482 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Spring shooting is bad enough in the States, but in Alaska it is much 
worse, for every migrating bird has already escaped a multitude of 
previous dangers and, as it is just about to breed, is equivalent to at 
least four or five in the fall. 
The gallinaceous game birds of Alaska consist of several varieties 
of ptarmigan and five species of grouse. The ptarmigan inhabit all 
the higher mountain tops of the coast and interior and the tundras 
of the Bering Sea and Arctic coast, including all the Aleutian 
Islands. Three principal varieties are permanent inhabitants of the 
Territory, the willow ptarmigan ( Lagopus lagopus ), the rock ptar¬ 
migan ( L . rupestris) , and the white-tailed ptarmigan (L. leucurus). 
They gather in immense flocks in the fall, frequenting low willow 
scrub, open tundras, and treeless mountain tops. Their flesh is 
relished in the north country, but is excelled by that of many other 
birds. The most common grouse is the Alaska spruce grouse ( Cana - 
chites canadensis osgoodi) , generally distributed in the interior and 
reaching the coast in the vicinity of Cook Inlet. It does not fly well 
and is usually killed with a small rifle while perched in a tree. Its 
flesh is fairly good at certain seasons and often finds its way to the 
prospector’s frying pan. The gray ruffed grouse ( Bonasa umbellus 
umbelloides) also inhabits most of the wooded interior and is no less 
a delight to the sportsman and epicure than its well-known eastern 
relatives. The sooty grouse ( Dendragapus obscurus fidiginosus) is 
fairly common along the Pacific coast from British Columbia to Cook 
Inlet. It inhabits heavy forest and, like the spruce grouse, is usually 
hunted with a small rifle. Two other grouse are rare and seldom 
seen, the Columbian sharp-tailed grouse ( Pedioecetes phasianellus 
columbianus) , of limited distribution in the interior, and the Franklin 
grouse ( Canachites franklini ), recorded once from southeastern 
Alaska. 
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