288 
COMMON PTARMIGAN. 
White Game. Will. Orn, ( Ang.) p. Ij6. pi. 32. 
Ptarmigan. Penn. Brii. Zool. 1. Q5.pl. 43. — Penn. Arct. Zool. 
2. 315. D. — Gent. Mag. 1772. pi. in p. 74. — Lath. Gen. Spn. 
4 . 741 . 10. — Leixiin. Brit. Birds. 4. pi. 134. — Wale. Spn.2.pl. 
182. — Don. Brit. Birds. 1. pi. 12. — Mont. Orn. Diet. 2. — 
Mont. Orn. Diet. Hupp. — Bew. Brit. Birds. 1. 303. — Bing. 
Anim. Biog. 2. 250. 
The Ptarmigan is fifteen inches in length : its 
beak is black : the jilumage pale brown or ash- 
colour, elegantly crossed or mottled with small 
dusky spots and minute bars : the head and neck 
with broad bars of black, white, and rust-colour: 
wings white : greater quills with black shafts : in 
the male the head is more inclined to rufous : in 
the month of September it begins to change its 
plumage, and about the middle of October it is of 
a pure white all over : the shafts of the first seven 
quills black ; and the tail, which consists of sixteen 
feathers, has the two middle ones white, the rest 
black, with a little white on the tips of the second 
feathers from the middle : the male also possesses 
a black stripe from the nostrils to the eyes. 
Temminck considers the Rock Ptarmigan of 
Latham to be referrible to this species, but that is 
a much sinaller bird, and is spotted with white 
and dull orange in its summer plumage ; whereas 
this is destitute of such marks : therefore till there 
is more certainty respecting them, it will be better 
to consider them as distinct, since they inhabit dif- 
ferent countries ; and as similar varieties do not 
occur in this kingdom, where the Ptarmigan is 
sufficiently common, it seems to give additional 
