OE THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 33 



and Adak Islands from the Aleutian archipelago. It is more than probable that 

 all these races of Ptarmigan are nothing more than representative forms or 

 climatic varieties of one polymorphic species. 



Habits. — Of all our Game Birds the Ptarmigan is the wildest. It is a 

 resident in our islands, confined to the summits of the mountains, wandering 

 nomadically a little lower during the non-breeding season. Its haunts are barren 

 and wild in the extreme ; rough, broken, wiad-swept summits, where the surface 

 is either bare and stony, or covered sparsely with ling and heath and ground fruits, 

 strevni with boulders, and for the greater part of the year picked out with spotless 

 snow. Here the plumage of the Ptarmigan is so eminently protective, and the bird 

 itself so skulking in its habits, that the observer often wanders all unconsciously 

 through a pack of birds, never dreaming of their proximity until they rise 

 here, there, and everywhere around him from the ground which often seems too 

 bare to conceal a mouse. Ptarmigan afford one of the best known instances 

 of protective colouration. With each recurring season a different dress is assumed 

 to meet the changing hues of their surroundings. In spring these birds are 

 clothed in a dress of dark brown, mottled with yellowish brown, to assimilate in 

 colour vTith the mosses and lichens. In autumn they change this dress for one of 

 pale grey, vermiculated with black — or rather they are slowly changing colour all 

 the summer through with the changing aspect of their haunts, the latter tints 

 being emphasized at a time when the mosses and lichens are burnt up and 

 beginning to fade. Then in winter, when the mountain-tops are wreathed in 

 snow, the browns and greys are doffed and plumage of spotless white assumed in 

 their stead. The Ptarmigan is a thorough ground bird, and never uses its wings 

 unless compelled by various circumstances to seek the air. Then, however, it can 

 fly fast and far, and often goes from one mountain-top to another on rapid-beating 

 wings, or skims over brows and shoulders of the hill-tops with pinions held arched 

 and stiff. It is very fond of sitting on rocks and boulders, apparently basking in 

 the sun ; whilst on the ground it walks and runs about in true Game Bird style, 

 and is very fond of lying on its side and taking a dust bath. Many of its resorts 

 and movements are similar to those of the Eed Grouse, but the note is very 

 different. It is nothing near so loud or distinct, and may be best described as a 

 low croak or grunt. The food of this species is principally composed of the 

 tender green tops of ling and heath, but buds, seeds, and shoots of various 

 mountain plants are eaten ; and in autumn, ground fruits, such as bilberries and 

 cloud-berries. A small quantity of grit is invariably contained in the stomach to 

 assist digestion; and according to Macgillivray, the bird eats its fill of food and 

 then goes off to some quiet nook to digest it. Early in autumn, sometimes at the 

 end of July or the beginning of August, Ptarmigan begin to pack, especially 

 if the season be stormy and unsettled, but during very mild and genial weather 

 this operation is somewhat delayed. These flocks keep to the lower summits, and 



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