694 LAGOPUS 



Perdrix blanche, French ; Perdiz blanca, Span. ; Roncaso, Ital. ; 

 Schneehuhn, German ; Fjeldrype, Dan. and Norweg. ; Fjallripa, 

 Swed. ; Kirun, Lapp. ; Kiiruna, Finn. 



< ad. in summer (Norway). Head, neck, breast, tipper back, and upper 

 flanks black, on the neck slightly intermixed with white, the chin nearly 

 pure white ; lower back, inner wing-coverts, scapulars, rump, and upper 

 tail-coverts black vermiculated with brown, here and there narrowly 

 marked with white ; tail blackish, the middle feathers narrowly tipped 

 with white ; wings, lower breast, and under parts white ; bill blackish 

 horn ; iris brown. Culmen 1'05, wing 7 '7, tail 4'8, tarsus T35 inch. The 

 female has the head, neck, upper parts, breast, and flanks blackish, marked, 

 barred, and vermiculated with rusty yellow, and here and there marked 

 with white. In the autumn the male has the head, neck, upper parts, 

 upper breast, and flanks ashy grey, narrowly vermiculated with black, the 

 head and neck tinged with reddish brown. In the -winter both sexes are 

 pure white, the tail only black tipped with white, but the male has the 

 lores black. 



Hob. The mountains of Scandinavia, Scotland, the Ural, 

 Pyrenees, Alps, Tyrol, Styria, and Carinthia ; how far its range 

 extends in Asia it is impossible to state with certainty. 



Is essentially a mountain bird, inhabiting elevated, barren, 

 rocky and stony localities, only descending to lower alti- 

 tudes when driven by stress of weather. Its food consists of 

 tender shoots, seeds, and berries ; in its flight it resembles 

 L. scoticus, but its call- or alarm-note is a harsh frog-like croak. It 

 breeds high up in the mountains, its nest being a mere depression 

 scratched in the ground, under a bush or stone, scantily lined with 

 grass-bents or twigs, and the eggs, which are deposited late in May 

 or early in June, 7 to 10 or 12, seldom more, in number, resemble 

 those of L. scoticus, but the ground-colour is paler, and they are 

 smaller, measuring about 1*67 by T14. 



970. ROCK-PTAKMIGAN. 

 LAGOPUS RUPESTRIS. 



Lagopus rupestris (Gmel.), Syst. Nat. i. p. 751 (1788) ; Audub. B. Am. 

 pi. 301 ; Dresser, vii. p. 175, pis. 480, 481 ; Ogilvie Grant, Cat. B. 

 Br. Mus. xxii. p. 48 ; Ridgway, p. 200 ; Elliot, Monogr. Tetr. 

 pi. 23 ; L. islandorum, Faber, Prodr. Isl. Orn. p. 6 (1822). 



Riupa, $ Kieri, Icel. 



(3 ad. (Iceland). Differs in summer plumage from L. mutus in having 

 the head, neck, upper parts, and breast blackish brown barred and vermi- 

 culated with reddish brown; supraocular comb light vermilion; bill 



