32 GALLING. 



tively few. It is above the range of the fox, the mountain 

 cat, and the martin ; and generally speaking, above that of 

 the raven and the eagle. It is true that the raven does 

 prowl on bleak elevations ; but even in summer, he seldom 

 goes to the highest mountain-tops ; and though he frequently 

 may make a meal of those ptarmigan which are beaten to 

 the earth by mountain storms, and rolled down the slopes by 

 mountain floods, he does not commit so much positive havoc 

 among ptarmigan or their nests, as he does among the red 

 grous, which inhabit lower down. The eagle, too, though her 

 eyrie is in lofty and lonely situations, seldom has it in the 

 cliffs of the very highest mountains ; and though she may be 

 occasionally observed soaring far above the loftiest summits, 

 the most favourite and frequent scenes of her hunting are 

 the valleys farther down, in which animal life is more abun- 

 dant ; so that the grand enemy of the ptarmigan is the 

 inclement situation it inhabits.* 



And it is in every respect well adapted for that situation. 

 It is more compact in its form, and stands more firmly on its 

 legs than any of the other gallinse, and its general attitude 

 presents less resistance to the wind. Its haunts being in a 

 great measure free from vegetable cover, it does not require 

 that elevated position of the body, in looking around it, 

 which is found in those species that inhabit more fertile 

 places. Its feet and toes, down to the very claws, are so 

 completely and closely feathered, that they are proof to 

 almost any degree of cold ; and thus, as water does not stag- 

 nate on mountain tops, the ptarmigan is always in a condi- 

 tion for using its feet. 



The full grown ptarmigan is about fifteen inches in length, 

 and nearly two feet in the stretch of the wings. Its weight 

 is about a pound and a quarter. The bill is black and strong 

 (black bills and claws are always firmer than those of any 



* Can this be said relative to the ordained and natural situation of any 

 living creature ? We think not. M. 



