WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN 2OI 



the approach of danger rather than take wing, run- 

 ning over the rocks and leaping from point to point 

 with great agility, stopping, every little while to look at 

 the object of alarm.. I have sometimes chased them half 

 a mile or more over the rocky, craggy ridges of the 

 main range, without being able to get within gunshot 

 or force them to take wing. The flight of the ptarmi- 

 gan is strong, rapid and, at times, sustained for a 

 considerable distance, though usually they fly but a 

 few hundred yards before alighting again. It re- 

 sembles that of the prairie hen, consisting of rapid 

 flappings of the wings, alternating with the sailing 

 flight of the latter bird. The note is a loud cackle, 

 somewhat like the prairie hen's, yet quite different, 

 and when uttered by a large flock together, reminds 

 one of the confused murmur and gabble of a flock of 

 shore birds about to take wing. It is a gregarious 

 bird, associating in flocks throughout the year, except 

 in the breeding season. The different broods gather 

 together as soon as they are nearly grown, forming 

 large flocks, sometimes of a hundred or more. The 

 colors of this bird closely resemble those of sur- 

 rounding objects at all seasons of the year. In its 

 summer plumage of speckled black and gray it is very 

 difficult to detect while sitting motionless among the 

 gray and lichen-covered rocks. The ptarmigan is ap- 

 parently well aware of this, and often squats and re- 

 mains quiet while one is walking past, trusting to its 

 resemblance to the surrounding rocks to escape obser- 

 vation. So perfect is this resemblance that sometimes, 



