X20 AMERICAN PTARMIGAN. 



although it presents all the characters of the Rock Grouse or Ptarmigan. 

 It is less than the Scotch Ptarmigan, and its wings are much shorter, and 

 even more concave; and in these respects it corresponded with the other two 

 specimens, which however had the plumage pure white, with the exception 

 of the tail-feathers and the shafts of the primaries. I have therefore named 

 this bird, as a species distinct from either, Lagopus Americanus. I have 

 seen three specimens in the Museum of the Andersonian Institution of 

 Glasgow, which were purchased from Captain Sabine, and which I think 

 may be referred to this Ptarmigan, or at all events are different from the 

 Rock Grouse. In the present state of our knowledge as to the changes and 

 variations of plumage in Ptarmigans, it is impossible to form a decided 

 opinion in many instances; nor will the subject be free of doubt until each 

 alleged species has been traced through all its gradations. 



Tetrao lagopus, Sabine, Richardson, &c. 



Tetrao (Lagopus) mutus, Ptarmigan, Swains, and Rich. F. Bor. Amer., vol. ii. 



p. 350. 

 Common Ptarmigan, Tetrao mutus, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. v. p. 196. 



Male, 14|, wing, 8£. 



Melville Island. Churchhill river. 



The following is the description of the individual represented in the plate. 



Adult Male. 



Bill short, robust; upper mandible with its dorsal outline curved, the ridge 

 and sides convex, the edges overlapping, the tip declinate, thin edged, 

 rounded; lower mandible with the angle short and wide, the dorsal line 

 convex, the back broadly convex, the sides rounded, the edges inflected, the 

 tip blunt. Nostrils basal, roundish, concealed by the feathers. 



Head small, ovate; neck of moderate length; body full. Feet of ordinary 

 length, robust; tarsus feathered, as are the toes; the first toe very small, the 

 middle toe much longer than the lateral, which are nearly equal, the inner 

 being a little longer. Claws slightly arched, depressed, broad, thin-edged, 

 rounded at the end. 



Plumage compact, the feathers ovate and rounded; those on the tarsi, 

 toes, and soles, oblong, with loose stiffish barbs. Wings rather short, 

 concave; the primaries strong, narrow, tapering, pointed; the first an inch 

 and ten-twelfths shorter than the second, which is four-twelfths shorter than 

 the third, the latter being the longest. Tail rather short, nearly even, of 

 sixteen broad feathers, of which the two middle are less strong, but longer 

 than the rest by a quarter of an inch. 



Bill black; superciliary membrane scarlet; claws greyish-yellow, dusky 

 toward the base. The plumage is pure white; but on the head, sides of the 



