Rock Ptarmigan Photo Gallery
Breeding male
Stocky, chickenlike grouse with a short bill and tail. Breeding males have a red eyebrow and are mottled brown with a white belly.
© Caleb Putnam / Macaulay LibraryScotland, August 15, 2018Nonbreeding male
Stocky, chickenlike grouse with a short bill and tail. Males and females are white in the winter with black outer tail feathers. Males have a more pronounced red eyebrow and a black stripe in front of the eye.
© Cameron Eckert / Macaulay LibraryYukon Territory, May 25, 2015Nonbreeding male
Found in arctic and alpine tundra even during the nonbreeding season. Males and females molt out of their muted brown plumage in summer into white plumage for the winter.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryNunavut, June 18, 1997Not all videos have soundBreeding female
Breeding females are mottled in brown and black with a small red eyebrow.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, June 06, 2012Nonbreeding adult
Males and females turn white in the winter. They have black outer tail feathers that are usually only visible in flight.
© Andrew Spencer / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, May 24, 2013Compare with Similar Species
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Species in This Family
Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies(Order: Galliformes, Family: Phasianidae)
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