PTARMIGAN. 205. 
In winter the Ptarmigan descends somewhat lower, but 
seldom ventures into the plain. He seems to revel in the 
falling snow, burrows a chilly bed in it, wherein he hes or 
plumes himself, runs gaily over its crystal surface, or, perched 
on the tallest rock, turns his stainless breast towards the 
drift, and challenges its whiteness with his own. The driving 
sleet he willingly welcomes, heedless of the cold; it would 
seem as if his winter dress, put on together with the snowy 
mantle that covers the face of the earth around him, gave 
him a similar protection from the frost; and when the summer 
comes again, he too changes his garb, and once more is in 
uniform with the grey rocks, the companions whom he loves, 
and never leaves. 
If a person comes in sight, they remain motionless, and 
often lie very close till they are approached within a few 
yards; otherwise some sentinel, perched on the top of a stone, 
gives the alarm and flies away, followed by the rest of the 
flock, who rise up all around. They gather into large flocks 
even by the end of July, and separate again and pair early 
in the spring; then the pairs, and in due time their broods, 
almost the sole occupants of the mountain tops, blend the 
grey colours of their plumage with those of the moss-covered 
rocks, to which nature has well and wisely adapted them. 
At this season they are tame, and only run away before 
an intruder, uttering their low wild cry. ‘In this way they 
will often reach the opposite edge of the rock, and will, as 
it were, drop off; but the expectation of finding them on 
some lower ledge will be disappointed, for they have, perhaps, 
by that time sought for and reached the opposite side of the 
mountain, by a low wheeling flight, as noiseless as the solitudes 
by which they are surrounded.’ Like so many other birds, 
these too flutter off in well-simulated disablement to draw 
away attention from their’young. These latter, as soon as 
able to fly, seem instinctively aware of the protection afforded 
to them by the resemblance of their plumage to the grey 
lichen-covered rocks and stones, and will lie motionless, like 
stones, in another sense also of the word, almost close to your 
feet. In very bright weather they avoid the glare of the sun 
on the snow, and seek the shady side of the mountain. 
Ptarmigans are good eating, and therefore in request for 
the table. They acquire a somewhat bitter taste. ‘In the 
year 1839, one dealer alone shipped six thousand for London, 
two thousand for Hull, and two thousand for Liverpool; 
