Lagopus lagopus
The Willow Ptarmigan is the largest North American ptarmigan. It is the same species that is called the Red Grouse in Great Britain, where it does not have a white winter molt. In North America, however, the Willow Ptarmigan molts three times a year, like the other ptarmigans, matching the seasonal changes in habitat. They are dark reddish brown and mottled in summer, more finely mottled in early fall and completely white in winter (except for the black tail feathers). All ptarmigans have red eye combs that can be inflated for courtship and aggression displays.
|
I.D.: Year-round: black outer tail feathers; short, rounded wings; black bill. Summer male: chestnut brown head and neck; otherwise predominantly white splashed with brown on the upperparts. Summer female: mottled brown overall; white belly, legs and undertail coverts. Winter: all-white, except for the black outer tail feathers. Size: L 13-14 in. (33-36 cm). Range: uncommon year-round resident in Jasper NP; accidental elsewhere in the Rockies. Habitat: open forests and shrub meadows in the upper subalpine and the alpine. Nesting: in the Arctic or in alpine tundra; in a shallow scrape lined with grass and feathers; female incubates 7 eggs for 3 weeks. Feeding: gleans vegetation and foliage for buds, flowers, leaves and small branches of willows and birch shrubs; occasionally eats some insects during summer. Voice: loud, crackling go-back go-back go-back. Similar Species: White-tailed Ptarmigan: white tail; never has a reddish head and neck. Spruce Grouse: female is larger and has an all-dark tail with a terminal band. |
