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216 THE CONDOR Vol. XVII urally first directed our search to the sloping hillsides from which the snow had vanished. The ground here was comparatively dry and well covered in places ?vith large and small boulders, and with better grass and vegetable covering for nest sites. The first day we saw seven ptarmigan, three pairs and a single cock. We searched diligently for their nests until about three ?. M., when we repaired to a large pile of jagged rocks and boulders standing out in the open ground, altitude about 11,700 feet (see fig. 71), where on two previous occasions my assistants had seen a pair of Brown-capped Rosy Finches (Leucosticte australis) and had spent an hour or two each time in unsuccessful waiting, watching and searching for their nest. Finding the male bird present and the female shortly appearing, I decided to make another thorough search, which we did, scattering Fig. 72. MALE WHITE-TAILED PTARMIOAN PHOTOGRAPHED NEAR THE NEST, JUNE 21, 1915. our forces systematically, and as thoroughly as possible investigating the open- ings, with flash-lights and otherwise, for a couple of hours, but with no better results. On our arrival there we noticed a pair of ptarmigan not over forty to fifty yards from us in the open, paddling around in the wet sloppy grass and water, and I told my associates to keep an occasional eye on them while we completed our leucosticte search. This being finished we turned our attention to the ptarmigan, which had not moved over fifty feet during the two hours, but only the cock was in sight. We all scattered out in search for the hen, devoting our attention mostly to the adjacent comparatively dry spots. We knew she had not flown and yet we were unable to locate her. This was aggravating, and we