Have you ever heard a loud chirping noise, or seen a white and brown bird? If so, it might be a white-tailed ptarmigan. White-tailed ptarmigans feast on buds, flowers, leaves, and seeds. Sometimes the ptarmigan is hard to see because of their camouflage. The white-tailed ptarmigan weighs up to one pound. It is 11 to 12 inches long. Ptarmigans spend the winter in the tundra willow patches at timberline.

The ptarmigan chicks hatch in the middle of July. After the ptarmigan chicks hatch the male ptarmigan stays on different feeding grounds. They fly throughout Colorado above 11,000 feet. The white-tailed ptarmigans scientific name is lagopus leucurus.

I got my informtion from COLORADO WILDLIFE by Jeff Rennicke.

I got my information from COLORADO WILDLIFE By Jeff Rennicke.

A stubby winged bird flies a short distance through the brisk air high in the mountains of Colorado. Above 11,000 feet in the alpine tundra you may see a white-tailed ptarmigan, but they are tricky to find because of their great camouflage. In summer they are brown, black and white. They are a pure white in winter. They feed on willow buds, leaves, flowers, berries and insects. In mid-July, 6-8 faintly spotted eggs hatch. Over the summer one-third of the chicks do not survive. As winter approaches, the white-tailed ptarmigen burrows in the snow to keep warm from the cold crisp air. In the morning the 12 inch long, 1 pound bird walks through the snow leaving a star shape behind. Their big feet keep them from sinking in the snow.

I got my information from the books, BIRDS OF THE CENTRAL ROCKIES by Jan Wassink and COLORADO WILDLIFE by Jeff Rennicke.