132 IS'ATUKAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS IX ALASKA. 



At Poiut Barrow it is noted by Murtlocb as a resltleut but not abundaut species. At this 

 locality specimens were nored so late as July 10 with considerable white still in the plumage, so 

 it is evident that the summer molt in part of the Territory is not a complete change in color, as is 

 the case further south. 



According to Hartlaub this bird extends its range tar to the southeastern extremity of the 

 Territory, and was found in flocks at Chilcat February 9. In May they leave the coast and go 

 higher up into the dwarf forests among the willows and small birches. A nest of seven eggs was 

 found on the Damaiiku June 28. 



In the northern portion of their range these Grouse are summer residents ; but in autumn, the 

 last of August and during September, they unite in great flocks and migrate south to the shel- 

 tered banks of the Kuskoquim and Yukon Ilivers and their numerous tributaries. In early spring, 

 as the warmth of the returning sun begins to be felt, they troop back to their breeding grounds 

 once more. During a large portion of the year these birds form one of the most characteristic 

 accompaniments of the scenery in the northern portion of Alaska. They change their summer dress 

 tor the white of winter in autumn before they make their migration, and after they arrive at their 

 winter destination they keep in immense flocks about the open glades and willow-grown country 

 along the courses of various inland streams. In traveling through these tracts in mid-winter I 

 have sometimes come across flocks numbering several thousands. In one instance a lai-ge area, a 

 half mile across near the Lower Kuskoquim, was literally covered with these birds, and the bushes 

 around the borders were also covered with perching birds. They allowed us to get into their 

 midst with our dogsledges before they took flight; as they arose the whirring of their wings 

 made a noise like the rumbling of thunder and seemed to make the very ground tremble. As they 

 arose the flock spread in every direction, and for a mile or two beyond we met small scattered 

 parties, where they had taken refuge. They move in flocks, often numbering several hundred, 

 during their migration, when they pass to and from their summer haunts. 



Among the Alaskan natives, both Eskimo and Indian, especially those in the northern two- 

 thirds of the Territory, this bird is one of the most important sources of food supply, and through 

 the entire winter it is snared and shot in great abundance, and many times it is the only defense 

 they possess against the ever-recurring periods of scarcity and famine. 



The Eskimo of the Kaviak Peninsula have a curious way of taking advantage of the pecu- 

 liarities of this bird in their migrating season. Taking a long and medium tine-meshed fishiug-)iet 

 they spread it by fastening cross-pieces to it at certain distances; then taking their places just at 

 ■sunset in early November or the last of October, on a low open valley or " swale," extending north 

 and south, they stretch the net across the middle of this highway, with a man and sometimes two 

 at each cross piece, while the women and children conceal themselves behind the neighboring 

 clumps of bushes. As twilight advances the net is raised and held upright. Ere long the 

 flocks of Ptarmigan are seen approaching skimming along close to the snow-covered earth in the 

 dim twilight, and a moment later, as the first birds come in contact with the obstacle, the men press 

 the net down upon the snow sometimes securing fifty to sixty birds. While the men throw them- 

 selves upon the net and hold it down, the women and children rush forward and kill the birds ty 

 wringing their necks or by biting their heads. On some evenings several flocks are thus inter- 

 cepted, and the party of natives return to their houses heavily laden with spoils. In winter 

 the birds are snared in their haunts by placing flue nooses attached to low bushes close to the 

 ground. Sometimes small brush fences are built with snares at the passage- ways purposely left 

 open. In spring, as the snow begins to leave the mossy knolls here and there, the natives shoot 

 a male bird and stuff it roughly with straw, and, mounting it on a small stake, place this efiBgy 

 upon one of the bare knolls in a conspicuous position ; then they surround it with a fine sinew net 

 held in place by slender stakes. The hunter then conceals himself close by and imitates the chal- 

 lenge cry of the male. All around can be heard the loud cries of the pugnacious birds, and 

 attracted by the decoy notes of the native some of them are almost certain to bestow their atten- 

 tion u[)on the decoy ; they approach swiftly, and either fly directly at their supposed rival or alight 

 and run at him in blind rage. In either case their jealousy is fatal, as they are at once hopelessly 

 entangled in the net of the hunter, who disposes of them, and repeats the maneuver indefinitely, 

 generally returning home well laden. 



