GROUSE. 135 



is hazel, the superciliary membrane, red ; toes, feathered half their 

 length in summer, and entirely covered with hair-like feathers in 

 the winter ; claws blackish— lighter at their tips, long, broad and 

 strong, rounded above, concave beneath, arched, edges sharp, and 

 in some individuals the claws are notched on the sides. 



This species is found only on the highest peaks of the Rocky 

 Mountains. During the summer months they are found in pairs 

 near the snow banks on the bare tops of the mountains. Their 

 cests are generally placed in some little cavity among the loose 

 rocks, and are constructed of dried grasses. Their nests are small 

 and scantily built, merely a little hollow in the ground lined with a 

 few blades of grass and perhaps a feather or two from the mother's 

 breast. The eggs are probably from eight to twelve in number, 

 though about this there seems to be some doubt. In all likelihood, 

 however, this bird does not differ materially from the other mem- 

 bers of its family in the number of young which it rears. When 

 with its young, this species makes valiant fight against any enemy 

 which ventures to attack its family, flying so near as to hit one with 

 their wings, in their endeavors to protect their chickens. Both male 

 and female are equally courageous, and will defend their young. 

 In the summer they are very tame, and when approached will run 

 among the rocks or in the dwarf willows, a few yards from the 

 hunter, and squat and will not continue their retreat until the 

 hunter is upon them. When started they fly in a straight line for 

 seventy-five or a hundred yards, and alight on some elevated rock, 

 stretching out the neck its full length to see if they are followed, and 

 if nothing is seen to excite their suspicion, they walk off from the 

 rocks and commence to feed as usual. During deep snows in the 

 winter the Ptarmigan descend from the mountains and feed in the 

 edges of the timber and on the hill sides. 



This species goes through a continued moult which lasts during 

 the summer months, and the variation in their plumage is so great 

 that it is almost impossible to find two individuals in the same dress. 

 During the months from April to September their plumage is very 

 scant and ragged ; but when in their full winter plumage their 

 feathers are heavy and compact, which gives them a much larger 

 ajipearance than when seen in the summer dress, mottled with 

 blown and greyish white. They are generally known in Colorado 



