Willow Ptarmigan

Willow Ptarmigan male after its spring molt before he acquires the all-brown plumage during his summer molt after courtship.

NPS/Jared Hughey

 

Lagopus lagopus
Family: Phasianidae

This is a northern bird in the purest sense, a denizen of Arctic and alpine tundra during the summer, moving south to the forest only for winter. In their pure white winter plumage (they are brown in summer), ptarmigan stand out sharply on bare branches and against deep blue sky; and their low croaking (from which their onomatopoetic Koyukon name, dilbagga, derives) also helps to give them away. But when they land on the snow they mysteriously vanish. – Richard Nelson, Make Prayers to the Raven

The Willow Ptarmigan, the Alaska State Bird, is the largest and most numerous of North America's three species of ptarmigan. They are well-suited for life in the Arctic with feet that are feathered to the toenails, a tendency to spend most of a cold winter day in a snow burrow, and an annual replacement of feathers that keeps them in cryptic plumage year-round (white in the winter and brown in the summer). Willow Ptarmigan are considered architects of the tundra because they intensely browse willow shrubs in ways that influence the plant’s growth and reproduction. Clucking and calling ptarmigan are sure to get your attention but finding this cleverly camouflaged bird, if it is still and quiet, can be tricky.

 

Species Profile

Breeding Habitat: Nests are on the ground and often concealed from sides and overhead by tussocks, shrubs, herbs, overhead cover, usually a shrub. The female scrapes out bowl-shaped cavity on the ground and lines the nest with dried grass, leaves, moss, and feathers.

Where to find in the park: Found virtually anywhere in Gates of the Arctic. In the winter, often found where there are willows.

Migration: A year-round resident that moves 30-50 km and up to 160 km between summer and winter ranges. Thousands of birds are known to migrate through Anaktuvuk Pass in the Brook Range. Simon Paneak witnessed a record 10,000 birds migrating through Anaktuvuk Pass in the Brooks Range on a single day in April in the mid-1960s, with several thousand noted as moving daily in spring and fall.

Behavior: Generally, walks and occasionally runs. Frolics when in flock or family group. Crouches with head low and extended forward, combs partly erect; may tilt bill up and wag head. Then jumps around erratically, flapping wings, or jerking one wing, then the other. Ptarmigan calls are unmistakable—whek!..whek-kekekrrrrekek-kek...koh-wa..koh-wa..koh-wa.

Interesting Fact: Spends up to 80% of time in the winter in snow burrows. If snow is deep and temperatures low, digs snow burrow at dusk for overnight use and digs into snow until beneath surface.

Conservation and Management: Not globally threatened and of low conservation concern. Widespread and common to abundant throughout most of very extensive range. Only management activity is setting of hunting seasons and bag limits.
 

 

Media

Audio

More Information

Willow Ptarmigan Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

References

Christie, K. S., Bryant, J. P., Gough, L., Ravolainen, V. T., Ruess, R. W., & Tape, K. D. (2015). The role of vertebrate herbivores in regulating shrub expansion in the Arctic: a synthesis. BioScience, 65(12), 1123-1133.

Hannon, S. J., P. K. Eason, and K. Martin (2020). Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi-org.arlis.idm.oclc.org/10.2173/bow.wilpta.01

Nelson, R. K. (1983). Make prayers to the raven: A Koyukon view of the northern forest. University of Chicago Press.

 

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