44 
GROUSE FAMILY. 
White Grouse, or Ptarmigan. 
The Ptarmigan is one among the very few animated beings 
which, by choice and instinct, constantly reside in the coldest 
Arctic deserts, and in the lofty mountains of central Europe, 
where, as the snow begins to melt away, it seeks out its frozen 
bed by ascending to the limits of eternal ice. Like so many 
other animals of this inclement boreal region, this bird is com- 
mon to both the old and new continent. It is met with in 
Siberia, Kamtschatka, Greenland, most parts of northern Eu- 
rope, the Highlands of Scotland, and even as far south as the 
romantic scenes of the lakes of Cumberland, a few being still 
seen in the lofty hills which surround the vale of Keswick, as 
well as in Wales. This species has scarcely been met with 
on the American continent, except on Melville Island and 
Churchill River. 
The Ptarmigan feeds on many sorts of berries, particularly 
the crow-berry (^Efnpetrum nigrum) and cow-berry ( Vacci- 
nium vitis idma), as well as the tops of the same plant; it also 
collects catkins, buds, and the young shoots of the pine, 
heath, rosehips, and sometimes the different kinds of lichens, 
which it searches out in the extensive burrows it makes 
beneath the snow. To all this bill of frugal fare, it also 
sometimes adds a few insects. These birds search out their 
food chiefly in the morning and evening, and in the middle of 
the day are observed sometimes to bask in the sun. Like the 
Esquimaux of the human family, whose lot is cast in the same 
cold and dreary region, they seek protection from the extreme 
severity of the climate by dwelling in the snow ; it is here that 
they commonly roost and work out subterraneous paths. In 
the morning, as soon as they leave their frozen dens, they fly 
out vigorously into the air in an upward direction, shaking the 
snow from their warm and white clothing. While thus feeding 
they socially call on one another at intervals in a loud tone, 
and sometimes utter a sort of cackling cry, almost like a coarse 
and mocking laugh. 
The nest, about the middle of June, is made in open places 
