Rock Ptarmigan

Lagopus muta (Montin, 1781)

≈35 cmLength57 cmWingspan535 gWeight

This ptarmigan changes plumage with the seasons, from snow-white in winter to gray-brown in summer.

Busiest months: May · Most records: Iceland, Svalbard & Jan Mayen, Canada

Looks like Willow Ptarmigan

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Winter plumage white overall, with black outer tail feathers and eyeline
Male has gray upperparts and white wings and underparts in the breeding season
Bill finer than that of Willow Ptarmigan
Male has black lores

Male, female and young

Male has black lores; female lacks them.

Voice

Harsh “kuh, kuh, kwa-kwa-kwa”; male also gives a forceful “awebo, awebo”.

Similar species

Willow Ptarmigan

Rock Ptarmigan has a finer bill, and the male has black lores; habitat also helps in winter, as Rock Ptarmigan lives at higher elevations in more barren terrain.

Where and when it's recorded

Rock Ptarmigan has been recorded at 51 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 11 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

KaldbakstjarnirIceland2,098 records
Tjörnes – Héðinshöfði-EyvíkIceland168 records
LongyearbyenSvalbard & Jan Mayen129 records

More places

Þingvellir N.P.Iceland99 records
Mývatn & LaxáIceland97 records
VíkingavatnIceland72 records
Blomstrandhalvøya – PeirsonhamnaSvalbard & Jan Mayen36 records
ChurchillCanada32 records
Mývatn – StakhólstjörnIceland27 records
Húsavík – skrúðgarðurIceland27 records

Countries and regions with the most records

Iceland Svalbard & Jan Mayen Canada China Mongolia Greenland Norway Russia

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) is a medium-sized game bird in the grouse tribe. It is known simply as the ptarmigan in Europe. It is the official bird for the Canadian territory of Nunavut, where it is known as the aqiggiq (ᐊᕿᒡᒋᖅ), and the official game bird for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia