ROCK PTARMIGAN 



after only a few hours' captivity they die. I never 

 could keep them alive above twelve hours. The change- 

 able weather, sudden squalls of snow or rain, must 

 be the death of scores of these delicate creatures. 

 Their note is a soft piping pe-pe-pe, uttered several 

 times, and has the same sound as that of the young 

 of the bobwhite (Colimis wrginianus)" 



For the first few weeks of their life the young of 

 this species cannot be distinguished from those of the 

 willow ptarmigan, but when a month old they may 

 be readily told apart by the bill. 



The food of this species consists of insects, berries, 

 leaves and buds of the birch and willow. Mr. Kumlien, 

 at Cumberland Sound, shot one whose crop was full 

 of moss. 



Welch's ptarmigan, described by Mr. Brewster from 

 Newfoundland, is reported as a highland form of the 

 rock ptarmigan, and confined to the sides and sum- 

 mits of rock hills and mountains in the interior of 

 Newfoundland. The rock ptarmigan is a very local 

 bird, and for the most part spends its life on or near 

 the hills where it was reared. It has been spoken of 

 as a truly alpine species, rarely found below the line 

 of stunted black spruces, except in the depth of winter, 

 when they descend to the lowlands and sometimes min- 

 gle with the willow grouse. The settlers call it moun- 

 tain partridge to distinguish it from the willow grouse, 

 known as partridge. 



Nelson's ptarmigan is another form of the rock 

 grouse, which is confined to the islands of Unalaska, 



