282 The Fowl-like Birds 



entertaining "Game Birds and Shooting Sketches," a very full account of the 

 changes for an entire year, but lack of space forbids our quoting it. Although it 

 is nearly impossible to distinguish many of the Ptarmigan in winter plumage, 

 which has led to the^denial of their specific rank by certain writers, the other 

 plumages afford a reasonably satisfactory basis for delimiting them. 



Willow Ptarmigan. The Ptarmigan are compact-bodied, typically Grouse- 

 like birds ranging from twelve to about seventeen inches in length, and may be 

 known at once by having the tarsi, feet, and toes completely and densely feath- 

 ered. The tail is composed of sixteen feathers which are of nearly equal length. 

 Of the various species we may appropriately begin with the Willow Ptarmigan, 

 or Willow Grouse (L. lagopus}, as it is often called, which is found throughout 

 the northern portions of the Northern Hemisphere. It is fifteen or fifteen and one 

 half inches long, both sexes in winter being pure white, with all the tail-feathers 

 except the middle pair black. In North America they are confined during the 

 nesting season to the fur countries ; but in winter they are more or less migratory, 

 coming south often in great numbers as far as Manitoba, and occasionally enter- 

 ing the northern border of the United States. In spring as soon as the snow 

 begins to melt they repair to the lower grounds and prepare for the nuptial sea- 

 son, and may soon be heard uttering their peculiar hoarse call. Turner tells us 

 that in order to attract the attention of the female the male resorts to the highest 

 portions of the tract, "whence he launches into the air, uttering a barking sound 

 of nearly a dozen notes, thence sails or flutters in a circle to alight at the place 

 whence he started. Immediately on alighting he utters a sound similar to the 

 Indian word chee-xu'an (what is it?) and repeats it several times, and in the 

 course of a few minutes again launches in the air. Early in the morning hun- 

 dreds of these birds may be heard, continuing until nearly eleven o'clock, when 

 the bird then becomes silent until about three o'clock, when he again goes through 

 the same performance." Each male guards his territory against others of his 

 kind, and when an intruder comes, "battles ensue which for fierceness are seldom 

 equaled by birds of larger size." The nest, always placed on the ground, is a 

 mere depression in the mosses and perhaps lined with a few blades or stalks of 

 grass. The eggs usually vary in number between seven and thirteen, but as 

 many as seventeen and even twenty have been reported, which would seem to 

 indicate that two females may occasionally deposit eggs in the same nest; this, 

 however, is not confirmed by actual observation. In color the eggs range from 

 cream to reddish buff overlaid with spots and blotches of reddish brown. The 

 female sits very closely and will sometimes permit herself to be trodden on or 

 even taken in the hand before attempting to leave. On other occasions the 

 female will flutter off, or call out in distressed tones, and act as if she had been 

 severely wounded. The period of incubation is thought by Turner to be seven- 

 teen days, and when the chicks are hatched, both parents display great courage 

 and devotion in protecting them. By November i the young birds have 

 attained their full growth, when all associate in flocks often of great size, though 

 in winter MacFarlane states that in the neighborhood of Fort Anderson it is rare 

 to find more than two or three dozen together. They feed upon buds, seeds, 



