198 COMMON PTARMIGAN. 



barred with orange-yellow and dark brown. The feathers in the loral 

 space are black only at the base. The shafts of the six outer quills 

 are brownish-black, and all the tail-feathers, the two middle excepted, 

 are greyish-black, with a terminal narrow band of white. 



Length to end of tail 14 inches ; bill along the ridge ^^, along the 

 edge of lower mandible i^ ; wing from flexure 8 ; tail 4| ; tarsus \^^ ; 

 middle toe 1, its claw x%. 



The bill seems to be narrower than it generally is in the Rock 

 Grous, but the description and dimensions of this bird are in no way 

 different from those of an individual of that species in the same state 

 of plumage. 



A specimen in the Musemn of the Andersonian Institution, marked 

 " Lagopus vulgaris, Ptarmigan, Melville's Island," is a male in winter 

 plumage. The bill is brownish-black, as are the claws. A black band 

 extends from the bill to the eye and behind it. The general colovu- of 

 the plumage is pure white, as are the two middle tail-feathers, the rest 

 greyish-black, narrowly tipped with white. The third quill is longest, two- 

 twelfths longer than the second, which exceeds the first by an inch and 

 five-eighths. 



Length to end of tail 14^ inches ; bill along the ridge || ; wing from 

 carpus Sy'g ; tail 5 ; tarsus l^^^ ; middle toe and claw It?. 



Another specimen marked " Lagopus vulgaris, ViaxyrngSin, Melville's 

 Island," is in summer plumage. The general colour of the upper parts, 

 fore neck, and sides, is reddish-yellow, finely undulated transversely 

 with blackish-brown, and greyish-white ; the bars on the head and neck 

 larger. The middle tail-feathers are similar to those of the back ; the 

 rest brovvTiish-black tipped with white. There is little white on the 

 lower parts, and that only in patches. The greyish-white undulations 

 in this individual tend to approximate its colouring to that of some spe- 

 cimens of the Scottish Ptarmigan, but still the prevailing tint is not 

 grey, but brownish-yellow. 



Bill I'j of an inch long ; wing from flexure 8 ; tail 5 ; tarsus \l\. 



A specimen marked " Ptarmigan, Melville Island, Aug. 15. 1820," 

 is a young bird, marked like the old, but with the bands larger. The 

 fore part of the wings, the primaries, the secondary coverts, and the 

 abdomen, are white. 



