52 FEATHERED GAME 
months, but of late years very rarely indeed is 
one taken. 
The Willow Grouse inhabits a wide range of 
country, including the northern parts of Eu- 
rope and Asia and the whole of North America 
from the northern boundary -of the United 
States far into the Arctic regions, in summer 
spreading out over the almost treeless ‘‘barren 
lands’’ which extend along the shores of the 
Arctic ocean, and in winter retreating to the 
shelter of the thick woods which stretch away 
northwesterly mile after mile across Canada 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 
It is a dweller on the rocky heaths and 
swampy grounds, and not so fond of the woods 
as are most northern grouse. As a rule, the 
Ptarmigan takes to the forests only when 
obliged to do so for safety or when driven by 
stress of weather, coming out into the openings 
as soon as ever the sun gets a bit of ground un- 
covered in the spring. 
During the summer months they live upon 
berries and insects. Through the long Arctic 
winter they subsist on the buds of the brush 
and dwarfed willows which are scattered 
through the frozen bogs. 
They are somewhat nocturnal in their habits, 
