Birds and wildlife

Ptarmigan

Lagopus mutaGroup: GrouseUK Conservation status:Red

How to identify

The Ptarmigan is a game bird, slightly larger than a Grey Partridge. In summer, it is a mixture of grey, brown and black on top with white bellies and wings. In winter, it becomes totally white, except for its tail and eye-patch, which remain black. It breeds in the highest mountains of the Highlands of Scotland on the Arctic-like landscape there. Birds are residents, rarely moving far from breeding sites. In extreme cold weather, birds may move from the highest ground to the edge of forests.

Call

Ptarmigan

Patrik Åberg / xeno-canto

Key

  1. Resident
  2. Passage
  3. Summer
  4. Winter
* This map is intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

Key facts