32 THE PTARMIGAN. 



ing from thence ; now they begin on the belly and end on the 

 neck." 



Their feet, by being feathered entirely to the toes, are pro- 

 tected from the cold of the northern regions. Every morning 

 they take a flight directly upwards into the air, apparently to 

 shake the snow from their wings and bodies. They feed in the 

 mornings and evenings, and in the middle of the day they bask 

 in the sun. 



About the beginning of October they assemble in flocks cf a 

 hundred and fifty or two hundred, and live much among the wil- 

 lows, the tops of which they eat. In December they retire 

 from the flats about Hudson's-bay to the mountains, where in 

 that month the snow is less deep than in the low lands, to feed 

 on the mountain berries. 



Some of the Greenlanders believe that the ptarmigans, to 

 provide a subsistence through the winter, collect a store of moun- 

 tain berries into some cranny of a rock near their retreat. It is, 

 however, generally supposed, that by means of their long, broad, 

 and hollow nails, they form lodges under the snow, where they 

 lie in heaps to protect themselves from the cold. During win- 

 ter they are often seen flying in great numbers among the rocks. 



Though sometimes found in the mountains of the north of 

 Scotland, the ptarmigans are chiefly inhabitants of that part of 

 the globe which lies about the Arctic Circle. Their food con- 

 sists of the buds of trees, young shoots of pine, heath, and fruits 

 and berries which grow on the mountains. They are so stupid 

 and so silly, as often to suffer themselves, without any difficulty, 

 to be knocked on the head, or to be driven into any snare that 

 is set for them. When frightened they fly off; but immediately 

 alight, and stand staring at their foe. When the hen bird is 

 killed, it is said that the male will not forsake her, but may then 

 also be killed with great ease. So little alarmed are they at the 

 presence of mankind, as even to bear driving like poultry : yet, 



