324 A SPRING AND SUMMER IN LAPLAND. 



by August 12 fit to kill. Their plumage in the 

 downy state is rusty yellow, with minute black 

 spots. The first dress after that is black mottled 

 with rusty yellow, and white, above ; underneath, 

 pale rusty brown, with blackish wavy lines ; wings 

 grey-brown. Early in August they assume another 

 dress, and moult as it were for the second time ; 

 the birds are then about ten inches long. The 

 whole body plumage is now grey-blue finely 

 streaked with black, and white pinion feathers 

 now appear in the place of the brown ones of the 

 first dress. The grey plumage gradually becomes 

 lighter, as in the old birds, till like them they 

 assume their white winter livery in the autumn, 

 and by November 1 there is no perceptible differ- 

 ence between the old and young birds. 



It appears, therefore, that the Swedish ptar- 

 migan owns three distinct dresses in the course 

 of the year, and so many curious and puzzling 

 changes that they almost seem to have a different 

 dress for every summer month. 



The question now arises, How many times 

 can the ptarmigan be said really to moult in the 

 course of the year ? I don't mean change colour, 

 for a change seems to be going on all through the 

 summer, but actually to moult; and my opinion is 

 as follows (and here let me observe that this 

 opinion is not grounded on supposition, but on 



