Ptarmigan 



and berries. A subspecies of this, known as Allen's Ptarmigan (L. lagopus 

 alleni), is confined to Newfoundland, and differs from the typical form in having 

 the shafts of the secondaries black instead of white, and according to Dr. Mer- 

 riam, "frequents rocky barrens, feeding on seeds and berries of the stunted plants 

 that thrive in these exposed situations." 



The Rock Ptarmigan (L. rupestris), the seasonal changes of plumage of 

 which were described above, is also found in Arctic America and in northern 

 Asia as far as the Ural Mountains. In this country its nesting range extends from 

 the Alaska peninsula and Bering Strait along the Arctic coast and through the 

 Barren Grounds to the west coast of Hudson's Bay and Labrador. Nelson, for 

 example, found it to be a common resident of the Alaskan mainland, frequenting 

 "the summits of the low hills and mountains during the summer season, where it 

 remains until the severe weather of early winter forces it down to the lower ele- 

 vations and under the shelter of the bush-bordered ravines and furrows." In 

 the vast Barren Grounds it is also at home, subsisting on seeds, berries, and buds, 

 like its relative just described. TTie nest is said to be placed among the dwarf 

 birches and willows, and on the sedge-covered tundras, the eggs varying in num- 

 ber from six to ten. A number of subspecies of this have been differentiated, as the 

 Greenland Ptarmigan (L. r. reinhardti) of Greenland, the islands on the western 

 side of Cumberland Gulf, and northern Labrador; Nelson's Ptarmigan (L. r. 

 nelsoni), of the island of Unalaska; Turner's Ptarmigan (L. r. alkhensis), of the 

 neighboring island of Atkha; and Evermann's Ptarmigan (L. r. evermanni) of 

 Attu Island, while the closely allied Welch's Ptarmigan (L. 

 welchi) is confined to Newfoundland. These forms arc all 

 very close and by some authorities are not accepted as valid, 

 though no one who has carefully studied these birds but 

 has easily been convinced of their distinctness. 



White-tailed Ptarmigan. The smallest, as well as one 

 of the handsomest and most distinct, species is the White- 

 tailed Ptarmigan (L. leucurus) of the Alpine summits of the 

 Rocky Mountains from Alaska to New Mexico and west to 

 the higher mountains of Oregon and 

 Washington. It is only twelve or thir- 

 teen inches in length and may otherwise 

 be known by the plumage being white 

 throughout, including all the feathers of 

 the tail. According to Major Bendirc, 

 "It is a resident and breeds wherever 

 found, rarely leaving the mountain 

 summits, even during the severest 

 winter weather, and then only de- 

 scending 2000 or 3000 feet at most, 

 seldom being found at a lower alti- 

 tude than 8000 or oooo feet at any 



,, mi i riG. 94. White-tailed Ptarmigan, Lagopus leu- 



time." This altitude usually takes C urus. 



