1926] Swarth: Birds and Mammals from the Atlin Region 87 



willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopits alius) from the west coast of 

 Hudson Bay, and ten (L. I. ungavus) from Fort Chimo, Ungava. 

 Comparison of these birds with the series in this museum convinced 

 me of the existence of the following recognizable subspecies of the 

 willow ptarmigan on the North American mainland: (1) Lagopus 

 lagopus ungaviis from the region east of Hudson Bay, as defined by 

 Riley {loc. cit.) ; (2) Lagopus lagopus albus from the west shore of 

 Hudson Bay westward to the coast ranges of northern British 

 Columbia, and for an undetermined distance northward; (3) an 

 undeseribed subspecies from the Alaskan mainland and extending for 

 an undetermined distance eastward in the extreme north. 



To clear the ground for further discussion the Alaskan bird may 

 now be described, as follows: 



Lagopus lagopus alascensis, new subspecies 

 Alaska "Willow Ptarmigan 



Type. — Male; no. 32125, Mus. Vert. Zool.; Kowak Eiver Delta, Alaska; 

 June 20, 1899; collected by J. Grinnell; original no. 4031. 



Distinguishing characters. — Slightly larger than albus. A large-billed race; 

 bill slightly smaller than in ungavus, much larger than in alius (see fig. H). 

 In summer plumage, generally more reddish-colored than either ungavus or 

 albus, a difference that is most conspicuous in females in the barred breeding 

 plumage. 



Mange. — The Alaskan mainland except on the southeastern coast, northern 

 Yukon Territory (specimens from vicinity of Forty-mile), and eastward for an 

 undetermined distance. 



Two males and one female ptarmigan at hand from the west side 

 of Hudson Bay, one from Port Churchill, July 24, and two from a 

 point 75 miles north of York Factory, July 19, may be assumed to 

 represent Lagopus I. oLhu^ {Tetrao aVbus Gmelin, 1788, p. 750, 

 described from Hudson Bay). In bill structure they are like the 

 British Columbia birds. In color the two males are like the British 

 Columbia birds, but the Hudson Bay female is more reddish as com- 

 pared with the gray-colored females of the latter series. Despite this 

 difference in the females it seems best for the present to regard all as 

 of the same subspecies, a small-billed southern race of the willow 

 ptarmigan extending from Hudson Bay westward to the coast ranges of 

 southeastern Alaska and northern British Columbia. 



