THE WILLOW GEOUSE 53 



mostly preferring to feed about sundown or 

 during the night. 



In their breeding habits they resemble the 

 rest of the family, building their nests upon the 

 ground, generally at the base of some great 

 rock or in a clump of stunted birches or Arctic 

 willows or at the edge of an opening in the 

 woods. They lay from eight to ten eggs, of a 

 buff color, heavily blotched with dark red- 

 brown spots. 



Unlike the ruffed grouse Mr. Ptarmigan is a 

 good husband and assists in the upbringing of 

 his offspring, — rather an unusual thing among 

 the grouse family, where as a rule the male is 

 a polygamous old rascal, perhaps because he is 

 unable to choose between the fair ones and so 

 plays no favorites. Therefore when disturbed 

 with their young instead of resorting to the 

 craft and strategems of the '^ partridge" in 

 similar stress, the male bird will dash about the 

 head of an intruder, in his desperate attack 

 coming near enough to be killed with a stick if 

 one be mean enough to do such a thing. All this 

 time the young are running away and hiding in 

 obedience to the mother bird's anxious warn- 

 ings. 



Fortunately for them their enemies are 



