1926] Swarth: Birds and Mammals from the Atlin Region 87

willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus albus) from the west coast of
Hudson Bay, and ten (LZ. 1. wngavus) from Fort Chimo, Ungava.
Comparison of these birds with the series in this museum convinced
me of the existence of the following recognizable subspecies of the
willow ptarmigan on the North American mainland: (1) Lagopus
lagopus ungavus from the region east of Hudson Bay, as defined by
Riley (loc. cit.) ; (2) Lagopus lagopus albus from the west shore of
Hudson Bay westward to the coast ranges of northern British
Columbia, and for an undetermined distance northward; (3) an
undescribed subspecies from the Alaskan mainland and extending for
an undetermined distance eastward in the extreme north.

‘To clear the ground for further discussion the Alaskan bird may
now be described, as follows:

Lagopus lagopus alascensis, new subspecies

Alaska Willow Ptarmigan

Type.—Male; no. 32125, Mus. Vert. Zool.; Kowak River Delta, Alaska;
June 20, 1899; collected by J. Grinnell; original no. 4031.

Distinguishing characters.—Slightly larger than albus. A large-billed race;
bill slightly smaller than in wngavus, much larger than in albus. (see fig. H).
In summer plumage, generally more reddish-colored than either wngavus or
albus, a difference that is most conspicuous in females in the barred breeding
plumage.

Range.—The Alaskan mainland except on the southeastern coast, northern
Yukon Territory (specimens from vicinity of Forty-mile), and eastward for an
undetermined distance.

Two males and one female ptarmigan at hand from the west side
of Hudson Bay, one from Fort Churchill, July 24, and two from a
point 75 miles north of York Factory, July 19, may be assumed to
represent Lagopus 1. albus (Tetrao albus Gmelin, 1788, p. 750,
described from Hudson Bay). In bill structure they are like the
British Columbia birds. In color the two males are like the British
Columbia birds, but the Hudson Bay female is more reddish as com-
pared with the gray-colored females of the latter series. Despite this
difference in the females it seems best for the present to regard all as
of the same subspecies, a small-billed southern race of the willow
ptarmigan extending from Hudson Bay westward to the coast ranges of
southeastern Alaska and northern British Columbia.