Ptarmigan

Ptarmigan

Encyclopedia

Tutorials

Encyclopedia

Dictionary

Directory

Email this to a friend Ptarmigan

Ptarmigan

This article deals with the European species named "Ptarmigan" known in North America as the Rock Ptarmigan. For the Willow Ptarmigan, see Willow Grouse; see also White-tailed Ptarmigan.

The Ptarmigan, Lagopus muta^[1], is a medium-sized (31?35 cm or 12?14 inches) gamebird in the grouse family. It is known as Rock Ptarmigan, or colloquially Snow Chicken or Partridge in North America, where it is the official bird for the territory of Nunavut, Canada ^[2] and the official game bird for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.^[3] It is a widespread bird in the Arctic Cordillera.

It is a sedentary species, breeding across arctic and subarctic Eurasia and North America (including Greenland) on rocky mountainsides and tundra. There are isolated populations in the mountains of Scotland, the Pyrenees, the Alps, Bulgaria, the Urals, the Pamir Mountains, the Altay Mountains and Japan. During the last ice age, the species was far more widespread in continental Europe (Tomek & Boche?ski 2005).

The Ptarmigan is seasonally camouflaged; its feathers moult from white in winter to brown in spring or summer. Breeding males have greyish upper parts with white wings and underparts. In winter, plumage becomes completely white except for the black tail. They can be distinguished from the winter Willow Grouse (Willow Ptarmigan in North America) by habitat?Rock Ptarmigan prefer higher elevations and more barren habitat; they are also smaller in size with a more delicate bill.

The male's "song" is a loud croaking. Because of the remote habitat they inhabit they have only a few predators, such as Golden Eagles, yet they can be surprisingly tame and approachable.

Ptarmigan feed primarily on birch and willow buds and catkins when available. They will also take various seeds, leaves, flowers and berries of other plant species. Insects are also taken by the developing young.

Sexual selection in males

The male rock ptarmigan's comb has been the focus of studies regarding sexual selection.

Apart from the comb, male rock-ptarmigan has no other ornaments or displays that are typical for grouses in temperate regions. Studies on other grouses have shown that much variation in comb size and colour exist between the species ^[4] , and that the combs are used in courtship display, and aggressive interactions between males ^[5]. Many studies such as ^[6] have shown that there is a strong correlation between the comb size and the level of testosterone in males, and one report from 1981 ^[7] showed that the amount of testosterone is correlated to aggressiveness against other males.

Studies on a population of male Rock Ptarmigans in Scarpa Lake, conducted by Brodsky L.M. have shown that ^[8] during the first year, mating success among males was influenced by comb size and condition, and bigamous males had larger combs than monogamous males. However, the correlation of size disappeared after the first year, but the correlation to comb condition remained. This is consistent with another study of the same population of L.mutus that showed that mating success overall, was correlated to comb condition. Exceptions though were first-time breeders where the size of the comb influenced mating success ^[9].

Gallery

<gallery> Image:Lagopus muta (summer).jpg|Alpine Ptarmigan (Lagopus muta helvetica), summer plumage Image:Ptarmigan.jpg|Bird in winter plumage </gallery>

References

Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
(2002): The grammatical gender of avian genera. Bull. B. O. C. 122(4): 257-282.
(2005): Weichselian and Holocene bird remains from Komarowa Cave, Central Poland. Acta zoologica cracoviensia 48A(1-2): 43-65. PDF fulltext

Footnotes

↑ Etymology: The Ptarmigan's genus name, Lagopus, is derived from Ancient Greek lagos (?????), meaning "hare", + pous (????), "foot", in reference to the bird's feathered legs (see also Snowshoe Hare). The species name muta comes from New Latin and means "mute", referring to the simple croaking song of the male. It was for a long time misspelt mutus, in the erroneous belief that the ending of Lagopus denotes masculine gender. However, as the Ancient Greek term ???????? is of feminine gender, and the species name has to agree with that, the feminine muta is correct (David & Gosselin 2002).
The word ptarmigan comes from the Scottish Gaelic tàrmachan, which may be related to torm "murmur". The silent initial p was added in the 17th century through the influence of Greek, especially pteron (??????), "wing", "feather" or "pinion".
↑
↑ http://www.heritage.nf.ca/facts4.html
↑ Johnsgard, P. A. 1984. Grouse of the world. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press.
↑ Hjorth, I. 1970. Reproductive behaviour in Tetranoidae. Viltrevy, 7, 183-596.
↑ Stokkan, K. A. 1979a. Testosterone and daylength-dependent development of comb size and breeding plumage of male willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus lagopus). Auk, 96, 106-115.
↑ Wattson, A.&Parr, R.1981. Hormone implants affecting territory size and aggressive and sexual behaviour in red grouse. Ornis Scand., 12, 55-61.
↑ Brodsky, L. M. 1988. Mating tactics of male rock ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus): a consitional mating strategy. Anim Behav., 36, 335-342.
↑ Holder.K&Montgomerie.R. 1993. Context and cosequences of comb displays by male rock ptarmigan. Anim.Behav. 45, 457-470