184 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 



ridiculous. At night they will occasionally burrow 

 in the snow, but only during high winds or very cold 

 weather, the usual way of resting being the small 

 hollow mentioned. Another rather remarkable thing 

 in connection with ptarmigan is the apparent dispro- 

 portion of the sexes. Out of the many thousands that 

 I have killed and examined, only about twenty-five per 

 cent, were males. In winter they prefer low valleys and 

 the borders of rivers and lakes and dense willow 

 patches, but as the season advances they seek the 

 higher ranges, choosing those that face the midday 

 sun. When flying over water, as they often do in 

 crossing bays or large rivers, they keep very near the 

 surface, just about a foot or so above it. Over land 

 the reverse is the case, for sometimes they rise high 

 over the tops of the tallest trees. The most remarkable 

 thing about them, however, is their seasonal change of 

 plumage. In 1885 I had the pleasure of attending the 

 meetings of the American Ornithologists' Union, in 

 New York. At one of the meetings a very interesting 

 paper was read by Dr. Stejneger on this subject. The 

 doctor exhibited two specimens which came from New- 

 foundland, and which, in his opinion, were a sub- 

 species confined to the island. This distinction was 

 based particularly on the coloration of the primaries. 

 The birds shown had nearly all the tips of the pri- 

 maries black. Since my return I have taken special 

 pains to examine a great number of birds. On those 

 killed prior to I5th November I found the same 

 coloration, more or less, as on the species shown, but 



