PTARMIGAN 
157 
there need be no mistaking this group. In midsummer the toes in moult may seem bare, 
but the worn feathers remaining and the incoming pin feathers always show that this is 
but an intermediate condition. Under certain conditions the nails, and to some extent the 
bill, overgrow in a remarkable manner. 
Ptarmigan are circumpolar and like many other Arctic forms they 
extend southward along the mountain tops where high elevation carries 
northern conditions into more southern latitudes. The northern individuals 
make long, seasonal migrations, walking much of the way but flying 
occasionally, and are capable, when necessary, of making passage of quite 
wide stretches of water, as between the Arctic Islands. Those of more 
southern habitat move down the mountain sides to find milder conditions. 
There are three species of ptarmigan in America, one of which, the 
White-tailed, is peculiar to the Rocky Mountain region. The Red Grouse 
of Scotland is an interesting ptarmigan that has lost its ability to turn 
white in winter. 
Our three ptarmigan have been split up into various races, but 
individual and seasonal variations are so great and the racial differences 
are so slight that none but an expert, with large experience in the group 
and ample specimens, is competent to separate many of them. 
301. Willow Ptarmigan, le lagopede des satjles. Lagopus lagopus. L, 15. 
The largest of our ptarmigan. In winter all white excepting the tail which is black (Figure 
227). A scarlet comb over the eye is prominent in spring and may persist more or less at 
other seasons. 
Figure 227 
Specific details of Willow Ptarmigan; natural size. 
The summer plumage is rarely complete and, mixed with the white of wdnter, first 
appears on the head spreading to breast. In the male, the plumage is nearly uniform 
maroon-brown to almost black on throat and breast, with barring on crown and hindneck. 
The autumn coloration of these parts is considerably lighter, no darker than rich chestnut, 
and the upper parts are markedly barred with shades of reddish ochre and dark brown, 
with comparatively little of the fine vermiculation that is such a striking feature of the 
autumn plumage of the other species. 
76916—11 
