104 FROM SPRING TO FALL. 



haunts, and of his wonderful faculty of making 

 himself almost invisible except when on the wing, 

 is free from much of the persecution to which 

 other members of his family are subjected. The 

 elements help to protect him, and whatever be 

 the weather — storm or sunshine, snow, hail, rain, 

 or mist — the ptarmigan flourishes through it all. 

 He was formed for the haunts he frequents, and 

 there he dwells. 



Should any one wish to see the ptarmigan in their 

 summer, autumn, and winter plumage, and to see 

 the male and female birds with nest and eggs, or to 

 look at the parent birds with their young brood, 

 these can be examined leisurely in the matchless 

 collection of British birds presented to the Corpora- 

 tion of Brighton by their collector, the late E. T. 

 Booth, whose name I write with feelings of admira- 

 tion and respect. 



The same changes of colour can be seen in some 

 specimens in the New Natural History Museum at 

 South Kensington, set up on the same lines as the 

 magnificent collection at Brighton. It is a most 

 interesting study this change of colouring in crea- 

 tures who remain in the same haunts in the winter, 



