CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS 2O9 



303. Welch's Ptarmigan. 



Lagopus welchi Brewst. 1885. 



A truly alpine species in Newfoundland, rarely found below 

 the line of stunted black spruce, {Reeks^ When Mr. Reeks 

 wrote as above he believed this form to be the common Rock 

 Ptarmigan. Since then Mr. William Brewster, of Cambridge, 

 Mass., obtained specimens from Newfoundland, collected in 

 1883 by Mr. Welch, which led him to separate this form from the 

 Rock Ptarmigan. Mr. Brewster says that according to Mr. 

 Welch these ptarmigans are numerous in Newfoundland, where 

 they are strictly confined to the bleak sides and summits of 

 rocky hills and mountains in the interior. Unlike the Willow 

 Grouse of that Island, which wander long distances and fre- 

 quently cross the Gulf to Labrador, the Rock Ptarmigan are very 

 local, and for the most part spend their lives on or near the hills 

 where they were reared. 



304. White-tailed Ptarmigan. 



Lagopus leucurus. ('Swains. & Rich.) 1831. 



Mr. Drummond obtained four specimens of this bird in Lat. 

 54°, and another was obtained nine degrees further to the north 

 by Mr. Macpherson. They inhabit the summits of the Rocky 

 Mountains. {Richardson^ North on. the Mackenzie to Lapierre's 

 House in the mountains. {Ross!) Observed on the mountains 

 above timber line both east and west of McLennen River, Lat. 

 54°, B.C., in July and August of 1898, {Spreadborough.) Summit 

 of most of the mountains of the mainland ; Beaver Pass, Mr. 

 George Hyde ; Cassiar, Mr. James Porter. {Fannin.) Resident 

 on mountain tops. {Brooks.) 



Breeding Notes. — This species was found on the summits of 

 all the western mountains which have been ascended by the 

 writer. On July i8th, 1887, a hen bird with a brood of chicks was 

 found at an altitude of 6,000 feet on Mount Arrowsmith, Van- 

 couver Island ; on August 8-i2th, 1889, numerous broods were 

 seen on the Gold Range, B.C., at an altitude of 7,500 feet ; on 

 August 24th, 1885, three large broods were seen on the summit 

 of Avalanche Mountain, near Glacier, B. C; and lastly a brood 

 was seen on the summit of Sulphur Mountain, close to Banff, 

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