208 PTARMIGAN. 



cepting its fore part and sides, which are also deep brownish 

 black, with a few interrupted, narrow, irregular bars of reddish 

 yellow, and a white spot on the tip, below, chiefly white in 

 summer, all white in winter; back, irregularly barred in 

 summer with brownish black and reddish yellow or bluish 

 grey marks, narrower in autumn, and changing to grey, then 

 to white; the tips of the feathers white. 



The wings extend from the width of two feet one inch to 

 two feet two; the first quill is an inch and a half shorter 

 than the second, the second rather longer than the fifth, the 

 third and fourth nearly equal, and the longest; greater and 

 lesser wing coverts, white, some of them in summer minutely 

 waved with yellow or greyish white and brownish black, the 

 bars narrower in autumn, and fading into grey before the 

 white; primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, white, the shafts 

 black, some of the first-named minutely waved with yellow 

 or greyish white and brownish black, the bars narrowing in 

 autumn. The tail,. of eighteen feathers, in summer has the 

 two middle feathers barred minutely with yellow or greyish 

 yellow and brownish black, more narrowly in autumn, the 

 rest brownish black, the two middle ones white towards 

 winter; the two middle tail feathers are very long; under 

 tail coverts, white. The legs, white, feathered, as are the 

 toes on their upper parts and sides, but the soles bare; the 

 first toe is very short and elevated, the third much longer 

 than the second, which is of about the same length as the 

 fourth; the front toes are webbed at the base, and have three 

 terminal scales; the hind toe has two series of scales: their 

 shape well fits them for scratching in the snow. The claws 

 are rather long, x and arched, the hind one the most so, but 

 smaller, brownish black, pale towards the end. 



The female, in the white plumage of winter, is sometimes 

 most delicately tinged with faint rose-colour. Length, one 

 foot two inches and a half to one foot two and three quarters; 

 bill, black; the membrane over the eye pale red, and there 

 are no black feathers before and behind it. The wings are 

 in extent, from one foot eleven inches to two feet or two feet 

 one; primaries, with their shafts brown. The tail, black towards 

 the end for two thirds of its length, but the tip white; the 

 two middle feathers white, or in some minutely waved and 

 dotted with grey and reddish brown, and in summer barred 

 with yellow and black. The winter plumage continues white 



