98 Bird-Nesting 



ptarmigan are smaller than those of the willow ptarmigan, they 

 are much heavier marked. In an open drawer before me 1 

 have a series of sixty willow ptarmigan eggs, and also one 

 hundred and forty eggs of the rock ptarmigan, and the eggs 

 of the latter are more handsome than those of the willow 

 ptarmigan. The ground colour of yellowish buff is almost 

 concealed by the blotches of rich blackish brown, and under 

 these heavy blotches are smaller spots of sienna brown ; the 

 ground colour struggles to appear beneath the heavy overlying 

 colour. The number of eggs to a clutch varies from seven to 

 twelve, though clutches of ten, eleven and twelve seem to be 

 the regular run. I don't think the rock ptarmigan ever lays 

 more than twelve eggs. During the past five years I have re- 

 ceived some five hundred eggs of this species from Iceland 

 where this bird is common, and twelve is the largest clutch I 

 ever obtained. In Iceland the rock ptarmigan makes its nest 

 on the ground, it consists of a hollow scraped out by the bird, 

 and this is lined with grass and leaves. 



Perhaps the changes of plumage in none of the feathered 

 tribes are more worthy of attention than those the ptarmigans 

 undergo. Their full summer plumage is of a yellow more or 

 less inclining to brown, beautifully barred with zig-zag stripes 

 of black. Their winter plumage is pure white, except that 

 the outer tail feathers and shafts of the quills are black. 



Leaving Morley Station we suddenly come upon the Rockies, 

 grand and stern, and close at hand. For more than six hun- 

 dred miles, and until the Pacific is reached, they will be con- 

 stantly with us. Castle Mountain looms up ahead on the 

 right, a sheer precipice of 5,000 feet, a giant's keep, with tur- 

 rets, bastions and battlements complete. We enter an almost 

 hidden portal, and find ourselves in a valley between two great 

 mountain ranges. At every turn of the valley, which is an 

 alternation of precipitous gorges and wide parks, a new picture 

 presents itself seen in all its completeness from the observa- 

 tion car. now attached to the rear of the train. The beautiful 

 river now roars through a narrow defile, now spreads out into 

 a placid lake, reflecting the forest, cliffs, and snowy summits. 



