Ptarmigan are familiar birds around Yellowknife. Some years it seems like they are everywhere and other years they can be difficult to spot. The ptarmigan population fluctuates in cycles much like the hare. This will be my 9th winter in Yellowknife and there hasn’t been a year yet where I haven’t seen these chubby birds waddling around town.
Ptarmigan are members of the grouse family but unlike most other birds, ptarmigan moult three times a year where most other birds moult twice. There are 3 species of ptarmigan in Canada: Willow, rock, and white-tailed. We have all 3 species in the NWT however white-tailed ptarmigan inhabit mountainous regions so are more prevalent in the western portions of the NWT; the eastern most area of their range. You’re more likely to see white-tailed in the Yukon, British Columbia, and southern portions of Alaska.
The Willow Ptarmigan is the largest of the species and can weigh up to 800 grams or roughly one pound. They are round in shape and have short legs and feather-covered feet with long sharp toenails which act like snowshoes and crampons to help them cross snow and ice-covered surfaces. Their feathers are a dull white that blends perfectly with the snow which helps keep them camouflaged from potential predators.
Male ptarmigan have red “eyebrows” or combs which they can fill with blood and expand during mating season. Male willow ptarmigan are unusual in the fact that they stick around to help raise their chicks unlike other males in the grouse family. A male will guard his hen and their young against predators such as gulls, foxes, weasels, owls and hawks. Cocks will confront humans if they attempt to steal their chicks, and there is even record of a male attacking a curious brown bear!
One of my favourite interesting facts about ptarmigan is that they like to sleep under the snow. To keep predators from finding their sleeping quarters, ptarmigan will often fly straight into a snowbank in order to avoid leaving tracks that a predator might follow.
I have yet to photograph a summer ptarmigan or a ptarmigan chick but it’s good to have goals!