Rock ptarmigan
Lagopus mutus
Identification Tips:
- Medium-sized, stocky, round-winged, chicken-like bird
- Squarish black tail
- Small black bill
- Legs and toes feathered to tips of toes in winter, base of toes in summer
- Brown or white uppertail coverts cover center of tail
Male alternate:
- Red comb over eye
- White wings and leg feathering
- Body brown barred with black or white depending on molt stage
- Black tail
Female alternate:
- Brown plumage with black spotting and barring
- Black tail
Basic:
- Entirely white plumage except for black tail
- Males, and some females, have black eyeline
Similar species:
The Rock Ptarmigan can be told from all plumages of the White-tailed
Ptarmigan by its black, not white, tail. Male Willow Ptarmigans in alternate
plumage have a redder plumage while male Rock Ptarmigans in basic plumage
have distinctive black eyelines. Females are more difficult to tell apart
but the Rock Ptarmigan has somewhat finer markings and a smaller black bill.