Cassell's book of birds; vol. 3

by Alfred Edmund Brehm

The PTARMIGANS (Lagopus) constitute a group of remarkable birds, characterised by their very compact body, medium-sized wings, in which the third quill is the longest, a short, slightly rounded, or straight tail, composed of eighteen feathers, and a small beak. The comparatively small feet have the tarsi and toes covered with hairy feathers. The rich plumage varies in its hues according to the season of the year; the sexes are very similar in their coloration, and the young soon acquire the same tints as their parents. The unusually large claws possessed by the members of this group are shed, like those of their congeners, when the plumage is changed. The Ptarmigans inhabit both America and the Eastern Hemisphere as far northward as vegetation extends, and have occasionally been seen even at 80° north latitude. In a southerly direction they are met with as far as the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the mountains of Central Europe.

These birds live on open ground, and feed upon twigs and leaves of shrubs, berries, grasses, and seeds; their flight is quick, strong, and prolonged. They walk and run very nimbly, and often escape from their pursuers by hiding under shrubs or among heather, when much alarmed they take wing, but even then never resort to the woods for shelter. Their eggs, which are numerous, are spotted with dark brown. The young run about as soon as they leave the egg, and follow their mother in search of food. At the approach of winter several families frequently associate together.

THE WILLOW PTARMIGAN.

The WILLOW PTARMIGAN (Lagopus albus) is about fifteen inches long and twenty-four inches and a half broad; its wing measures seven inches and a half, and the tail four inches and a quarter, the female is one inch shorter and narrower than her mate. During the winter the plumage of this beautiful bird is of a dazzling white, except the fourteen outer tail-feathers, which are black, with white roots and edges; the six largest quills have an oval brownish black streak in the outer web. As the pairing season advances, the head and nape become reddish brown, spotted and streaked with black, the feathers on the shoulders, back, and rump, and those in the centre of the tail are black, edged with white, and have lines of reddish brown or yellow over half their surface; the tail-feathers become paler and lose their light edges. The primary quills remain white as in winter, while the secondaries turn brown; the face and throat are usually of unspotted reddish brown; the head, upper breast, and thighs of a reddish hue, dotted and lined with black; the feathers of the middle part of the breast are black, spotted with reddish brown and white, and those of the belly and legs entirely white. The lower tail-covers are black, marked with reddish brown and yellow, and the corners of the mouth are decorated with white spots. The above colours often vary in their shades, and in the course of the summer become much paler. The female is always lighter in hue than her mate, and acquires her summer plumage before the male. When the feathers begin to darken, the comb on the brow becomes higher and of a reddish tint.

Many observers have assumed that there are two moulting seasons—the first, which occurs in autumn, extends to the whole of the feathers; during the second, which takes place in spring, the smaller feathers alone are changed; but the winter clothing does not immediately replace the summer dress, nor does that at once supersede the winter suit. On this account it has been supposed by some that the Ptarmigan moults four times in the year. American observers, on the contrary, think they have perceived that the smaller feathers at least are not replaced, but simply changed in colour. According to Richardson, "The second change is occasioned, not by the reproduction of feathers, but by the coloured ones becoming white, the process commencing on their tip. This alteration takes place in scattered feathers, which at the same time lengthen, and in a week or ten days the change is complete; spotted specimens undergoing the change may be distinguished from spring ones by the worn state of the tarsal feathers."

This Ptarmigan is spread throughout the northern parts of both the New and Old World, although it is not found everywhere in the same numbers. It is very plentiful in Scandinavia, and also in Finland, and Russia, and common in the eastern coasts of the latter country, and in many parts of Siberia. Radde did not meet with it about the Lake of Baikal or the Amur, and therefore concludes that it does not stay there during the summer; but he found it in Eastern Sayan, at a height of between five and six thousand feet above the sea-level, on wide plains, overgrown with birch bushes. It breeds in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains, and upon the arctic coasts; but collecting in flocks on the approach of winter, it retires southward as the severity of the weather increases. Considerable bodies, however, remain behind, even in the coldest winters. In the year 1819 its earliest appearance at Cumberland House, latitude fifty-four degrees, was in the second week in November, and it returned to the northward again before the beginning of spring.

THE WILLOW PTARMIGAN (Lagopus albus). ONE-THIRD NATURAL SIZE.

These Ptarmigans prefer the shelter of birch or willow trees, and where such abound are frequently met with in very large numbers, one pair living close to another, but each holding its own small domain (usually measuring about fifteen paces) with the utmost intrepidity against all intruders; no sooner, however, is the breeding season over than the various families unite into large flocks, and wander over the country to a considerable distance. In disposition this species is lively, and its movements generally restless and rapid, its broad, thickly-feathered feet enabling it to run with equal facility over fresh snow or unsafe moss-covered earth. Whilst in motion the head and tail are usually held down; but when the bird is quite secure from danger, the body is kept much elongated, and the head boldly raised erect. The flight is graceful and light, that of the male accompanied by a loud resonant note as he is about to descend, but the female utters no sound when on the wing. During very severe seasons, or when an enemy is at hand, the Willow Ptarmigan frequently takes refuge in the snow for warmth or shelter; and in very sharp wind, or biting frost, it is not uncommon to see a whole flock snugly buried in a snow-bed, close to each other, with only their heads protruding, to enable them to detect the first sign of danger, in evading which they exhibit a most wonderful instinct. Their food consists of leaves, buds, blossoms, berries, and various kinds of insects; grain of all kinds they also devour. The nest of this species is concealed with great skill in some retired nook, and slightly lined with grass, earth, and feathers. The small pear-shaped eggs are laid at the end of May or beginning of June; they are from twelve to sixteen in number, and have a yellowish shell, thickly covered with reddish-brown dots and streaks. No sooner are the young capable of walking than they are at once led forth to seek their food upon the neighbouring marshes and bogs, as the insects and larvæ of which such localities afford a rich supply are particularly acceptable to the delicate little family. Throughout the whole of the breeding season, many and fierce encounters take place between the male birds, and from ten o'clock in the evening till early morning their loud calls may be heard challenging each other to a trial of strength, which usually continues until the females gently warn their pugnacious partners that it is time to retire to rest.

THE ALPINE OR GREY PTARMIGAN.