Willow Ptarmigan

How to recognise it

• Round body, small head and a short, thick, dark bill
• White eye-ring and almost all-white wings in every plumage
• In winter both sexes are white, except for the black tip of the tail
• Spring male has dark red-brown head and large red combs, female only a faint red line

Call and song

The call is low and rough, with cackling and repeated clucking sounds. During display the male gives rattling and barking calls.

Where and when

The Willow Ptarmigan is common in the Swedish mountains and reaches its southern limit in Dalarna, Värmland, Västmanland and northern Hälsingland. It is reported most in June and rarely reported in October and November. Its share of all bird reports is highest in Jämtland and Norrbotten. The Swedish population has fallen by 50 to 70 percent over the last twelve years.

Food and behaviour

It is mainly a plant eater, though the chicks may also eat insects. Winter food is almost entirely shoot tips and buds of willow and birch. In winter it usually keeps to lower, sheltered ground and spends most of the day in small flocks of five to 15 birds in snow holes. Parents can lure predators away by pretending to have a broken wing.