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White-tailed Ptarmigan

Lagopus leucura ORDER: GALLIFORMES FAMILY: PHASIANIDAE

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

The smallest grouse in North America, the White-tailed Ptarmigan inhabits alpine regions from Alaska to New Mexico. It has numerous adaptations to its severe habitat, including feathered toes, highly cryptic plumage, and an energy-conserving daily regime.

Calls

  • Calls
     
    Recorded by William W. H. Gunn
    • Courtesy of Macaulay Library
    © Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Clucks at various rates. In breeding season, males issue clucks, chatters, and loud cries in flight and on the ground.

Search the Macaulay Library online archive for more sounds and videos
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bird image Blue-winged Warbler by Brian Sullivan

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