QUAIL, GROUSE, ETC. 165 



willow tliickets and dwarf birches on the banks of lakes and 

 rivers, where they feed on the buds of the smaller shrubs, 

 which forms their principal food at that season. Their 

 favorite resorts in daytime are barren, sandy tracts of land, 

 but they pass the nights in holes in the snow. When pur- 

 sued by sportsmen or birds of prey they dive in the loose 

 snow and work their way beneath its surface. 



The nests are mere depressions in the ground, lined with 

 leaves, hay, and a few feathers from the birds themselves. 

 These birds often occupy the same nest in successive sea- 

 sons. Ten eggs are usually laid. The eggs have a ground 

 color varying from yellowish-buff to deep chestnut-brown, 

 more or less sprinkled, speckled, spotted, or marbled with 

 rich brown or black. 



They are to be distinguished from all other members of 

 the grouse family by the dense feathering of the tarsus and 

 toes, by turning white in winter, and by the possession of 

 only fourteen tail feathers. The bill is very stout and the 

 tail always black. C. CM. 



WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN 



Ptarmigan inhabit the colder regions of America and 

 Europe. Their occurrence is in western Canada and in the 

 United States, chiefly in the mountainous regions of Colo- 

 rado, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, where 

 they reach an altitude possessing a decidedly boreal climate. 

 During the winters they sometimes descend into the plains 

 and feed upon wild sprouts and berries. The winter plu- 

 mage is pure white, while in spring the feathers are brown 



