Nov., 1915 
NESTING OF THE WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN 
221 
the snow and their tracks in it. I did not know who they were, but could they 
have heard my remarks regarding them, we should doubtless have become much 
better acquainted. 
From here we proceeded, in a disgusted mood, to the other nest in which 
we had left four eggs, and finding the bird on the nest, presumably laying an 
egg, left it undisturbed. Returning toward evening, after a further fruitless 
search, I found the bird still on the nest, and after thinking the matter over 
and deciding that I might, between foxes, weasels and bipeds, lose that set also, 
I took both the bird and the eggs (now five) from the nest, which was now 
nearly dry. 
In preparing the skin of the bird that evening, we carefully examined the 
Fig. 75. Eggs of White-tailed Ptarmigan, the five spotted ones 
TAKEN FROM THE NEST, THE UNMARKED ONE FROM THE OVIDUCT OF THE 
IiIRD CAPTURED ON THE NEST. 
ovary and oviduct which contained six eggs ranging from the size of a bean to 
practically a full sized egg. 
The measurements in inches of the five eggs taken from the nest were : 
1.73x1.15, 1.72x1.15, 1.72x1.13, 1.75x1.13, 1.72x1.15. 
The measurements of the egg taken from the oviduct were slightly less, 
being 1.70x1.10, with no perceptible difference in thickness or firmness of shell; 
but what impressed me as unusual was the fact that this egg was pure white, 
with no indication of any markings whatever, whereas the five eggs taken from 
the nest, notwithstanding the fact that much of the time they had been partly 
immersed in water, some of them for nearly a week, were all uniformly and nor- 
