172 Bird - Lore and stretched out their necks, looking after him — then I took the picture. After quenching their thirst at the tunnel the birds would start up the hill, feeding as they went and acting much like a flock of domestic fowls. They fed on grass and weed seeds, with an occa- sional fly or other insect, which the young would often chase. The picture of the two birds in winter plumage was taken in November, 1899, near the summit of Mt. Emmons, just across from Redwell Basin, where I made my summer pictures. A heavy snow had fallen in October, but after that the weather had settled and
Psii^l^'^ ' '^^r-i-idSH^BS^"' ^" r '-fftij^ -^^ .'^0s*i'^^^MKK&f^' .. -J m>*t I ^**i5**wpyi»'^— V-*- • ^^vj^^^^^lT' iij^i"*- '<-"^< -y^ ^^Ssf^^^^^^BSP .^^I^^^^H^^^C^ 1 1 PTARMIGAN IN SPRING CHANGING TO SUMMER PLUMAGE melted the snow so that it was not bad traveling ; in fact, even to the very top of the mountain there were bare spots. Here I found these two Ptarmigan, young birds, I think, as they did not appear to be quite full grown, and possibly some of those I had photographed two months before. Like the others they were tame, and I could get as close as I wished to them, the bare ground giving a contrasting background for their white winter plumage. The picture of the bird in winter plumage, on the snow, with part of a man on skis near by, was taken in the valley of East River, about four miles east of Crested Butte, in March, 1900. Here, among the willows in the river bottom, were quite a good many Ptarmigan, some of which were quite shy. Snowshoes, ten -foot Norwegians, or skis, were a
