208 PTARMIGAN. 
cepting its fore part and sides, which are also deep brownish 
black, with a few interrupted, narrow, irregular bars of reddish 
yellow, and a white spot on the tip, below, chiefly white ir 
summer, all white in winter; back, irregularly barred in 
summer with brownish black and reddish yellow or bluish 
grey marks, narrower in autumn, and changing to grey, then 
to white; the tips of the feathers white. 
The wings extend from the width of two feet one inch to 
two feet two; the first quill is an inch and a half shorter 
than the second, the second rather longer than the fifth, the 
third and fourth nearly equal, and the longest; greater and 
lesser wing coverts, white, some of them in summer minutely 
waved with yellow or greyish white and brownish black, the 
bars narrower in autumn, and fading into grey before the 
white; primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, white, the shafts 
black, some of the first-named minutely waved with yellow 
or greyish white and brownish black, the bars narrowing in 
autumn. The tail, of eighteen feathers, in summer has the 
two middle feathers barred minutely with yellow or greyish 
yellow and brownish black, more narrowly in autumn, the 
rest brownish black, the two middle ones white towards 
winter; the two middle tail feathers are very long; under 
tail coverts, white. The legs, white, feathered, as are the 
toes on their upper parts and sides, but the soles bare; the 
first toe is very short and elevated, the third much longer 
than the second, which is of about the same length as the 
fourth; the front toes are webbed at the base, and have three 
terminal scales; the hind toe has two series of scales: their 
shape well fits them for scratching in the snow. The claws 
- are rather long, and arched, the hind one the most so, but 
smaller, brownish black, pale towards the end. 
The female, in the white plumage of winter, is sometimes 
most delicately tinged with faint rose-colour. Length, one 
foot two inches and a half to one foot two and three quarters; 
bill, black; the membrane over the eye pale red, and there 
are no black feathers before and behind it. The wings are 
in extent from one foot eleven inches to two feet or two feet 
one; primaries, with their shafts brown. The tail, black towards 
the end for two thirds of its length, but the tip white; the 
two middle feathers white, or in some minutely waved and 
dotted with grey and reddish brown, and in summer barred 
with yellow and black. The winter plumage continues white 
