Ptarmigans

All 2 species of ptarmigans on WAnimals

Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

Conservation status

Where they live

Recorded in 20 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

Where to see them

Did you know…?

• It moults into wholly white plumage in winter, and its feathered feet let it walk on snow.

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• It moults three times a year instead of twice, matching the white of the snow, the mottling of the thaw and the grey of the summer rock: it is one of the most precise seasonal camouflages in the animal kingdom.

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• The Pyrenean population is a glacial relict: it was left isolated on the summits when the ice retreated and has nowhere higher to go as the climate warms.

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• The British subspecies is the only one in the world that does not turn white in winter: on islands where lasting snow is rare, white camouflage would be counterproductive.

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• Its populations fluctuate in cycles of several years driven by an intestinal nematode, a mechanism demonstrated experimentally and a classic case of population regulation by parasites.

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• The heather moors of Scotland are managed by burning them in patches to maximise grouse density for shooting, a practice that shapes the landscape of large parts of the Highlands and that generates permanent environmental controversy.

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Ecosystems