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  Profile

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  In flight

Game Birds

White-tailed Ptarmigan

Lagopus leucura

• rare
• 55 km/h
• Least Concern

The only ptarmigan with an all-white tail in every season. Smallest grouse in North America, alpine specialist.

Population

~2 million mature individuals (dated 2003 estimate), decreasing trend

Habitat

Alpine tundra above or near the timberline — boulder fields, krummholz, snowfields, rock slides, and frost-heaved upland herbage; the only bird in North America that spends its entire life cycle at very high elevation

Fun fact

White-tailed Ptarmigans are so well adapted to cold that temperatures above 70°F (21°C) can stress them, prompting them to cool off by bathing in snow.

Range

Resident in Alaska, mountainous parts of western Canada, and the western United States south to northern New Mexico

Diet

Herbivorous and seasonal: snow buttercup leaves in spring; willow catkins, mountain avens, chickweed, other flowers/leaves, lichens and berries in summer; conifer needles, seeds, and willow/alder buds and twigs in winter

Size

0.32 m

Lifespan

15 years