WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN. 



169 



leased, made no effort to fly away, but waited until she 

 was permitted to return to her charge. But one brood 

 is raised in a year, and the chicks, when first hatched, 

 are curiously striped with bands of white and blackish 

 brown. The hen defends them with great courage, not 

 hesitating to fly directly into the face of anybody who 

 may attempt to catch one of her brood, and strikes as vio- 

 lently as she is able with her wings. At other times 

 she uses all the artifices common to game birds to draw 

 one away from the vicinity of her young. 



By the latter part of August the brood is pretty fully 

 grown, unless from some cause the birds have been 

 hatched later than usual. They are delicate at first, and 

 doubtless many perish from severe weather, or by getting 

 their downy plumage wet, which generally has a fatal 

 effect. This Ptarmigan, also called the White, Snow, or 

 Mountain Quail, by the miners and others who penetrate 

 its retreats, feeds upon leaves and tender stalks of vari- 

 ous plants growing in the Alpine regions amid which 

 it dwells, also on insects of different kinds, and in 

 winter on the buds and leaves of firs and pines. Its 

 flesh is much lighter than that of other Ptarmigan, and is 

 about as palatable as is theirs, which sometimes is pretty 

 tasteless. When much hunted the White-tailed Ptar- 

 migan becomes very wild, and it is difficult to approach 

 it within shot. It makes no extended flights, but 

 runs on ahead, dodging behind rocks and bushes, stop- 

 ping at times to watch its pursuer, and occasionally fly- 

 ing a short distance so as just to keep beyond the range 

 of the gun. If persistently followed for a considerable 

 period, it is then very apt to remove itself from the local- 

 ity, at least for a brief period. A solitary bird is not apt 

 to try and make its escape by flight, and can be flushed 

 with difficulty, generally trying to steal away quietly, 



