, GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 199 



The Lagopus Aipinns is not shy in summer, and early in autumn may be approached very closely 

 without taking flight. " Not unfrequently, indeed," says Mr. Lloyd, " the fowler or wayfarer finds 

 himself in the very midst of a brood, without having been previously aware of its presence ; but as the 

 season advances the several families 'pack,' and they then become very wary, especially should they 

 have become associated with the Lagopus albus, which is of a much wilder nature, and thus they 

 keep together throughout the winter, and until the month of May, when they separate in pairs. Their 

 favourite resorts are amongst stones and shingle, where they find shelter in bad weather, and from 

 which in their summer plumage they are hardly to be distinguished." 



During the summer and autumn they feed on seeds and leaves, especially on those of the crake- 

 berry {Empetriim nigrum), the leaves of which are green aU the year round. When heavy storms of 

 snow make these unattainable they devour the tender tops of willow and dwarf birch. 



" The easily satisfied appetite of the Lagopus Alpinus" says M. Earth, " coupled with the fact 

 that the crakebeiry grows in such profusion everyivhere as in many places to cover the whole slope of 

 the fjall, up to near the line of perpetual snow, explains the question why these birds never lack food 

 in the higher regions, where one would least suppose it possible for any living creature to find the 

 wherewithal to sustain existence. The crakeberry plant in some years has so many berries that the 

 ground looks black with them ; nevertheless, in those years I never found tlie berries themselves in 

 the crop of this species, but only the stalks and leaves. After producing fruits in such abundance, the 

 crakebeiTy plant would seem to require some time for rest, inasmuch as in the succeeding year 

 scarcely a berry is to be seen on it. The Ptarmigan would therefore be very badly off if its taste only 

 pennitted it to feed on the berry and not on the stalk — another instance of the wise foresight of 

 Nature. During pairing time the cry of the male is said to resemble the croak of a frog, or the 

 snoring of a man. The female note is a low ' ii-ack, ii-ack.'" 



The nest is made among stones, or heather and grass. The eggs are yellowish, with bro\\Ti 

 spots, and are from eight to fourteen in number. The brood is hatched about the middle or end of 

 June, according to the season. The male is said to remain with his mate during the time of 

 incubation, but as soon as the young are hatched he leaves them with their mother and joins his male 

 companions on the upper part of the f jails, where his family follow him -with their mother as soon as 

 they are sufficiently grown ; both parents and brood remain together till the approach of winter, when 

 the various families unite in packs. Mr. Lloyd, however, doubts the truth of the generally-believed 

 fact of the partial separation of the male from his family, and thinks that these packs of males may be 

 such as have been unable to obtain mates. 



" While the female is sitting," says M. Groiiland, " the male always remains in the near vicinity 

 of the nest, to protect her against the attacks of foxes, weasels, and the numerous birds of prey by 

 which she is then often molested. He never separates from her, even after the young are hatched, 

 but accompanies the family everywhere, and evinces the same regard for the mother as for the poults. 

 When meeting a family of Fjall Ripa (the Swedish name for these birds) in the forest, one has an 

 opportunity of witnessing the instinct implanted by Nature in the parents to protect their offspring. 

 Should a person then approach the spot where they are collected, the male, for the purpose of drawing 

 the enemy's attention from them to himself, runs forward to meet him with plaintive cries and out- 

 stretched wings, thereby endangering himself to secure the safety of those he holds dearer than 

 life itself." 



M. Earth relates that, "When the fowler comes suddenly upon a brood of young Fjall Ripa it is 

 really distressing to see the mother running to and fro before him. Should he remain stationary, her 

 boldness gradually increases, until at length, either from a feeling of her own weakness, or from her 

 fears being dispelled at seeing him make no attempts to injure her. she by degrees retires with the 



