72 * LIFE HISTORIES OP NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



air uttering a barking sound of nearly a dozen separate notes, thence sails or 

 flutters in a circle to alight at the place whence he started, or to alight on 

 another high place, from which he repeats the act while flying to his former 

 place. Immediately on alighting, he utters a sound similar to the Indian word 

 chu-xwan (what is it?) and repeats it several times, and in the course of a few 

 minutes again launches in the air. Early in the morning hundreds of these 

 birds may be heard, continuing until near 11 o'clock, when the bird then 

 becomes silent until after 3 o'clock, when he again goes through the same 

 performance, though with less vigor than in the morning. In the course of a 

 few days a female may be found in the vicinity. The actions of the male are 

 now redoubled, and woe be to any bird of his kind which attempts to even 

 cross his chosen locality. Battles ensue which for fierceness are seldom equaled 

 by birds of larger size. 



"In the vicinity of Fort Chimo the nesting of this species begins during 

 the latter part of May. The nest is usually placed in a dry spot among the 

 swamps or on the hillsides where straggling bushes grow. The nest is merely 

 a depression in the mosses, and contains a few blades and stalks of grass, 

 together with a few feathers from the parent bird, which is now in the height 

 of the moult from the winter to the summer plumage. 



"The first eggs obtained were two, on June 1, 1884, this being the 

 earliest record at Fort Chimo. The number laid for a set varies greatly in 

 different localities. At Fort Chimo, seven to nine is the usual number, although 

 in exceptional instances as many as eleven and rarely thirteen may be found. 

 While I was at St. Michael (Norton Sound, Alaska) I frequently found nests 

 containing as many as fifteen and several times found seventeen. I was there 

 informed that over twenty eggs had been taken from a single nest. On neither 

 side of the continent did I hear that more than one female deposited eggs in 

 the same nest. I can affirm that a clutch of seven eggs may be taken, and, 

 if the nest be not disturbed, the female will deposit nearly the same number 

 again. These may again be taken, and not over three eggs will be depos- 

 ited, and if disturbed a third time she will lay no more unless she selects a 

 new location, which, of course, would be difficult to ascertain. 



"I can not speak accurately on the subject, but. think that seventeen days 

 are required to incubate the eggs. On the 20th of June I obtained a young 

 bird of this species, which was less than forty-eight hours out of the shell. 

 This was the earliest record. Thousands of these young must perish annually, 

 either from the cold rains, or from their parents being killed for food. The 

 Indians consider the downy young of the Ptarmigan a special delicacy, even if 

 taken from the shell; the bird serves in lieu of an oyster. I once had occasion 

 to require the services of several Indian women to blow some eggs, which, 

 during a pressure of other work, I had no time to do. I set them to work 

 and frequently went to see if the work was progressing satisfactorily. I 

 observed a pile of birds without, and some with feathers on, lying on a board. 

 I inquired why they were being reserved. An old woman picked up one of 



