Rock Ptarmigan
| Class: Aves: Birds |
Diet: Leaves |
| Order:
Galliformes: Gamebirds |
| Size: 33
- 39 cm (13 - 15 1/2 in) |
| Family: Tetraonianae:
Grouse |
Conservation Status:
Non-threatened |
| Scientific Name:
Lagopus muta |
Habitat: forest,
tundra |
| Range:
Holarctic |
 The
ground-dwelling rock ptarmigans depend on camouflage for defense, and to
achieve this in the changing background of their northerly range, they
adopt different plumages. The summer plumage is mottled to blend with the
forest, while during the winter snows ptarmigans have white plumage, only
the tail feathers remaining dark. Rock ptarmigans feed on leaves, buds,
fruits and seeds and on some insects in the summer. They are monogamous
birds; the male defends a small territory at the breeding grounds. The
female lays 6 to 9 eggs in a leaf-lined hollow on the ground and incubates
them for 24 to 26 days.ys. The cygnets must make the long migration south
when only 80 to 90 days old.
  
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