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Lagopus muta pyrenaica – MHNT. The rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) is a medium-sized game bird in the grouse family.It is known simply as the ptarmigan in Europe. It is the official bird for the Canadian territory of Nunavut, [4] where it is known as the aqiggiq (ᐊᕿᒡᒋᖅ), and the official game bird for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. [5]
The summer plumage is browner and in the winter, the male willow ptarmigan lacks the rock ptarmigan's black stripe between the eyes and bill. [14] The white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura) in North America is smaller, has a white tail and finely-barred greyer plumage and lives permanently above the tree line. [16]
The genus Lagopus was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) as the type species. [1] [2] The genus name Lagopus is derived from Ancient Greek lagos (λαγος), meaning "hare, rabbit", + pous (πους), "foot", in reference to the feathered feet and toes typical of this cold-adapted group (such as the snowshoe hare).
A white-tailed ptarmigan in fully-white winter plumage. A ptarmigan displaying its natural camouflage, matching the patterns of the lichen covered rock of its environment. The white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura), also known as the snow quail, is the smallest bird in the grouse tribe.
Some animals of the far north, like the snowshoe and Arctic hares, Arctic fox, stoat, and rock ptarmigan change their coat colour (by moulting and growing new fur or feathers) from brown or grey summer camouflage to white in the winter; the Arctic fox is the only species in the dog family to do so. [5]
Chameleons - Colour change signals a chameleon's physiological condition and intentions to other chameleons. [3] [4] Because chameleons are ectothermic, they change color also to regulate their body temperatures, either to a darker color to absorb light and heat to raise their temperature, or to a lighter color to reflect light and heat, thereby either stabilizing or lowering their body ...
Allen's rule - Hare and its ears on the Earth [1]. Allen's rule is an ecogeographical rule formulated by Joel Asaph Allen in 1877, [2] [3] broadly stating that animals adapted to cold climates have shorter and thicker limbs and bodily appendages than animals adapted to warm climates.
Rock ptarmigan, partly in winter plumage. Norway has a great variety of bird species utilising its many habitats, cliffs, wetlands, forests and tundra. In the summer, insects and other food sources are plentiful and the days are long, giving plenty of time for birds to forage and feed their young.