Willow ptarmigan by the fact that it is not generally found above the tree line while the rock ptarmigan prefers more elevated, barren habitat. The summer plumage is browner and in the winter, the male willow ptarmigan lacks the rock ptarmigan's black stripe between the eyes and bill. The white-tailed ptarmigan ("Lagopus leucura") in North America is smaller, has a white tail and finely-barred greyer plumage and lives permanently above the tree line. The distinctive British Isles subspecies "L. l. scoticus" (red grouse) was once considered a separate true British species but is now classified as a sub-species. This moorland bird is
Ptarmigan (sternwheeler) surface). Captain Armstrong was able to raise "Ptarmigan" and return her to service. However "Ptarmigan" caught fire later in 1907, and her upper works were destroyed. Again, "Ptarmigan" was salvaged, her upper works were rebuilt and she was returned to service. The gasoline engine was a new development in the early 1900s. Captain Northcote Cantlie, who has gone down in history as "an eccentric Scot" purchased a gasoline-engined launch, "Gian", and placed her on the upper Columbia. Unlike Armstrong, Cantlie came from a wealthy background, drank champagne for breakfast, and kept a bagpiper as his personal attendant. Cantlie, knowing that