PTARMIGAN 215 



were interested in watching that other hardy member of 

 the finch family which we grew to associate with all our 

 rambles on the heights Hepburn's leucosticte. It is a 

 variety of the gray-crowned leucosticte, or rosy finch, as 

 I prefer to call it a rather large sparrow of a dark brown 

 color, varied by an ashen-gray patch on the back of the 

 head, and with the feathers in the vicinity of the tail 

 broadly edged with rosy red. We found these birds in 

 pairs running about on the crusted snow, picking up food 

 on its surface and along its edges. The only note we de- 

 tected was a deep-toned sparrow twitter, uttered on the 

 wing. 



Still another hardy bird that rears its brood not far 

 from the banks of snow, is the white-tailed ptarmigan. 

 In many parts of Alaska we found this species and the 

 willow ptarmigan abundant and surprisingly tame. They 

 are beautiful birds, a trifle smaller than a grouse, and 

 famous for their seasonal changes of plumage, the entire 

 body becoming pure white in winter and turning more or 

 less brown in summer. Thus at all seasons the plumage 

 harmonizes completely with its surroundings, the finely 

 mottled brown, black, and white of the back and breast 

 blending as perfectly with the rocks upon which it rests 

 in summer as does the white with the snow of winter. 



Although we had our first glimpse of these interesting 

 birds during the second week of June, we observed several 

 which were nearly pure white and others which showed 

 but small patches of dark. Is it not possible that where 

 they dwell so close to the line of perpetual snow, the adjust- 

 ment of coloration to environment is so complete that the 

 loss of the white plumage is much retarded or restricted? 

 A white-tailed ptarmigan stood looking at us only a few 

 feet away, seemingly dazed by the novel sight of man. 

 He was a beautiful white fellow with only the conspicu- 

 ous orange-yellow skin above the eye showing by way of 



