-9— 



nest and find quarters suitable to their re- 

 quirements, and are comfortable at an eleva- 

 tion of 6,000 to 10,000 feet up the mountains, 

 which makes the conditions correspond with 

 the much more northern latitudes g-enerally 

 selected by most of these birds of the snow 

 fields. 



The winter costume of the Ptarmig-an is a 

 coat of pure white, with the exception of the 

 central tail feathers, which are black, tipped 

 with white. This plumag-e makes the chances 

 of the birds o"0od for escaping- observation 

 when pursued by their enemies. The birds 

 are naturally unsuspicious and when pursued, 

 if not too closely, will rely on their coloration, 

 or lack of it, — as we may say in this case, — in 

 their method of escape. It is very difficult to 

 discover a crouching- bird on the snow, and it 

 is not rare to run on a pair or more and g-et 

 them up before one is aware of their pres- 

 ence. These birds burrow in the snow when 

 pursued, after the manner of the Canada 

 Grouse and others of the family. They are 

 also said to burrow in snow to seek protection 

 from the cold, which is a reasonable con- 

 clusion. 



Ptarmig-ans are found at the extreme north 

 and have been recorded by all of the arctic 



i«p.- 



