Willow Ptarmigan
Lagopus lagopus
Also known as: Willow Grouse, Red Grouse
Habitat
Ground
Diet
PlantSeed
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
567 g
About This Species
A ground-dwelling grouse of Arctic and subarctic tundra, moorland, and willow scrub, this bird molts through white winter, mottled brown summer, and intermediate plumages that camouflage it against changing seasonal backgrounds. It is most easily found by listening for the male's loud, laughing call during spring display, and by watching low willow and birch scrub where it feeds on buds, leaves, and berries. Late spring is the best time to see and hear breeding displays, while winter birds can be spotted as white shapes against snow.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Staying on trails and viewing from a distance with binoculars, especially during the spring breeding and nesting period, avoids disturbing display grounds and nests hidden in low vegetation.
- Game bird and wildlife protections across its circumpolar range in Scandinavia, Russia, and North America vary by country and season, with some populations legally hunted outside breeding season, so local regulations should be checked rather than assumed.
- Dogs should be kept leashed in breeding habitat since ground nests and flightless chicks are highly vulnerable to disturbance.
Seasonal Activity
208,239 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Galliformes
- Family
- Phasianidae
Traits
- Diet
- PlantSeed
- Foraging
- Ground
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 567 g
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.