Willow Ptarmigan Sounds

Overview
ID info
Life History
Maps
Sounds

Song
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Alaska, June 11, 2019Recorded by Mark Robbins / Macaulay Library
Song
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Alaska, May 24, 2013Recorded by Andrew Spencer / Macaulay Library
Song
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Alaska, June 28, 2019Recorded by Tom Johnson / Macaulay Library
Calls
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Alaska, June 14, 2015Recorded by Bob McGuire / Macaulay Library
Calls
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Alaska, June 14, 2015Recorded by Bob McGuire / Macaulay Library
Calls
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Manitoba, June 11, 1954Recorded by Peter Paul Kellogg / Macaulay Library
Juvenile calls
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Alaska, June 30, 2010Recorded by Matthew D. Medler / Macaulay Library

Sounds provided by Macaulay Library.
Listen to more sounds of this species from the ML archive.

Songs

Males are highly vocal during courtship and territorial defense, when they often deliver what some refer to as “flight song,” a rollicking, guttural series of clucks.

Calls

Willow Ptarmigan are very vocal during the nesting season and have a remarkable repertoire of call types, many of which sound comical, even humanlike. Both male and female produce a series of nasal clucks and growls in many contexts, ranging from contact with mates, conflict with rivals, or the presence of predators. Still other calls sound like a scream, hiss, purr, or peep.