180 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING. 
round; hence, it may be readily distinguished from its 
congeners at all times. Its plumage is pure white in win- 
ter, but in summer it is mottled with brown and tawny, 
except the wings, tail, abdomen, legs, and crissum. The 
toes are feathered about half their length in summer and 
autumn, and wholly in winter, the feathers being ex- 
ceedingly fine and hair-like. It is most abundant in the 
Rocky, Cascade, and Sierra Nevada Mountains, as por- 
tions of these are wrapped in shrouds of perpetual snow. 
The pairing season commences later with this species 
than with those which have a less arctic habitat. The nest 
is generally constructed in the rudest manner, of grass, 
leaves, or moss, and is placed in a hollow near some bush 
or rock. The hen lays from eight to twelve eggs, and 
when she is hatching she will permit herself to be cap- 
tured rather than abandon them. When the young ap- 
pear, both parents are most assiduous in providing food 
and protecting them from enemies, and so undaunted is 
their courage that they will even face man in their de- 
fence. 
These ‘“‘ haunters of the herbless peak” are so tame in 
summer that they will allow a person to get within a few 
feet of them before they make an effort to escape; and 
when they are flushed they may fly only a few yards be- 
fore they alight. They then look at the object of their 
suspicion, and if he does not attempt to molest them, 
they commence feeding as placidly as if they did not 
have a foe on earth; but if he makes any hostile demon- 
stration they quickly conceal themselves in thickets or 
seek refuge among the rocks. They are very wild 
in winter, however, and ready to flush before a man can 
get within shooting distance, particularly if the weather 
1s blustry and cold and the ground open. <A cough, a 
sneeze, a word, or a footstep is sufficient to rouse them 
and cause them to seek safety in the long burrows which 
they excavate in the snow where it is anyway deep. This 
