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Wilderness Canoe Tripping
Rock Ptarmigan Image
A female rock ptarmigan John saw along the edge of the lake. There are also willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) around, and in fact, John was calling all the ptarmigan we saw willow. According to my guidebook, the National Geographic Society's "Field Guide to the Birds of North America," the willow ptarmigan are usually a bit more reddish in color than the rock ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus), and the females don't have the little patch of red above the eye. This one has the red patch, so I'm calling it a rock ptarmigan. Feel free to correct me. The willow ptarmigan frequent the wetter, swampier, brushier areas, whereas the rock ptarmigan prefer the drier, rockier slopes. Maybe this one just needed a drink? Ptarmigan have feathered legs, and are the only birds with feathered feet (in NA?). This is thought to increase insulation as most ptarmigan are year around arctic dwellers. The feathered feet certainly do help the birds walking in soft snow. According to "The Birder's Handbook" (Paul Ehrlich, et. al.), the feathers increase the foot's bearing surface by about 400% and decrease sinking in snow by about 50%. Sort of the avian version of snowshoes! Rock ptarmigan range averages farther north than that of the willow, though both of them only come much south of Hudson's Bay in British Columbia's high country. A third species, white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucurus, found in western NA only), ranges locally in the high Rocky mountains down to northern New Mexico. Many ptarmigan and grouse are of the 'fools hen' family because they'll usually let you get very close to them before flying away. They can easily be hit with a rock or stick, often even caught in your hands. According to journals I've read, they were a staple in aboriginal and early explorer diets because of this characteristic. Like the ring necked pheasant, most also make a short noisy flight when surprised, and can scare you unexpectedly when you stumble on one, or worse yet, several at once.
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