WILLOW PTARMIGAN. 127 



country, but even on tlie coasts and islands. They croucli among the 

 dwarf birch, willow, or heather, and rarely rise till you nearly tread 

 on them. Sometimes, however, they rise very wild, and in the spring 

 and autumn appear to be most shy. They almost always are on the 

 ground, and very rarely perch in a tree; but although I have myself 

 seen on more than one occasion the Willow Grouse, when frightened, 

 perch in the birch trees, it is so rare an occurrence that many deny it. 

 Their flight to me appears exactly to resemble that of the E.ed Grouse, 

 and as they fly they utter a loud cackle which much resembles 

 'errackackackkah.-' They do not generally fly far, and when they 

 settle they usually utter the note of 'kawau, kawau.' The female 

 generally rises silently, or with a faint 'hjan, hjan.' As soon as the 

 young birds are hatched yoii see the families together] and in the 

 breedinsr season the male is never far from the nest where the old 

 female is sitting. As winter comes on they pack, and deep snow and 

 hard frost sometimes drive them down into the regions that lie below 

 the fells. 



They pair about the end of May, but sometimes as early as April. 

 At about one in the morning the male commences his love song with 

 a loud *prrr-pack-prrr,' and a deeper ni;awau, kawau.' The female 

 answers with a finer 'hjan, hjan,' and the two draw together, and the 

 male is very easily shot now by the poacher, who is hidden behind a 

 rock or bush, and decoys him within shot by an imitation of the 

 call-note of the female. The bird comes on by short flights, and runs 

 within shot, sometimes stands still, raises up his tail spread out like a 

 fan, flaps his wings against his legs, throws his neck back, and 

 answers with his hoarse 'kawau, kawau.' 



The female lays ten or twelve eggs, without any nest, in the 

 heather, but generally under a bush, or by the stump of an old fir. 

 The male keeps watch while she is sitting to drive away any birds 

 of prey that may approach the spot, and so bold is he at this time 

 that he has even been seen to drive away a fox. After they are 

 hatched, both the old ones attend the covey. AVTien the young ones 

 are frightened up they scream out much like young chickens, and 

 separate themselves among the bushes or heather, and then sit so 

 close that they can be easily picked up by the hand. 



In the summer the food of the Dal Ripa consists principally of 

 the blades or leaves of several plants, such as Salix lierhacea, 

 Vacciniim tnyrtillus (the blaeberry), and the young leaves or sprouts 

 of several species of willow, and especially the seed of the Polygonum 

 viviparum, which on this account is in Norway called Eipa Grass. 

 In autumn they principally live on berries, and in the winter on 



