172 



THE COMMON PTARMIGAN 



La ff opus mutus LEACH. 

 PLATE XIX. PLUMAGE OF WINTER XX. YOUNG. 



Tetrao lagopus, Linnceus Ptarmigan, Pennant, Latham. 

 White Grouse, Bewictfs Birds. Common Ptarmigan, 

 Selby^s Illustrations, lix. and Ixix. p. 433. 



THIS delicately marked bird in its summer dress, 

 and of snowy whiteness in winter, appears also to be 

 a native of both the European and American conti- 

 nents, though it is certainly more abundant in the 

 former. It is a species confined to the most alpine 

 districts, and may be said to be very generally spread 

 over those of Europe. In Great Britain, its only 

 habitation now seems to be the high mountain ranges 

 in the middle of Scotland, increasing in abundance as 

 the same kind of wild country reaches to the north, 

 and it also extends to the Hebrides. According to 

 Pennant, and some contemporary writers, these birds 

 were once found on the hills of Westmoreland and 

 Cumberland ; and, I believe, recollections even exist 

 of a few having been seen upon the high ranges which 

 appear on the opposite border of Scotland. These have 

 been for some time extirpated, and unless a few so- 



