Willow ptarmigan

Lagopus lagopus

Group: Upland birds
Size class: Small (under 10 kg)
Family: Phasianidae

Range

Europe
North America
Arctic

Habitat

Tundra
Boreal forest

Range

Countries it is found in

13 countries

Belarus
Canada
Estonia
Finland
Greenland
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Norway
Poland
Russia
Sweden
United States

Range from:Wikipedia country bird lists — read 2026-08-05

Chapter 01

Overview

The willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus), also called willow grouse, breeds in birch and other forest and on moorland across northern Europe, and on the tundra of Scandinavia, Siberia, Alaska and Canada — particularly Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec. It is the state bird of Alaska. It is the most numerous of the three ptarmigan species. Linnaeus described it in 1758; the genus name Lagopus is Latin from the Greek for 'hare-footed', after the feathered legs.

Chapter 02

Identification

A medium to large ground bird, 35 to 44 cm long with a 60 to 65 cm wingspan, weighing 430 to 810 g. Males and females are about the same size. It is deep-chested with a fairly long neck, a broad bill, short feathered legs and a moderately short rounded tail. In summer the birds are largely brown with dappled plumage, the male showing a reddish hue to neck and breast; in winter they turn white with some black in the tail.

Chapter 03

Behaviour

Cocks are territorial, arriving on the breeding ground in April and May and defending their patch aggressively against other males. When the hens arrive a few weeks later the cock displays with aerial manoeuvres, strutting and tail-fanning. Once she has chosen a mate and a site, the hen lays six to ten eggs in a shallow scrape on the ground, usually hidden at the edge of a clearing. A small minority of cocks are polygynous. The diet is varied and seasonal, and herbivorous for most of the bird's life — chicks may take insects early because undeveloped caeca leave them unable to digest plant material. Summer food is berries, flowers, leaves, twigs and seeds. In Alaska the mainstay at all times of year is willow: leaves in summer, and buds, twigs and catkins for the rest.

Field data

Tracks

A photograph of real sign left by Willow ptarmigan. Prints vary with gait, ground and how long they have been there — treat this as one example, not a template.

Track photo:Kate Senatskaya CC BY

On the table

Meat & cooking

Table grade 5 of 55/5

Sold as meat in a legal market
Has a named traditional dish
Published way to handle and cook it
Eaten in more than one country
No known health advisory

Traditional preparations

Salmis: The classic French treatment of game birds — roasted briefly, then jointed and finished in a sauce built from the carcass. Salmis — Wikipedia
Game pie: Legs and trim, the parts that dry out on a fast roast, go into raised and braised game pies. Game pie — Wikipedia

Sources

Sources: Willow ptarmigan — Wikipedia — read 2026-08-05

Cross-reference