(g.o&% (Mountain TbonUthn* 



tude of twelve thousand feet. It is a permanent 

 resident of the heights, and apparently only 

 starvation will drive it to the lowlands. Its win- 

 ter food consists of seeds of alpine plants and 

 the buds of dwarf arctic willow. This willow 

 is matted, dwarfed, and low-growing. When 

 drifted over, the ptarmigan burrow into the 

 snow and find shelter beneath its flattened 

 growth. Plere they are in reach of willow buds. 



Buds are freely eaten by many kinds of birds; 

 they are the staff of life of the ptarmigan and 

 often of the grouse. They are sought by rabbits 

 and go in with the browse eaten by big game. 

 Buds of trees and shrubs are a kind of fruit, 

 a concentrated food, much of the nature of nuts 

 or tubers. 



The cheerful water-ouzel, even during the 

 winter, obtains much of its food from the bot- 

 tom of brooks and lakes. The ouzel spends 

 many winter nights in nooks and niches in the 

 bank between the ice and the water. This is a 

 strange place, though one comparatively safe 

 and sheltered. In getting into the water beneath 

 the ice, the ouzel commonly finds opportunity 



272 



