Fig. 11. Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus r. rupestris). White one in background, male in winter; the one looking back 

 is a female in summer plumage; the bird in front of her "young in August." Reproduction of a photograph made 

 by the author of Audubon's plate. 



"Handlist of Birds" gives the ptarmigans 

 (Lagopus) the leading place in the family 

 Tetraonida, enumerating 14 species of them, 

 11 of which occur in America, and the others 

 in Europe and Asia, the type, or willow- 

 ptarmigan (L. lagopus), ranging through 

 the northern part of the Northern Hemi- 

 sphere, and consequently is common to both 

 continents. 



In some localities, these ptarmigans are 

 known as snow grouse, as they are of both 

 boreal and alpine distribution, and in moun- 

 tain ranges where they occur are found 

 above the snow-line. In general form they 

 resemble the spruce grouse of the genus 

 Canachites, and probably are most nearly 

 related to them. 



Ptarmigans have three moults during the 

 year, the summer plumage being different 

 in some species in the two sexes. Our forms 

 in winter are pure white, some species 

 having a black tail and a black stripe from 

 bill to eye on either side. (Fig. 11). In 

 shedding their feathers, which is often fre- 

 quent and rapid, they even shed the horny 

 coverings to the claws, a process that 

 happens periodically. In summer they 

 exhibit a great variety of mottled patterns 

 of plumage, black, browns and white pre- 

 vailing, with various tawny shades. In all 

 save one species, the subadults shed their 

 brown flight-feathers, which are replaced by 

 white ones, and these and many other 

 plumage changes in this genus of grouse 

 render the matter of color alone a somewhat 

 unreliable character in specific distinctions. 



Coues remarks: "The word ptarmigan, 

 with an unexplained initial p, dating back 

 over 200 years, is from the Gaelic tarmachan, 

 supposed to mean mountaineer, and was 

 earlier spelled termigant, termagant, etc." 



We have a long list of ptarmigans in the 

 avifauna of North America, and some of the 

 subspecies are confined to very limited 

 areas. In the matter of their appearance 

 and habits they are much alike, so we can 

 afford to slight quite a number of them, 

 simply making a note of their names and 

 existence. 



According to the A. O. U. "Check List," 

 their ranges are as follows: 



Lagopus lagopus: Range Northern part of 

 the Northern Hemisphere. 



L. 1. lagopus: Willow ptarmigan. Range 

 Arctic regions. In America breeds from 

 northern Alaska, northern Banks Land, 

 and central Greenland south to eastern 

 Aleutian Islands, central Mackensie (in 

 the mountains to west central Alberta), 

 central Keewatin, James Bay, and southern 

 Ungava; south in winter to northern 

 British Columbia, Saskatchewan Valley, 

 Minnesota, Ontario and Quebec; accidental 

 in Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Maine 

 and Massachusetts. 



L. 1. alleni: Allen's ptarmigan. Range 

 Newfoundland. 



L. I. alexandre: Alexander's ptarmigan. 

 Range Barranoff and adjacent islands 

 west to Shumagin Islands. 



