The rock ptarmigan (''Lagopus muta'') is a medium-sized game bird in the

grouse Grouse are a group of birds from the order (biology), order Galliformes, in the family (biology), family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the Tribe (biology), tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetr ...

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

. It is known simply as the ptarmigan in Europe. It is the official bird for the Canadian territory of

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

, where it is known as the ''aqiggiq'' (ᐊᕿᒡᒋᖅ), and the official game bird for the province of

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

. In Japan, it is known as the ''raichō'' (雷鳥), which means "thunder bird". It is the official bird of

Gifu is a Cities of Japan, city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. Durin ...

, Nagano, and Toyama Prefectures and is a protected species nationwide. Unlike many arctic bird species, ptarmigan do not gain substantial mass to hibernate over winter.

Etymology

The ptarmigan's genus name, ''

Lagopus ''Lagopus'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily commonly known as ptarmigans (). The genus contains four living species with numerous described subspecies, all living in tundra or cold upland areas. Taxonomy and etymology The genus ''L ...

'', is derived from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

''lagos'' (λαγώς ''lagṓs''), meaning "

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live Solitary animal, solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are precociality, able to fend for themselves ...

", + ''pous'' (πούς ''poús''), "foot", in reference to the bird's feathered legs. The species name, ''muta'', comes from

Neo-Latin Neo-LatinSidwell, Keith ''Classical Latin-Medieval Latin-Neo Latin'' in ; others, throughout. (also known as New Latin and Modern Latin) is the style of written Latin used in original literary, scholarly, and scientific works, first in Italy d ...

and means "mute", referring to the simple croaking song of the male. It was for a long time misspelt ''mutus'', in the erroneous belief that the ending of ''Lagopus'' denotes

masculine gender In linguistics, a grammatical gender system is a specific form of a noun class system, where nouns are assigned to gender categories that are often not related to the real-world qualities of the entities denoted by those nouns. In languages wi ...

. However, as the Ancient Greek term λαγώπους ''lagṓpous'' is of feminine gender, and the species name has to agree with that, the feminine ''muta'' is correct. The word ptarmigan comes from the Gaelic ''tarmachan'', meaning croaker. The silent initial p was added in 1684 by Robert Sibbald through the influence of

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, especially ''pteron'' (πτερόν ''pterón''), "wing", "feather", or "pinion".

Description

The rock ptarmigan is long with an tail and with a wingspan of and a weight of . It is smaller than the

willow ptarmigan The willow ptarmigan ( ); ''Lagopus lagopus'') or willow grouse is a bird in the grouse subfamily Tetraoninae of the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is also known colloquially as awebo bird. The willow ptarmigan breeds in birch and other forests ...

by about ten percent. The rock ptarmigan is seasonally

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

d; its

feather Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and an exa ...

s moult from white in winter to brown in spring or summer. The breeding male has greyish upper parts with white wings and under parts. In winter, its plumage becomes completely white except for the black outer tail feathers and eye line. It can be distinguished from the winter

by habitat; the rock ptarmigan prefers higher elevations and more barren habitat. It also differs in its slender bill; males additionally have black lores, absent in the willow ptarmigan, though they are also absent in female rock ptarmigan.

Taxonomy

The rock ptarmigan has 23 recognized subspecies: * ''L. m. atkhensis'' (Turner, 1882) - Tanaga Island, Adak Island and Atka Island. (west-central of the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...

, USA) * ''L. m. dixoni'' ( Grinnell, 1909) - Glacier Bay Island and southeastern

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

* ''L. m. evermanni'' ( Elliot D.G., 1896) - Attu Island of the west

, USA) * ''L. m. gerasimovi'' (Red'kin, 2005) - Karaginskiy Island in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

* ''L. m. helvetica'' ( Thienemann, 1829) -

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

* ''L. m. hyperborea'' ( Sundevall, 1845) -

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...

(

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

) and Franz Josef Land (

) * ''L. m. islandorum'' ( Faber, 1822) -

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

* ''L. m. japonica'' ( Clark A.H., 1907) - Honshu (Japan) * ''L. m. kurilensis'' ( Kuroda, 1924) - Kuril Island (

) * ''L. m. macruros'' ( Schiøler, 1925) - northeastern

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

* ''L. m. millaisi'' ( Hartert, 1923) -

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

* ''L. m. muta'' (Montin, 1781) - northern

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

Kola Peninsula The Kola Peninsula (; ) is a peninsula in the extreme northwest of Russia, and one of the largest peninsulas of Europe. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely inside the Arctic Circle and is border ...

(

) * ''L. m. nadezdae'' ( Serebrovski, 1926) - southern

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

and northern

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

* ''L. m. nelsoni'' ( Stejneger, 1884) - Unimak and Unalaska Island (eastern

, USA) and southern

* ''L. m. pleskei'' ( Serebrovski, 1926) - northern

* ''L. m. pyrenaica'' ( Hartert, 1921) - central and eastern

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

(

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

) * ''L. m. reinhardi'' ( Brehm C.L., 1824) - southern

* ''L. m. ridgwayi'' ( Stejneger 1884) - Commander Island (

) * ''L. m. rupestris'' ( Gmelin J.F., 1789) - northern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

* ''L. m. saturata'' ( Salomonsen, 1950) - northwestern

* ''L. m. townsendi'' ( Elliot D.G., 1896) - Kiska Island, Amchitka, Little Sitkin and Rat Island (western

, USA) * ''L. m. welchi'' ( Brewster, 1885) -

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

(

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

) * ''L. m. yunaskensis'' ( Gabrielson & Lincoln, 1951) - Yunaska Island (central

, USA)

Sounds and displays

Male rock ptarmigans emit a repertoire of guttural snores and rattles, most often directed to other males during breeding season. On open leks, single or multiple males also carry out displays on the ground and in the air to assert their territory, including chasing other males while flying. Aerial courtship rituals involve fast forward flight with rapidly-beating wings followed by an upward glide, tail fanned out. The male, at the peak of the display, belts out a rasping "''ah-AAH-ah-AAAAH-a-a-a-a-a-a!''", with the sung latter part coinciding with a gliding descent afterwards. The sound is often described as that of a stick being pulled rapidly across the slats of a picket fence. On the ground, male ptarmigans defend their space by calling and giving chase to other males. Physical conflicts between territorial males rarely occur, while confrontations between the former toward subordinate males are intensified. Other signals via fanning their tails, extended necks, lowered wings and circling a receptive female are also utilized.

Distribution and habitat

The rock ptarmigan is a sedentary species which breeds across

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

and

Subarctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of hemiboreal regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Fennoscandia, Northwestern Russia, Siberia, and the Cair ...

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

and

(including

) on rocky

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

sides and

tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

. It is widespread in the Arctic Cordillera and is found in isolated populations in the mountains of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, the

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, the

Urals The Ural Mountains ( ),; , ; , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range in Eurasia that runs north–south mostly through Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural (river), Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan.

, the

Pamir Mountains The Pamir Mountains are a Mountain range, range of mountains between Central Asia and South Asia. They are located at a junction with other notable mountains, namely the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun Mountains, Kunlun, Hindu Kush and the Himalaya ...

, the

Altay Mountains The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their headwaters. The massif merges with th ...

, and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

—where it occurs only in the Japanese Alps and on

Mount Haku , or Mount Hakusan (commonly referred to as simply Hakusan), is a dormant stratovolcano in Japan. It is located on the borders of Gifu and Ishikawa, on the island of Honshu. Mount Haku is thought to have first been active 300,000 to 400,000 y ...

. Because of the remote habitat in which it lives, it has only a few predators—such as golden eagles—and it can be surprisingly approachable. It has been introduced to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

South Georgia South Georgia is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. ...

, the

Kerguelen Islands The Kerguelen Islands ( or ; in French commonly ' but officially ', ), also known as the Desolation Islands (' in French), are a group of islands in the subantarctic, sub-Antarctic region. They are among the Extremes on Earth#Remoteness, most i ...

, and the

Crozet Islands The Crozet Islands (; or, officially, ''Archipel Crozet'') are a sub-Antarctic archipelago of small islands in the southern Indian Ocean. They form one of the five administrative districts of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. History ...

. The small population living on Franz Josef Land in the Russian High Arctic overwinters during the

polar night Polar night is a phenomenon that occurs in the polar regions of Earth, northernmost and southernmost regions of Earth when the Sun remains below the horizon for more than 24 hours. This only occurs inside the polar circles. The opposite phen ...

and survives by feeding on rich vegetation on and underneath high cliffs where seabird colonies are located in summer.Dinets, V. (2001) Winter ecology of Willow Ptarmigan ''Lagopus lagopus'' and Rock Ptarmigan ''L. mutus'' at the northern limit of their range. ''Ornitologia'' 29: 326–327 (in Russian with English summary). During the last ice age, the species was far more widespread in continental

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus muta distribution in Europe map.png, Distribution in

Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus muta distribution in North America map.png, Distribution in

Ecology

Feeding

Food sources can vary tremendously depending on the region of their distribution. In Alaska, rock ptarmigans consume

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

buds, dwarf birch and

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

buds and

catkin A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster (a spike), with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind- pollinated ( anemophilous) but sometimes insect-pollinated (as in '' Salix''). It contains many, usually unisexual flowers, arra ...

s as a staple winter diet. They transition their diets over to crowberries and

lingonberry ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family, Ericaceae. It is known colloquially as the lingonberry, partridgeberry, foxberry, mountain cranberry, or cowberry. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra through ...

shrubs during the spring. The greatest variety in its diet occurs during early summer, when it feeds on

leaves, as well as the leaves and flowers of '' Dryas'' and locoweed. It also feeds on berries, bistort seeds, and

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

buds from late summer to autumn.

Insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e and

snail A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...

s are eaten by chicks.

Breeding

Apart from the red eye combs, male rock ptarmigans have no 'distinct' plumage (other than the black eye stripe) that are more typical for other grouse in temperate regions. Studies on other grouses have shown that much variation in comb size and colour exists between the species, and that the comb is used in courtship display and aggressive interactions between males. Many studies have shown that there is a strong correlation between the comb size and the level of testosterone in males; one report from 1981 showed that the amount of testosterone is correlated to aggressiveness against other males. File:Lagopus muta -Iceland-8.jpg, Male rock ptarmigan (''L. m. islandorum'') in winter plumage in

File:Lagopus muta japonica Mount Tsubakuro.jpg, Male rock ptarmigan (''L. m. japonicum'') in summer plumage on Mount Tsubakuro,

File:Ptarmigan (summer plumage) 2.jpg, Female rock ptarmigan (''L. m. millaisi'') in summer plumage near

Torridon Torridon () is a small village in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The name is also applied to the area surrounding the village, particularly the Torridon Hills, mountains to the north of Glen Torridon. The village lies on the shore of Loch ...

File:Ptarmigan (winter plumage) 3.jpg, Rock ptarmigan (''L. m. millaisi'') pair (♂ left) in winter plumage near

Glen Coe Glen Coe ( ) is a glen of glacial origins, that cuts though volcanic rocks in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. It lies in the north of the shires of Scotland, county of Argyll, close to the border with the history of local governm ...

, Scotland File:Lagopède Alpin MHNT.jpg, ''L. muta''

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

s File:Lagopus muta japonica (juvenile).JPG, Japanese rock ptarmigan chick on Mount Ontake, Japan File:Raichou 01.JPG, In the northern Japanese Alps. File:Ptarmigan Kvaløya 2.jpg, Female rock ptarmigan in summer plumage in Kvaløya,

. The male's comb has been the focus of studies regarding

sexual selection Sexual selection is a mechanism of evolution in which members of one sex mate choice, choose mates of the other sex to mating, mate with (intersexual selection), and compete with members of the same sex for access to members of the opposite sex ...

. Studies of a population of male rock ptarmigans in Scarpa Lake, Nunavut, have shown that during the first year, mating success among males was influenced by comb size and condition, and bigamous males had larger combs than monogamous males. The correlation to size disappeared after the first year, but the correlation to comb condition remained. This is consistent with another study of the same population of ''L. muta'' that showed that mating success overall is correlated to comb condition. Exceptions were first-time breeders, in which the size of the comb influenced mating success. The rock ptarmigan becomes sexually mature at six months of age and commonly has up to six chicks. Because of this high breeding rate, the size of the population is affected very little by factors such as hunting.

Ecophysiology

Energy storage and assimilation

Rock ptarmigan have a limited capacity for fat storage, which requires overwintering birds to forage frequently. Most of the minuscule mass gained over winter is to the ovary, oviduct and hypertrophy, in preparation for the spring breeding season. Rock ptarmigan maximize assimilation of nutrient poor foods with their elongated ceca. Metabolic requirements can be partially supplemented by fermentation, the energy gain from fermentation alone, however, is not independently significant. The

subspecies of rock ptarmigan is the only subspecies that exhibits a significant seasonal mass gain. Larger fat deposits can help them survive during periods of low food availability. However, this alone is not an adequate source of energy to survive during winter. Additional stored fat does not appear to increase the energetic cost in these birds' locomotion. This adaptation is key for a species that must move frequently to forage. Fat assimilation in these birds is correlated to changes in liver weight. Most rock ptarmigan have no more than 20 grams of adipose tissue year round. Without food, these reserves can supplement energy for 2 days. The Svalbard rock ptarmigan, however, gains about 100 grams of adipose tissue. This can serve as an energy source for up to 10 days of starvation. The Svalbard subspecies inhabits the northern extent of the rock ptarmigans range. During winter, food availability is lower in Svalbard than in other parts of their range, which accounts for the necessary increased fat reserves not found in other sub populations.

In culture

Rock ptarmigan meat is a popular part of festive meals in

Icelandic cuisine The cuisine of Iceland has a long history. Important parts of Iceland, Icelandic cuisine are lamb, dairy, and Fish as food, fish, the latter because Iceland has traditionally been inhabited only near its coastline. Popular foods in Iceland incl ...

. Hunting of rock ptarmigans was banned in Iceland in 2003 and 2004 due to its declining population. Hunting has been allowed again since 2005, but is restricted to selected days, which are revised yearly and all trade of rock ptarmigan is illegal. In

Thomas Bewick Thomas Bewick (c. 11 August 1753 – 8 November 1828) was an English wood engraving, wood-engraver and natural history author. Early in his career he took on all kinds of work such as engraving cutlery, making the wood blocks for advertisements, ...

's '' A History of British Birds'' (1797) the species is named as "White Grouse" with alternatives "White Game, or Ptarmigan". The birds feed, records Bewick, "on the wild productions of the hills, which sometimes give the flesh a bitter, but not unpalatable taste: it is dark coloured, and has somewhat the flavour of the hare."

Provincial bird

The rock ptarmigan is the official

territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

bird of

, Canada. Its

Inuktitut Inuktitut ( ; , Inuktitut syllabics, syllabics ), also known as Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the North American tree line, including parts of the provinces of ...

name is ''ᐊᕐᑭᒡᒋᖅ ᐊᑕᔪᓕᒃ, aqiggiq atajulik.'' It is the official game bird of

References

External links

* (worldwide); with world RangeMap
Ptarmigan videos, photos & sounds
on the Internet Bird Collection
Ptarmigan

RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

Rock Ptarmigan-''Lagopus muta'' photo gallery
VIREO * * {{Authority control Lagopus Grouse Holarctic birds Birds described in 1781 Taxa named by Lars Montin Articles containing video clips Game birds