90 University of California Publications in Zoology ["Vol. 30 



with a pair of breeding birds from Porcher Island (coll. Allan Brooks), 

 still farther south, are distinctly darker colored than skins from the 

 more northern Chichagof and Baranof islands and Glacier Bay. There 

 are, however, some southern skins that are indistinguishable from 

 northern ones. 



On May 21 we traveled from Skagway to Carcross on the White 

 Pass Railroad. Soon after passing the summit we began to see ptar- 

 migan, and for an hour or more they were frequently in sight from 

 the train, sometimes but a few yards from the track. The ground was 

 still largely snow covered, though the snow was melting, and small 

 ponds were partly free of ice. The male ptarmigan seen were with 

 brown head and neck, the body plumage all white, and they were con- 

 spicuous objects. Courting was in progress and the cock birds, stand- 

 ing erect on projecting boulders or strutting with spread tail and 

 lowered wings over some limited stretch of open ground, caught the 

 eye from a long distance. A soaring Buteo flying alongside the train 

 started birds in flight from several points. 



On June 30 we found willow ptarmigan in fair abundance at the 

 head of Canon Creek (about 3000 feet altitude), near Atlin. They 

 were in pairs, spaced at intervals through the low willow brush, and, 

 from the broods seen, eggs must have hatched during several days 

 immediately preceding. One nest was found, containing six eggs 

 nearly ready to hatch. It was on a bare dry hillside, placed between 

 two fallen saplings, just at the edge of some burnt spruce woods. Fire 

 had passed through here years before, killing the timber, though most 

 of the dead trees remained standing, and the ground beneath was 

 barren of any vegetation. TJhe nest itself was a shallow depression, 

 scantily lined with a few bits of dry grass and weedstalks. The hen 

 was sitting on the eggs and the cock bird was on guard nearby. 



In this case, as in others, the devotion of the male willow ptarmigan 

 was most apparent, and in striking contrast to the irresponsibility of 

 the males of the other species of grouse of the region. Broods of 

 young willow ptarmigan were invariably attended by both parent 

 birds. It seemed evident that the large winter flocks of ptarmigan 

 were formed by the junction of many families which had remained 

 together, male, female, and young, since the eggs were hatched. It 

 was very rarely that a solitary willow ptarmigan was flushed. 



At the head of Otter Creek, July 26 to August 9, willow ptarmigan, 

 though not abundant, were frequently encountered. Young birds 

 were then about half grown, and in juvenal plumage throughout. The 



