PTAEMIGAN SHOOTING. 97 



consider the L. mutus, from Arctic America, and 

 also among the packages of birds which are said by 

 the poulterers to come from Norway (in a frozen 

 state). But many of the birds mentioned as ptar- 

 migan, from various localities, cannot always with 

 certainty be referred to that of Britain." 



The common ptarmigan is clothed during winter 

 with a plumage of pure white, with the exception of 

 the black markings of the outer tail feathers and 

 shafts of quills, and the space between the bill and 

 the eyes. In summer the markings turn dark grey, 

 or brown-grey, wattled with black ; thus, in all 

 seasons, taking, by the beautiful ordination of Pro- 

 vidence, those hues, that, assimilating with the grey 

 rock, or snow-covered pinnacle, best assist its con- 

 cealment from the piercing sight of its feathered 

 assailants, and preserve it from the more erring aim 

 of its human enemy. The female, at breeding time, 

 changes her plumage towards a fine ochreous yellow, 

 crossed broadly with black, while the under parts 

 remain white. It is, as we have heard, unknown 

 whether the male also changes his plumage at the 

 season of incubation, or whether the change to grey- 

 ish hues takes place when he moults. Although this 

 bird now inhabits none but those Alpine solitudes all 

 but inaccessible to the enterprise of man, it is said, 

 in some of our oldest writers, to have been frequent 

 enough, at one period, in the hilly parts of England, 

 such as Westmoreland and Cumberland. We must 

 climb the peaks of Ben Voirla, Ben Veira, and Ben 



