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During the summer, the white-tailed ptarmigan is a speckled grayish brown with white underparts, tail and wings. In the fall, the plumage has turned a much more reddish-brown color and white feathers begin to grow through. By winter all the summer brown feathers are lost and the bird is completely white.
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]
With the exception of the red grouse (until recently considered a subspecies of willow ptarmigan), [5] all have a white winter plumage that helps them blend into the snowy background. Even their remiges are white, while these feathers are black in almost all birds (even birds that are predominantly white, such as the Bali myna ) because melanin ...
Red grouse, L. l. scoticus, plumage shows less white than other subspecies Male L. l. alascensis in winter plumage Female L. l. lagopus in summer plumage The willow ptarmigan's scientific name , Lagopus lagopus is derived from Ancient Greek lagos ( λαγως ) ' hare ' + pous ( πους ) 'foot', in reference to the bird's feathered feet which ...
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 icterids are a group of small to medium-sized, often colorful passerine birds restricted to the New World and include the grackles, New World blackbirds and New World orioles. Most species have black as a predominant plumage color, often enlivened by yellow, orange, or red. Nine species have been recorded in Yellowstone.
[9] [18] In breeding plumage, the head, neck, back, and wings are black, with a white trailing edge to the secondary feathers, and white fringes on the scapular feathers, and pure white underparts. The bill is short and stubby. They have a small rounded black tail. The lower face and fore neck become white in winter plumage.
The red grouse is differentiated from the willow ptarmigan and rock ptarmigan by its plumage being reddish brown, and not having a white winter plumage. The tail is black and the legs are white. There are white stripes on the underwing and red combs over the eye. Females are less reddish than the males and have less conspicuous combs.