PTAEMIGAN. 205 



In winter the Ptarmigan descends somewhat lower, but 

 seldom ventures into the plain. He seems to revel in the 

 falling snow, burrows a chilly bed in it, wherein he lies or 

 plumes himself, runs gaily over its crystal surface, or, perched 

 on the tallest rock, turns his stainless breast towards the 

 drift, and challenges its whiteness with his own. The driving 

 sleet he willingly welcomes, heedless of the cold; it would 

 seem as if his winter dress, put on together with the snowy 

 mantle that covers the face of the earth around him, gave 

 him a similar protection from the frost; and when the summer 

 comes again, he too changes his garb, and once more is in 

 uniform with the grey rocks, the companions whom he loves, 

 and never leaves. 



If a person comes in sight, they remain motionless, and 

 often lie very close till they are approached within a few 

 yards; otherwise some sentinel, perched on the top of a stone, 

 gives the alarm and flies away, followed by the rest of the 

 flock, who rise up all around. They gather into large flocks 

 even by the end of July, and separate again and pair early 

 in the spring; then the pairs, and in due time their broods, 

 almost the sole occupants of the mountain tops, blend the 

 grey colours of their plumage with those of the moss-covered 

 rocks, to which nature has well and wisely adapted them. 

 At this season they are tame, and only run away before 

 an intruder, uttering their low wild cry. 'In this way they 

 will often reach the opposite edge of the rock, and will, as 

 it were, drop off; but the expectation of finding them on 

 some lower ledge will be disappointed, for they have, perhaps, 

 by that time sought for and reached the opposite side of the 

 mountain, by a low wheeling flight, as noiseless as the solitudes 

 by which they are surrounded.' Like so many other birds, 

 these too flutter off in well-simulated disablement to draw 

 away attention from their young. These latter, as soon as 

 able to fly, seem instinctively aware of the protection afforded 

 to them by the resemblance of their plumage to the grey 

 lichen -covered rocks and stones, and will lie motionless, like 

 stones, in another sense also of the word, almost close to your 

 feet. In very bright weather they avoid the glare of the sun 

 on the snow, and seek the shady side of the mountain. 



Ptarmigans are good eating, and therefore in request for 

 the table. They acquire a somewhat bitter taste. 'In the 

 year 1839, one dealer alone shipped six thousand for London, 

 two thousand for Hull, and two thousand for Liverpool; 





