CA White-tailed Ptarmigan Hunting Guide

Also known as: Ptarmigan, Snow grouse, White grouse

The white-tailed ptarmigan, also known as the snow quail, is the smallest bird in the grouse tribe. It is a permanent resident of high altitudes on or above the tree line and is native to Alaska and the mountainous parts of Canada and the western United States. Its plumage is cryptic and varies at different times of the year. In the summer it is speckled in gray, brown and white whereas in winter it is wholly white. At all times of year the wings, belly and tail are white. The white-tailed ptarmigan has a diet of buds, leaves, flowers and seeds. The nest is a simple depression in the ground in which up to eight eggs are laid. After hatching, the chicks soon leave the nest. At first they eat insects but later move on to an adult diet, their mother using vocalisations to help them find suitable plant food. The population seems to be stable and the IUCN lists this species as being of Least Concern.

Habitat & Range

The white-tailed ptarmigan is analpinespecies, a permanent resident of the high mountains above or near thetimber line. It occupies open country and flies a great deal more than forest grouse, but still prefers running to flying. It ranges fromAlaskaand westernCanadasouth to northernNew Mexico. Males return from their wintering areas to establish territories onspruce-willowtimber line breeding grounds in April. Females arrive in early May and pairs are formed.[14] The white-tailed ptarmigan is the only bird in North America to reside permanently in the alpine zone.[10]Its habitat includes areas of boulders,krummholz, snowfields, rock slides, frost-heaved soil and upland herbage.[10][11]Even in winter it stays in high valleys and mountain slopes where alder, willow, birch and spruce poke through the snow cover.[11] The white-tailed ptarmigan was introduced into theSierra NevadaofCaliforniaandUinta MountainsofUtahin the 1970s. It may have been native here during the earlyPleistocenebut became locally extinct due to climate changes with greater snow-cover in spring impacting on its breeding season. Alternatively, it may have been unable to colonize the Sierra Nevada because of the barriers provided by theColumbia Riverand theGreat Basin, and the low altitudes of the interveningSouth Cascades.[15] The white-tailed ptarmigan was first introduced intoOregon'sWallowa Mountainswith 36 birds taken from Colorado and Washington in September 1967. A second set of 54 birds was released in September 1968 that were supplied from Colorado and British Columbia.[16]Although a few of the birds were observed in the spring and summer of 1969 the effort to establish a population in Oregon was ultimately unsuccessful.[17]

Life History

Tetrao (Lagopus) leucurusRichardson, 1831; Lagopus leucurus(lapsus, see below) Thewhite-tailed ptarmigan(Lagopus leucura), also known as thesnow quail, is the smallestbirdin thegrousetribe. It is a permanent resident of high altitudes on or above thetree lineand is native toAlaskaand the mountainous parts ofCanadaand the westernUnited States. Its plumage iscrypticand varies at different times of the year. In the summer it is speckled in gray, brown and white whereas in winter it is wholly white. At all times of year the wings, belly and tail are white. The white-tailed ptarmigan has a diet of buds, leaves, flowers and seeds. The nest is a simple depression in the ground in which up to eight eggs are laid. After hatching, the chicks soon leave the nest. At first they eat insects but later move on to an adult diet, their mother using vocalisations to help them find suitable plant food. The population seems to be stable and the IUCN lists this species as being ofLeast Concern. The white-tailed ptarmigan is the smallest of the ptarmigans and the smallest bird in the grouse tribe. It is a stocky bird with rounded wings, square-ended tail, small black beak and short legs with feathering extending to the toes.[7]Adults are 31 to 34 centimetres (12 to 13 in) long, with the males being only slightly larger than the females. The average weight is 325 grams (11.5 oz).[8][9]During the summer, the white-tailed ptarmigan is a speckled grayish brown with white underparts, tail and wings. In the fall, the plumage has turned a much more reddish-brown color and white feathers begin to grow through. By winter all the summer brown feathers are lost and the bird is completely white. A furthermoltin the spring precedes the breeding season and the bird returns to its summer plumage.[5][10]The finely barred greyish coloration on the back makes it easy to distinguish this species from the much brownerwillow ptarmiganandrock ptarmigan.[11]Both sexes maintain white tail and wing feathers all the year and males can be identified by their reddisheyecombs(fleshy growths above the eye), also present year-long.[10][12]In general this bird is silent but it sometimes makes quiet, low-pitched hoots and soft clucking noises.[13] This herbivorous bird's diet varies seasonally. Nitrogen-richsnow buttercupleaves are favored in the spring season, whilewillowcatkins,mountain avensflowers, andchickweedblooms, other flowers and leaves, lichens and berries form the majority of the ptarmigan's diet in the summer.[5][18]Once fall and winter arrive in the region, the ptarmigan feeds onpineneedles,seeds, willow andalderbuds and twigs.[5]Winter food sources have a much highercellulosecontent than does summer forage, so the ptarmigan relies on bacteria-aided digestion in thececumto extract essential nutrients.[18]During the summer, the ptarmigan eatsgritto assist in digesting plant material.[19]

Hunting Season

General & Archery: Sep 12 - Sep 20.

References

• California — White-tailed Ptarmigan