44 GROUSE AND WILD TURKEYS OF UNITED STATES. 
iiK'liule Arctostaphylos piingens^ A. nevadensis^ and .4. ura-nrai. Its 
list of fruits also includes the following: 
Mountain twin berry. Service berry (AnirlaiHliirr uhii- 
Ked elder (Samhucus imlxns). folia). 
Iloneysuelvle {Louicrnt involu- Salal {Gaulthrriu shnU(ni). 
criita : Loniccra conjiiffialis). Huckleberry {\'u(Tiniuin occidcn- 
Cberry {Pnnnis sp.). talv). 
Mountain asb {Sorhus f<amhu(i- Currant {Ribcs rcrcinti, Rihes aan- 
folia). (/nine II hi). 
Salmon berry (Riihus parrifiorus). Gooseberry (Rihcs itirnzic'iii). 
The food habits of all 3'oung birds differ more or less from those of 
their parents. Young blue grouse at first live chiefly on grass- 
hoppers and other insects and on tender plant tops. Later in the sea- 
son the}' subsist on berries, such as gooseberries and salal-berries, and 
some seeds, such as those of the wild sunflower. Florence Merriam 
Bailey, in writing recently of the habits of the dusk}^ grouse in New 
Mexico, says : " 
Near our camp at tbe foot of Pecos Baldy, Mr. Bailey discovered a winter 
roosting tree of tbe grouse. , Tbe tree was on a sbeltered part of tbe woodtnl 
slope and was so densely branched that after a prolonged rain tbe ground 
beneatb was perfectly dry. Tbe eartb was strewn witb winter drojjpings. com- 
posed entirely of tbe leaves of conifers. Conifer needles bad also been eaten 
by three of tbe grouse tbat were taken * ♦ * in July and August, but at 
tbis season tbe birds were living principally on sucb fresb food as strawberries, 
bearberries (Arctostaphylos nva-ursi), sbeperdia berries, flowers of tbe lupine 
and paint brush, seeds, green leaves, grasshoppers, caterpillars, ants, and other 
insects. One crop contained twenty-seven strawberries, twenty-eight bear- 
berries, and twelve sbeperdia berries, besides flowers, leaves, and insects, while 
the accompanying gizzard was filled witb seeds, green leaves, and insects. 
THE WILLOW PTARMIGAN. 
( Layop us Ui</oi) us. ) 
Ptarmigans are characteristic of the arctic and arctic-alpine 
regions. During sunnner they are mainly gray and brown, resem- 
bling the mottled colors of the bare earth, but at the ap])roach of 
winter they change this plumage for one of pure white. Thus they 
harmonize witli their surroundings at all seasons and are better 
able to escape their numerous enemies. There are four species of 
these birds in the Tnited States and Alaska. Of these the willow 
j)tjirmigan, white j)tarmigan, or willow grouse, as it is yariously 
known, is the largest, most abundant, and consequently the most 
impoi'tant. It is found in the arctic regions of both hemis})heres, 
and is widely spread and abundant throughout the tundra country 
of Alaska, except on the Aleutian Islands. Throughout its range, 
especially in winter, it is an important food bird. In the north 
« Auk. vol. 21, p. .•{.■>1. 1;m>4. 
