Willow Ptarmigan
Feathered feet, seasonal white plumage, and a taste for willow let this Arctic grouse remain active through Alaska’s long winter.
Artwork inspired by Sydney Laurence
Willow ptarmigan occupy tundra and shrub country across Alaska, feeding heavily on willow buds, twigs, and catkins. Plumage shifts from largely brown in summer to white in winter, with mottled transitional stages that match patchy spring and autumn ground.
The species is Alaska’s state bird and an important prey animal, game bird, and seasonal signal. Identification becomes hardest when rock ptarmigan overlap. Use habitat, bill size, male head color, voice, and tail pattern together, and check current hunting rules before any harvest.
- Winter coat
- White with black tail
- Food
- Willow buds and catkins
- Alaska role
- Official state bird
Quick guide
- Look
- Search willow thickets above treeline.
- Compare
- Heavier bill and chestnut male head favor willow.
Separate Alaska’s three ptarmigan
- Habitat
- Willow ptarmigan favor shrub tundra more than barren rock.
- Bill
- The bill is heavier than a rock ptarmigan’s.
- Male
- Breeding males develop a rich chestnut head and neck.
- Tail
- Dark tail feathers contrast strongly with white body plumage.
Good to know
A white grouse is not automatically willow ptarmigan. Alaska also has rock and white-tailed ptarmigan, and overlap requires attention to habitat, bill, voice, and tail.
Notice these
- Feathered feet
- Seasonal white plumage
- Black tail