WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN 201 
the approach of danger rather than take wing, run- 
ning over the rocks and leaping from point to point 
with great agility, stopping every little while to look at 
the object of alarm.. I have sometimes chased them half 
a mile or more over the rocky, craggy ridges of the 
main range, without being able to get within gunshot 
or force them to take wing. The flight of the ptarmi- 
gan is strong, rapid and, at times, sustained for a 
considerable distance, though usually they fly but a 
few hundred yards before alighting again. It re- 
sembles that of the prairie hen, consisting of rapid 
flappings of the wings, alternating with the sailing 
flight of the latter bird. The note is a loud cackle, 
somewhat like the prairie hen’s, yet quite different, 
and when uttered by a large flock together, reminds 
one of the confused murmur and gabble of a flock of 
shore birds about to take wing. It is a gregarious 
bird, associating in flocks throughout the year, except 
in the breeding season. The different broods gather 
together as soon as they are nearly grown, forming 
large flocks, sometimes of a hundred or more. The 
colors of this bird closely resemble those of sur- 
rounding objects at all seasons of the year. In its 
summer plumage of speckled black and gray it is very 
difficult to detect while sitting motionless among the 
gray and lichen-covered rocks. The ptarmigan is ap- 
parently well aware of this, and often squats and re- 
mains quiet while one is walking past, trusting to its 
resemblance to the surrounding rocks to escape obser- 
vation. So perfect is this resemblance that sometimes, 
