A master of camouflage, the Willow Ptarmigan is snowy white in winter and an intricate mix of reds and browns in summer. This rotund grouse of subarctic tundra lives year-round in areas where most bird species can survive only during the warmer months.
We observed these Ptarmigan while camping in Alaska.
Ptarmigan are well suited to brutally cold winters, using heavily feathered feet to walk over deep snow, and excavating snow burrows in which they take shelter from the elements.
Perhaps because their camouflage is so good, wild ptarmigan often act tame and unafraid of people. Cornell All About Birds
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