NATURAL 
ALASKA PTARMIGAN. 
There are 2 varieties of ptarmigan on 
the mountains of Southeast Alaska, the 
willow and the rock ptarmigan. The latter 
are found in great numbers, while willow. 
ptarmigan are not so plentiful near the 
coast. In winter plumage the birds are 
snow white except that the tail feathers, 6 
quills of the primaries, the bill, eyes and 
a streak from the corner of the mouth 
to %4 inch beyond the eye, are black. The 
toenails, also, are black, with white tips. 
A small, red, crescent-shaped comb above 
the eye is more prominent in the male 
than in the female bird. The white plu- 
mage remains from October to June with- 
out perceptible change. Then the female 
birds take on the color of the country 
rock, and so kindly does nature screen 
them at this season that, though I have 
seen birds lizht on the rocks not I0 
yards away, I have had to look sev- 
eral minutes before I could locate 
them. Were it not for the small, sparkling 
eyes and shining black bill for a starting 
point, I doubt if the form of the bird 
could be outlined by human eyes. 
Eagles, hawks, wolves, lynx, and foxes 
are their natural enemies. They have no 
fear of man. 
and later the male bird perches on some 
rock or prominent point and is constantly 
on the lookout for danger, of which he 
gives warning by making a grating sound. 
This sound can be clearly imitated by 
drawing a coarse comb over the edge of 
a board. 
The female birds buiid their nest, if nest 
it can be called, on the ground, and lay 
5 to 8 pure white eggs, rather pointed at 
one end. Whether they rear more than 
one brood in a season I cannot say; I have 
seen young birds in June, July, and Au- 
gust. Rock ptarmigan nest above timber 
line, sometimes not 5 yards from snow. 
They cannot be said to mate, although 
I have seen them in pairs during May. 
But let a female ptarmigan but flutter a 
wing in the nesting season and there will 
be several male grouse dancing quick at- 
tendance. 
In summer they are found on mountain 
summits and favorite slopes that lie toward 
the sun; in winter, in the basins below 
timber line. During severe storms they 
go into the brush and sometimes make 
holes in the snow. In summer they feed 
on moss, berries, grass, buds, white mil- 
lers, and spruce needles; in winter on 
the buds and needles of the dwarf spruce, 
and on the needles or broom of the spruce 
During the mating season - 
HIstORY: 
timber of the lower levels. To hunt them 
requires the skill and climbing ability of 
a trained Alpine mountaineer. 
L. -l. Bales; -Alaska ~Gnide, 
Alaska. 
Juneau, 

CUTEREBRA EMASCULATOR IS THE RAS- 
CAL. 
Greenville, Mich. 
Editor RECREATION: 
I have watched narrowly the letters in 
RECREATION regarding the mutilation of 
squirrels. It has been left to Dr. L. AV. 
Eldredge, of Groton, N. Y., to give the 
correct solution. 
It is well known to entomologists 
that a species of dermatobia, viz.: Cu- 
terebra emasculator, works extensively on 
chipmunks and _ squirrels, confining 
itself more particularly to the testicles; 
hence its scientific name. The larvae of 
this parasite are not uncommon, but of 
the perfect fly little is known. A nearly 
allied species, Cuterebra cuniculi, works 
on the American hare, or as it is usual- 
ly called rabbit. Although -this insect, 
which is much larger, has not the disgust- 
ing propensity of its relative, it may serve 
to illustrate the one more particularly 
under consideration. Many sportsmen 
must have noticed the protuberances and 
sores on rabbits in the fall. In September, 
’94, I shot a rabbit and as I picked it up 
a large larva rolled out of a sac in the fore- 
part of the body. I saved it and placed it 
in a box, where it duly transformed into 
a pupa, and the following May into the 
perfect insect—a large, bumble bee look- 
ing fly. 
After making a careful color drawing of 
both chrysalis case and imago (I had pre- 
viously done so of the larva), I presented 
the specimens to the Michigan agricultural 
college, where they now are, the fly being 
a great rarity. I was given credit by 
the first entomological journals as_ be- 
“ing one of the few, if not actually the first 
382 
naturalist, to successfully rear the insect— 
the larvae of the family being more or less 
represented alcohol—and I received 
letters on the subject from scientists in 
many parts of the world. Dr. Blanchard, 
president of the Zoological Society of 
France, who has made a lifelong study of 
the dermatobia, was particularly interested. 
I made him a fac-simile of my drawing; 
and the matter was extensively discussed 
at ‘one of the regular bi-monthly sessions 
of the society and reported in its pro- 
ceedings. 
