White-tailed Ptarmigan Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesWhite-tailed Ptarmigan
Breeding male
Smaller, stocky grouse with a short bill and tail. Breeding males are mottled gray and brown with a white belly and a red eyebrow (not always visible).
© Forest Botial-Jarvis / Macaulay LibraryMontana, August 10, 2020Breeding female
Smaller, stocky grouse with a short bill and tail. Females are barred in brown and black with a yellowish wash.
© Eric Ellingson / Macaulay LibraryWashington, August 09, 2019Nonbreeding adult
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryColorado, November 06, 2001Nonbreeding adult
Smaller, stocky grouse with a short bill. Males and females turn entirely while during the winter.
© Timo Mitzen / Macaulay LibraryColorado, April 08, 2015Molting adult
Smaller, stocky grouse with a short bill and tail. This individual is molting out of its breeding plumage into its winter white plumage.
© Luke Seitz / Macaulay LibraryColorado, July 06, 2014Molting adult
Heavily mottled in brown, black, and white with an almost scaly-looking head.
© Zak Pohlen / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, May 27, 2017Molting adult
Smaller, stocky grouse with a short bill and tail. This individual is molting from its all white winter plumage to its mottled breeding plumage.
© Andrew Spencer / Macaulay LibraryColorado, April 29, 2015Nonbreeding adult
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryColorado, November 06, 2001Breeding male
Smaller, stocky grouse with a short bill and tail. Breeding males are mottled gray and brown with a white belly and a red eyebrow (not always visible).
© Chris Wood / Macaulay LibraryColorado, October 01, 2015Habitat
Found in rocky areas and meadows at or above treeline.
© Chris Wood / Macaulay LibraryColorado, October 01, 2015Nonbreeding adult
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryColorado, November 06, 2001Similar SpeciesWillow Ptarmigan
Breeding male
Male Willow Ptarmigans have a cinnamon head and neck unlike the speckled brown head on White-tailed Ptarmigans.
© Mike V.A. Burrell / Macaulay LibraryOntario, June 22, 2013Similar SpeciesWillow Ptarmigan
Female
Female Willow Ptarmigan are browner overall on the breast than White-tailed Ptarmigans. In flight, Willows have black outer tail feathers that White-tailed Ptarmigans lack.
© Alex Lamoreaux / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, May 14, 2017Similar SpeciesWillow Ptarmigan
Nonbreeding adult
Nonbreeding Willow Ptarmigans have black outer tail feathers on their white tail (typically only visible in flight) that White-tailed Ptarmigans lack.
© John & Ivy Gibbons / Macaulay LibraryNewfoundland and Labrador, April 02, 2017Similar SpeciesRock Ptarmigan
Breeding Male
Rock Ptarmigan have black outer tail feathers not white like White-tailed Ptarmigans. Males have paler brown spotting on the flanks than White-tailed Ptarmigans.
© Mark Davidson / Macaulay LibraryNunavut, July 18, 2012Similar SpeciesRock Ptarmigan
Breeding female
Rock Ptarmigans are more heavily barred than White-tailed Ptarmigans and lack the yellowish speckling on the breast.
© Ian Davies / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, June 06, 2012Similar SpeciesRock Ptarmigan
Nonbreeding male
Nonbreeding males have a black line in front of the eye that White-tailed Ptarmigans lack.
© Andrew Spencer / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, May 24, 2013Similar SpeciesSpruce Grouse
Male
Males have a black breast band that White-tailed Ptarmigan lack. Spruce Grouse are found in dense spruce forests not open alpine areas like White-tailed Ptarmigan.
© Luke Seitz / Macaulay LibraryMaine, May 09, 2011Similar SpeciesSpruce Grouse
Female
Female Spruce Grouse are more heavily barred brown and white than White-tailed Ptarmigans. Found in dense spruce forests not open alpine areas.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryAlaska, May 20, 2012Compare with Similar Species
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Species in This Family
Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies(Order: Galliformes, Family: Phasianidae)
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