Willow Ptarmigan

Willow Ptarmigan
Young male Alaskan Willow Ptarmigan (L. l. alascensis) in summer plumage, Denali National Park
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Subclass:	Neornithes
Infraclass:	Neognathae
Superorder:	Galloanserae
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Phasianidae
Subfamily:	Tetraoninae
Genus:	Lagopus
Species:	L. lagopus
Binomial name
Lagopus lagopus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Lagopus albus Lagopus medius Woldřich, 1893 Tetrao lagopus Linnaeus, 1758

The Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus), also known as the Willow Grouse, is a bird of the grouse subfamily. It is a sedentary species, breeding in birch and other forests and moorlands in the tundra of Scandinavia, Siberia, Alaska, northern Canada, in particular the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the state bird of Alaska.

Description

In summer male's plumage is marbled brown, with a reddish hue to the neck and breast, a black tail, and white wings and underparts. It has two inconspicuous wattles above the eyes, which become prominent in the breeding season. The female is similar, but lacks the wattles and has brown feathers strewn all over the belly. In winter, both sexes' plumages become completely white, except for the black tail.

They can be distinguished from the Rock Ptarmigan (L. muta) by habitat (L. lagopus is not found above the tree line), larger size and thicker bill; the summer plumage is browner, the winter Willow Ptarmigan's male lacks the black loral stripe. It is a little bigger than the rock ptarmigan.

The distinctive British Isles^{[citation needed]} subspecies L. l. scotica (Red Grouse) was once considered a separate true British species but is now classified as a sub-species.^[1] This moorland bird is reddish brown all over, except the white feet and is common across the north and west of Great Britain and in localised areas on Ireland..

The male's call is a loud go-back go-back.

Taxonomy and systematics

The Willow Ptarmigan's scientific name, Lagopus lagopus is derived from Ancient Greek lagos (λαγως) "hare" + pous (πους) "foot", in reference to the bird's feathered feet which allow it to negotiate frozen ground (see also Snowshoe Hare).

Depending on the author, some 10-20 subspecies of the Willow Ptarmigan are recognized. Most differ little in appearance, though as noted above, L. l. scoticus is rather distinct. Some commonly-accepted subspecies are:

• L. l. lagopus (Linnaeus, 1758) – Scandinavian Willow Ptarmigan
• L. l. scoticus (Latham, 1787) – Red Grouse
• L. l. alascensis Swarth, 1926 – Alaskan Willow Ptarmigan
• L. l. variegatus Salomonsen, 1936 – Trondheimsfjord Willow Ptarmigan

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  Adult female in summer plumage, Trollheimen (Norway)

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  Adult female in summer plumage, near Saranpaul in the northeast Urals (Beryozovsky District, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia)

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  Adult male L. l. alascensis in autumn plumage, Lake Clark National Park (Alaska, USA)

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  Adult female in winter plumage near Tromsø (Norway)

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  Willow ptarmigan chicks, Denali National Park and Preserve (Alaska, USA)

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  Adult male in summer plumage, Denali National Park and Preserve (Alaska, USA)

During the Pleistocene, the species widely occurred in continental Europe. Authors who recognize paleosubspecies have named the Pleistocene Willow Ptarmigan L. l. noaillensis (though the older name medius might be the correct one). These marginally different birds gradually changed from the earlier (Pliocene) Lagopus atavus into the present-day species. Pleistocene Willow Ptarmigan are recorded from diverse sites until the end of the Vistulian glaciation about 10,000 years ago, when the species, by then all but identical from the living birds, retreated northwards like its tundra habitat.^[2]

Behaviour

Nest in Salla (Finland).

Lagopus lagopus lagopus

L. lagopus are hardy vegetarian birds, but insects are also taken by the hatchling young.

In all other species of grouse, only the female takes responsibility for the young. However, the male Willow Ptarmigan often takes responsibility of the young also, in particular in defending them against predators. Males will attack humans to distract from their young, and have even been documented attacking a Grizzly Bear^{[citation needed]}.

Widespread and not uncommon in its remote habitat, the Willow Ptarmigan is classified as a Species of Least Concern by the IUCN.^[3] He is migratory year round. The willow ptarmigan, since it lives on the tundra, makes his nest on the ground, and he builds a new nest every year.

Footnotes

1. ^ Ridpath, S.M. & Thirgood, S.J. 1997 Birds of prey and red grouse. London: Stationery Office.
2. ^ Válóczi (1999), Boev (2002), Mlíkovský (2002), Mourer-Chauviré et al. (2005), Tomek & Bocheński (2005)
3. ^ BLI (2008)

References

• BirdLife International (BLI) (2008). Lagopus lagopus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 19 May 2008.
• Boev, Zlatozar (2002): Tetraonidae VIGORS, 1825 (Galliformes – Aves) in the Neogene-Quaternary record of Bulgaria and the origin and evolution of the family. Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia 45(Special Issue): 263-282. PDF fulltext
• Mlíkovský, Jirí (2002): Cenozoic Birds of the World (Part 1: Europe). Ninox Press, Prague. ISBN 80-901105-3-8 PDF fulltext
• Mourer-Chauviré, C.; Philippe, M.; Quinif, Y.; Chaline, J.; Debard, E.; Guérin, C. & Hugueney, M. (2003): Position of the palaeontological site Aven I des Abîmes de La Fage, at Noailles (Corrèze, France), in the European Pleistocene chronology. Boreas 32: 521–531. doi:10.1080/03009480310003405 (HTML abstract)
• Tomek, Teresa & Bocheński, Zygmunt (2005): Weichselian and Holocene bird remains from Komarowa Cave, Central Poland. Acta zoologica cracoviensia 48A(1-2): 43-65. PDF fulltext
• Válóczi, Tibor (1999): A Vaskapu-barlang (Bükk-hegység) felső pleisztocén faunájának vizsgálata [Investigation of the Upper-Pleistocene fauna of Vaskapu-Cave (Bükk-mountain)]. Folia Historico Naturalia Musei Matraensis 23: 79-96 [Hungarian with English abstract]. PDF fulltext

External links

• Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust Red Grouse Page
• RSPB Red Grouse Page
• Video clip of male Willow Ptarmigan in winter
• Stamps: Willow Ptarmigan (for Belarus, Canada, Finland, Ireland, United States) with worldwide RangeMap
• Willow Ptarmigan videos on the Internet Bird Collection
• Willow Ptarmigan photo gallery VIREO