G A L L I N I D JE. 



607 



Ptarmigans (L. variabilis'). Ash-coloured and 

 white in summer, almost entirely white in winter, 

 except the tips and shafts of the primary feathers which 

 are black, with white tips ; a black spot between the 

 be;\k and eyes of the male ; eighteen feathers in the 

 tail ; feet covered with feathers. Ptarmigans haunt 

 the lofty heights of mountainous countries in Europe, 

 Asia, and America, as the Alps and Pyrennees, the 

 Highlands of Scotland, Siberia, Greenland, Hudson's 

 Bay, Canada, &c., descending within the range of 

 vegetation to feed on the buds of trees, the young 

 shoots of pines and heath, mountain berries, rhodo- 

 dendron, insects, &c., but returning, when satiated, 

 and even in winter, to their almost inaccessible re- 

 treats, which are generally screened alike from the 

 sun and the wind, and are often formed of holes in 

 the snow. They live quietly during winter, in family 

 parties of from six to ten individuals ; but they se- 

 parate and pair in June, resorting to a lower resi- 

 dence on the hill, and breeding apart. Each pair 

 scratch a circular hole, of about eight inches in 

 diameter, at the foot of a rock or bush ; and the 

 female, with hardly any other preparation, lays from 

 six to twelve eggs, larger than those of the partridge, 

 of a reddish-grey hue, and spotted with black. In 

 three weeks these are hatched, and the young come 

 forth covered with down, which is brown, black, and 

 yellowish, on the head and upper parts of the body, 

 and of a whitish yellow on the under. The mother 

 defends her young with great courage and intrepidity, 

 and hesitates not to fly on those who seek to carry 

 them off. Contrary to what has been observed of 

 most other gallinaceous birds, the male is assiduously 

 Httentive to his mate when breeding, roaming about 

 the nest, frequently uttering his cry, and carefully 

 fetching her food, without, however, taking her place 

 on the eggs. As soon as the young are produced, 

 the parents conduct them to a more elevated station, 

 where their growth proceeds rapidly. A great num- 

 ber of them fall a sacrifice to eagles and hawks. 

 The ptarmigans skulk under bushes or projections of 

 the rocks at sight of these formidable invaders ; but 

 tney seem not to dread the approach of man, until 

 they have experienced his hostile power, after which 

 they endeavour to elude his attacks. Picot de Pe- 

 rouse says he has watched their manners in the 

 rennees, and that they are by no means so stupid as 

 described by Gesner, but court independence and 

 shun danger with the sagacity that is common to 

 animals. In some of the Highland districts their 

 gay summer attire assimilates them to their native 

 rocks, and their winter livery to the snow by which 

 they are surrounded, so that they are less readily 

 discriminated by the sportsman. They fly heavily, 

 but run swiftly." The cry of the male, which may 

 often be heard in the night, somewhat resembles 

 the croaking of a frog, and that of the female that of 

 a young fowl. In this island they occur on the sum- 

 mils of the Grampian ridge, and also, though rarely, 

 on the loftiest hills of Cumberland and Wales. These 

 birds, being naturally very shy, cannot be domesti- 

 cated without very great care and attention ; but 

 rare instances are known of their breeding in con- 

 finement. The young bird, in flavour, is not inferior 

 to that of the black cock, and the fowler has been 

 known, even at the risk of his life, to hunt them. 



Willow Grouse (L. saliceti). This species is found 

 in the north of the two continents, but on different 

 grounds from the mountain ptarmigan. We give the 



following account of it from Dr. Richardson : " The 

 willow grouse inhabits the fur countries.from the fiftieth 

 to the seventieth parallels of latitude, within which 

 limits it is partially migratory ; breeding in the val- 

 leys of the Rocky Mountains, the barren grounds, and 

 arctic coasts ; collecting in flocks on the approach of 

 winter, and retiring southward as the severity of the 

 weather increases ; considerable bodies, however, re- 

 maining in the woody tracts as far north as latitude 

 67, even in the coldest winters. It is tolerably abun- 

 dant in the sixty-fifth parallel all the year, and assem- 

 bles in vast flocks on the shores of Hudson's Bay in 

 the winter time." The species seems to be iden- 

 tical with the willow-grouse of the old continent, 

 which inhabits the greater part of Scandinavia, Kam- 

 tschatka, Greenland, and Zealand, and also the val- 

 leys of the Alps. In America these grouse shelter 

 themselves in the winter in thickets of willow and 

 dwarf birches, on the banks of marshes and lakes, the 

 tops and buds of the shrubs constituting the prin- 

 cipal part of their food at that season. Denuded 

 sandy spots are favourite resorts in the day time ; 

 but they pass the night in holes in the snow. When 

 pursued by a sportsman or bird of prey, they often 

 terminate their flight by diving precipitately into the 

 loose snow, endeavouring to escape by working their 

 way beneath the surface, which they do with con- 

 siderable celerity in thick, windy, or snowy weather ; 

 they are very shy, and they often perch on the tal- 

 ler willows, when it requires a sharp eye to distin- 

 guish them from flakes of snow. In the breeding sea- 

 son they feed mostly on the berries of iheEmpetrum 

 nigriim, Vaccinium vitis idaca, and Arbutus Alpina, which 

 are exposed by the first thaws, and do not disappear 

 until replaced by the new crop. At the commence- 

 ment of this period they begin to lose their snow- 

 white winter dress, the male changing first, his head 

 and neck becoming red, and, when viewed from a dis- 

 tance, contrasting so strongly with the white body as 

 to appear as if they were stripped of their feathers, 

 and quite raw. The beginning of June is the period 

 of incubation, and the female then moults, the delay 

 being admirably suited to her habits, and well calcu- 

 lated to ensure her safety. The male puts on his 

 coloured plumage as soon as the rocks and eminences 

 most exposed to the sun become bare, and at a time 

 when he is accustomed to stand on a large stone, and 

 call, in a loud croaking voice, to the females, that hide 

 themselves in their white dress among the unmelted 

 snow on the more level ground. Like most other 

 birds that summer within the arctic circle, they are 

 more in motion in the milder light of night than in 

 the broad glare of day. The eggs are bright or 

 dark yellow, with chestnut-brown spots or dots. 



Rock Grouse (Lngopus rupestr'is) is another species 

 found in both continents. It resembles the ptarmi- 

 gan in many particulars, but is smaller in size, or more 

 black and brown, and less ash colour in its common 

 plumage. It is met with in the extreme north of 

 America, Greenland, and in Scandinavia ; and is, 

 in fact, the most northerly of the Gallinidee. It breeds 

 late in the season. 



PTEROCLES form the last genus of the Gallinidee. 

 They are peculiar to the warm latitudes of the eastern 

 continent, and generally inhabit waste and sandy 

 places. Their most general characters are : the 

 wings long, and adapted for considerable flight ; the 

 tail pointed, and the feet naked ; the tarsi stout, and 

 the three front toes short the hind one often want- 



