries. A few indivi- 

 duals (of both sexes) had a single feather with undulating lines from 

 the last autumnal plumage on their neck, lower throat, wing or 

 rump. The white plumage is retained in March and April. 



On the hens a great many black cross-streaked feathers emerge 

 on a sulphur coloured ground. (3 skins from this stage are at hand, 

 one secured May 25'^ and two May 26*^.) Now the white plumage 

 is gradually replaced by cross-banded feathers, and the female Ptar- 



Fig. 2. Heads of female Ptarmigans in winter plumage, showing black feathers on lore. 



migans appear at the beginning of the breeding-season — especially 

 on the back — in the darker-coloured summer-plumage. 



Characteristic of this plumage is the dark colour of the dorsal 

 feathers with straw-coloured bands. The centres of the dorsal fea- 

 thers are black, and the cross-bands do not meet at the shaft. On 

 the contrary the feathers of the fore-breast, neck and sides of the 

 body are strongly yellow with black bands running across the fea- 

 thers. A female, which was shot June ll'"^ and contained a ripe 

 egg, has her back coloured as described, with the only difference 

 that many of the yellow borders of the feathers are so faded, that 

 they must be called greyish-white. All the white feathers of the 

 belly are not yet lost, and the belly of some individuals in this 

 plumage may perhaps remain white. 



August 15th 1907 a hen going with a brood of chicks was 

 shot on the rocky island Pladen; her dorsal feathers were now so 

 faded, that the dark part of the feathers are in preponderance and 

 the yellow colour of the pale parts has almost disappeared making 

 the bird look dark-greyish. The entire under side of this Ptarmigan 

 is cross-streaked. 



8* 



