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Rock Ptarmigan

Lagopus mutaOrder: GALLIFORMES Family: Turkeys and Grouse (Phasianidae)
Codes: Common Name: ROPT Scientific Name: LAGMUT ITIS Taxonomic No.: 677542
Least Concern
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Rock Ptarmigan: The summer Rock Ptarmigan is brown mottled overall with white wings, feet, and throat.
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Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips
Jelly Jar Jelly Feeder
The orange "blossum" replaces the lid of a jelly jar.
Attract Orioles with Fruit
Sliced orange secures easily to the center of the ring. Low cost.
Attract with Nectar
Hex shaped nectar feeds several Orioles. Nectar kept in fridge.
Charm and Attraction
Lovely copper umbrella keeps fruit cool and looks great.

Overview

Rock Ptarmigan: Small grouse with black, brown, and buff mottled upperparts, white underparts with variable dark mottling, and white wings. Head shows a dark eyestripe. Red combs over the eyes can be retracted or exposed. It has feathers on legs and toes to help it walk in the snow and stay warm.


Range and Habitat

Rock Ptarmigan: Tundra species of barren rocky land. Found from western Aleutians, throughout Alaska, northern Canada, Arctic, into Greenland.

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Topo Map: Perching-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

"ah AAH ah AAAAH a a a a "

Interesting Facts

 The Rock Ptarmigan is also known as Snow Chicken, and is the official bird for the territory of Nunavut, Canada.

 Many studies have shown that there is a strong correlation between the comb size and the level of testosterone in males.

 In the mountains of Honshu, Japan, the Ptarmigan is called raichou (literally "thunder bird") and according to legend protects people and buildings from fire and thunder.

 A group of ptarmigan have many collective nouns, including a "congregation", "covey", and "invisibleness" of ptarmigan.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Ashli Maruster

Artist

Irina Rud-Volga

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Range Map for Rock Ptarmigan

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Family Grouse (Phasianidae)_blue
Species Lagopus muta
Length13 - 14 Inches
Wingspan23 Inches

Rock Ptarmigan

Rock Ptarmigan: Small grouse with black, brown, and buff mottled upperparts, white underparts with variable dark mottling, and white wings. Head shows a dark eyestripe. Red combs over the eyes can be retracted or exposed. It has feathers on legs and toes to help it walk in the snow and stay warm.

● Song: "ah AAH ah AAAAH a a a a "

● Foraging & Feeding: Rock Ptarmigan: Pecks and tears at vegetation. Consumes leaves, catkins, seeds, flowers, and buds of a wide variety of Arctic plants. Chicks feed on more berries and insect larvae than adults.

● Breeding & nesting: Rock Ptarmigan: Monogamous and solitary. Both sexes create scape nest in depression often near boulder. Female lines nest with moss, lichens, grass, and breast feathers. Six to thirteen brown and black marked, buff to light brown eggs are laid. Female incubates eggs for 20 to 26 days.

● Similar species: Rock Ptarmigan: Willow Ptarmigan is larger and has rust-brown plumage. Male has a larger bill. White-tailed Ptarmigan is smaller, has a white tail, and is found in the western range.

Flight Pattern

Flap and glide flight with rapid wing beats.
Rock Ptarmigan Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Rock Ptarmigan: Tundra species of barren rocky land. Found from western Aleutians, throughout Alaska, northern Canada, Arctic, into Greenland.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
Population
MigrationNorthern birds migrate
Weight14.9 Ounces
Perching-like BodyX
UnderpartsX
Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
CombX
Only found in male birds and consists of a colored area over the eye. A well developed comb can also signal (sexual) health to a potential mate.

4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX