Ptarmigans

Birds of North America

Phasianidae

Lives, Habitats & Pictures of the Ptarmigans

There are three types of ptarmigans found in North America. The Willow Ptarmigan and the Rock Ptarmigan cover all the northern ranges of Canada and Alaska. The White-tailed Ptarmigan lives only in the Rocky Mountains.

Ptarmigans live in the land of snow, preferring tundras and tops of tall mountains for their habitat, where they live above the tree lines in the warmer months and move into the tree lines in the colder months. Having the same characteristics as other arctic animals, changing the colour of their plumage from darker colours to white plumage in the winter months to blend in better with the surrounding snow and protect themselves from being noticed easily by predators. These hardy birds will bury themselves in the powdered snow, using this as a means of insulation, and keeping warm in the extreme colds.

Click on the bird names listed below to see pictures of Ptarmigans