90 University of California Publications in Zoology [Vou. 30

with a pair of breeding birds from Porcher Island (coll. Allan Brooks),
still farther south, are distinctly darker colored than skins from the
more northern Chichagof and Baranof islands and Glacier Bay. There
are, however, some southern skins that are indistinguishable from
northern ones.

On May 21 we traveled from Skagway to Carcross on the White
Pass Railroad. Soon after passing the summit we began to see ptar-
migan, and for an hour or more they were frequently in sight from
the train, sometimes but a few yards from the track. The ground was
still largely snow covered, though the snow was melting, and small
ponds were partly free of ice. The male ptarmigan seen were with
brown head and neck, the body plumage all white, and they were con-
spicuous objects. Courting was in progress and the cock birds, stand-
ing erect on projecting boulders or strutting with spread tail and
lowered wings over some limited stretch of open ground, caught the
eye from a long distance. A soaring Buteo flying alongside the train
started birds in flight from several points.

On June 30 we found willow ptarmigan in fair abundance at the
head of Cafion Creek (about 3000 feet altitude), near Atlin. They
were in pairs, spaced at intervals through the low willow brush, and,
from the broods seen, eggs must have hatched during several days
immediately preceding. One nest was found, containing six eggs
nearly ready to hatch. It was on a bare dry hillside, placed between
two fallen saplings, just at the edge of some burnt spruce woods. Fire
had passed through here years before, killing the timber, though most
of the dead trees remained standing, and the ground beneath was
barren of any vegetation. The nest itself was a shallow depression,
scantily lined with a few bits of dry grass and weedstalks. The hen
was sitting on the eggs and the cock bird was on guard nearby.

In this case, as in others, the devotion of the male willow ptarmigan
was most apparent, and in striking contrast to the irresponsibility of
the males of the other species of grouse of the region. Broods of
young willow ptarmigan were invariably attended by both parent
birds. It seemed evident that the large winter flocks of ptarmigan
were formed by the junction of many families which had remained
together, male, female, and young, since the eggs were hatched. It
was very rarely that a solitary willow ptarmigan was flushed.

At the head of Otter Creek, July 26 to August 9, willow ptarmigan,
though not abundant, were frequently encountered. Young birds
were then about half grown, and in juvenal plumage throughout. The