iviLLOiv ptarmigan: 147 



less and tame, rarely making any very serious effort 

 to escape from man (even in more southern localities, 

 where they are much hunted), that it is not a very diffi- 

 cult matter, even without firearms, to secure at one time 

 enough to satisfy the members of a moderately large 

 community. 



LA GO PUS LA GO PUS. 



Geographical Distribution. — Arctic regions of both Hemi- 

 spheres. In America ranging south to Sitka and British Prov- 

 inces, Newfoundland, accidental in New England. 



Adult Male in Sununer Plumage. — Top of head, back of neck, 

 and entire upper parts, barred with chestnut, ochraceous, and 

 black, some feathers having their central portions all black, form- 

 ing blotches, and more or less of the feathers tipped with grayish 

 white; scapulars and tertialslike the back; primaries, white, with 

 dark brown shafts; secondaries, white, with white shafts; in some 

 specimens the shafts of the primaries are nearly black, and the 

 coloring extends over a portion of the inner web; throat, sides of 

 neck, and breast, light chestnut, darkest on lower part of breast, 

 barred everywhere except on throat with black; flanks, dark 

 brown, barred and mottled with black, occasionally a buff bar 

 appearing among the black ones; entire rest of under parts, with 

 legs and toes, pure white; upper tail-coverts, like the back; tail, 

 black, extreme base and tip, white; bill, black. Total length, 

 about 14 inches; wing, yf ; tail, 5^. 



Some examples have the sides of head, throat, fore-neck, and 

 upper parts of breast uniform chestnut, becoming darker at 

 times, indeed almost black toward the white under parts. 



Adult Female in Summer Plumage. — Top of head, back of 

 neck, and entire upper parts, with upper tail-coverts, black, barred 

 with ochraceous, and feathers tipped with white; scapulars, ter- 

 tials, and some of the wing-coverts, like the back ; throat, sides 

 and front of neck, buff, with an ochraceous tinge on cheeks, 

 barred irregularly with black, the bars taking more the form of 

 spots on the throat; entire rest of under parts and under tail- 

 coverts, buff, coarsely barred with black, some feathers having 

 nearly white tips; primaries and secondaries, white, the former 

 with dark brown shafts; tail, brownish black, tipped with white, 



