ANAKTUVUK PASS 56 



or condition of the birds. I suggested that they might come from dif- 

 ferent areas, but Eskimos are not much interested in speculation upon 

 determinable but unknown facts. By the end of May the last mi- 

 grating ptarmigan disappear and comparatively few remain to nest 

 in the mountains. 



In February and March 1952, willow ptarmigan were common in 

 scattered flocks of 20 to 40. In the winter of 1952-1953 they were 

 even more common, and this great abundance continued through the 

 winters of 1954 and 1955. In 1957 they were still very numerous. 

 Few of the willows lacked signs of removal of buds and twig tips. 

 In the dark twilight before the brief day the ptarmigan could be 

 heard calling. Before noon, feeding stopped and the birds rested on 

 the snow or perched in the willows for one or two hours before re- 

 suming the feeding Avhich filled their crops for night. Crops weighed 

 in the morning and at noon were lighter than in the afternoon and, 

 according to numerous weights obtained by Simon Paneak and John 

 Krog, willow ptarmigan retire in winter at 4 or 5 o'clock with well 

 filled crops weighing from 50 to 100 grams. 



This store suffices for the 14 hours or so which they spend in indi- 

 vidual burrows in the snow. The accumulated feces show that each 

 bird remains in one spot. These burrows are a foot or so beneath 

 the snow and extend from 18 inches to 2 feet. In the morning the 

 ptarmigan leave their snow burrows usually by flying directly up 

 through the soft snow. There is no indication that any weather causes 

 them to remain longer than one night in their burrows. Reports of 

 Avillow ptarmigan burrows in the snow come from other parts of 

 Alaska, Yukon Territory and Newfoundland (Wetmore, 1945). 



Although at times the tracks, noise, and sight of ptarmigan are 

 reminiscent of the density of population of a farm yard, and although 

 the willows showed signs of their intensive feeding, the ptarmigan 

 were in good condition in the time of their greatest abundance. Occa- 

 sionally, when the frost thickly covered the willows the ptarmigan 

 sought sedges exposed by the wind on which to feed, but in winter 

 willows alone afford probably 90 percent of their food. And yet as 

 far as can be seen neither ptarmigan nor the restricted willows of the 

 tundra suffer from the intensity of cropping which occurs when the 

 ptarmigan are most numerous. 



Ptarmigan meat never has enough fat to make it a satisfactory 

 arctic food. Nevertheless, despite the arctic cold, and the competition 

 on their crowded range from successions of migrating flocks, the 

 ptarmigan in winter have flesh that is better eating and the birds are 

 heavier than in summer, when they have access to a flourishing 

 vegetation. 



469496—60 5 



