PTARMIGAN, tiemi-gan, a grouse of the genus Lagopus, which differs from the ordinary grouse in having the legs feathered to the claws, giving somewhat the appearance of a hare's foot (whence the generic name). The trun cated tail has 14 or 16 feathers, most of the species become white in winter, and the nasal groove is densely clothed with feathers. There are six or eight species described. inhabiting the northern and snow-covered regions of both hentispheres, being one of the few genera char acteristic of the arctic fauna; they are as much at home in snow as are the web-footed birds in water, and their plumed feet enables them to run over its surface without sinking in. They live in families during most of the year, and are monogamous; the females incubate, but the males assist in rearing and feeding the young. The males have a loud harsh or sometimes clear cry, and the females cackle like a hen. They fly swiftly without a whirring noise, and run well. They feed upon berries, buds, mosses and lichens and insects. Their pursuit affords an exciting sport; they are very shy, but when started are easily shot on account of their regular flight. The summer plumage is varied with brown, black and gray, most of the wing remaining white; in the males the mottling is finer and the colors brighter. There are three well-ascertained species in America, besides several subspecies and races. The white ptar migan or willow grouse (L. lagopus) is about 16 inches long and inches in alar extent•, the bill is black, very stout and convex, and broad at the tip; the general plumage in summer is rufous or orange chestnut, on the head and neck; feathers of hack black, closely barred with yellowish brown and chestnut; most of wings and lower parts white; tail brownish black; in winter white, with black tail; no black stripe through the eye. It occurs commonly in the northern parts of America, and in rare in stances in the northern United States (Maine and Minnesota). It is found in open rocky
grounds and among dwarf willows and birches. In winter they scratch in the snow down to the mosses and lichens on which they feed, collect ing often in considerable flocks. In winter the flesh is dry, but is tender and with an agreeable aromatic flavor in summer. They breed in Labrador about the beginning of June, placing the nest under the creeping branches of low firs; the eggs are from six to 14, of a fawn color or rufous ground with irregular spots of reddish brown; only one brood is raised in a season. The rock ptarmigan (L. rupestris) is inches long; the bill is slender, rather com pressed at the tip; in summer the feathers of the back are black banded with yellowish brown and tipped with white; in winter white, with the tail black (the four middle feathers white), and the male with a black bar from the bill through the eyes. It occurs in arctic America, from Alaska to Labrador and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The white-tailed ptarmigan (L. leucurus) is found on the alpine summits of the Rocky and Cascade Mountains from New Mexico to the Artic regions. This species is entirely white in winter; and in summer the tail, wings and lower parts of the breast are white, the remainder of the plumage being a fine mixture of gray, brown and black. A fourth species (L. welchi) is attributed to New foundland. Of the Old World species the red grouse (L. scoticus) is peculiar to the British Islands and a famous game bird. Unlike the other members of the genus it does not become white in winter. A typical ptarmigan (L. alpinus) is found in northern Europe, especially in Norway. Our own willow grouse, or a closely related species, also occurs. Consul Baird, Brewer and Ridgway, 'North American Land Birds> (Boston 1874). See GROUSE.