Family Pheasants, Partridges, Turkeys, Grouse (Phasianidae)
Least Concern
Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus muta)
Taxonomy
French: Lagopède alpin German: Alpenschneehuhn Spanish: Lagópodo alpino
Taxonomy:
Tetrao mutus
Montin
, 1781,Sweden
.
Subspecies and Distribution
L. m. hyperborea
Sundevall, 1845 – Svalbard (Spitsbergen), Franz Josef Land and Bear I.
L. m. muta
(Montin, 1781) – Norway, N Sweden, N Finland and Kola Peninsula.
L. m. millaisi
E. J. O. Hartert, 1923 – Scotland.
L. m. pyrenaica
E. J. O. Hartert, 1921 – C & E Pyrenees.
L. m. helvetica
(Thienemann, 1829) – Alps from Savoie (France) to C Austria.
L. m. komensis
Serebrovski, 1929 – N Urals.
L. m. pleskei
Serebrovski, 1926 – N Siberia from Taimyr Peninsula E to Chukotskiy Peninsula.
L. m. macrorhyncha
Serebrovski, 1926 – Tarbagatai Mts.
L. m. nadezdae
Serebrovski, 1926 – mountains of S Siberia and Mongolia (Altai, Sayan, Khangai and others).
L. m. transbaicalica
Serebrovski, 1926 – SE Siberia from L Baikal E to Sea of Okhotsk.
L. m. krascheninnikowi
Potapov, 1985 – Kamchatka Peninsula.
L. m. gerasimovi
Red’kin, 2005 – Karaginskiy I, off NE Kamchatka Peninsula.
L. m. ridgwayi
Stejneger, 1884 – Commander Is.
L. m. kurilensis
Nagamichi Kuroda, 1924 – Kuril Is.
L. m. japonica
A. H. Clark, 1907 – C Honshu (Japan).
L. m. evermanni
Elliot, 1896 – Attu I and Agattu I (W Aleutian Is).
L. m. townsendi
Elliot, 1896 – Kiska I and Little Kiska I (W Aleutian Is).
L. m. gabrielsoni
Murie, 1944 – Little Sitkin, Rats Is and Amchitka (W Aleutian Is).
L. m. sanfordi
Bent, 1912 – Tanaga I and Kanaga I (WC Aleutian Is).
L. m. chamberlaini
A. H. Clark, 1907 – Adak I (WC Aleutian Is).
L. m. atkhensis
Turner, 1882 – Atka I (C Aleutian Is).
L. m. yunaskensis
Gabrielson & Lincoln, 1951 – Yunaska I (EC Aleutian Is).
L. m. nelsoni
Stejneger, 1884 – Unimak, Unalaska and Amaknak Is (E Aleutian Is).
L. m. dixoni
Grinnell, 1909 – Glacier Bay islands and adjacent mainland (SE Alaska) to Alexander Archipelago and extreme W Canada (NW British Columbia).
L. m. kelloggae
Grinnell, 1910 – Alaska (except SE) and N Yukon.
L. m. rupestris
(J. F. Gmelin, 1789) – N Canada from Melville I and Ellesmere I to C British Columbia, S Mackenzie, Southampton I, N Quebec and Labrador.
L. m. macruros
Schiøler, 1925 – coasts of N & E Greenland.
L. m. saturata
Salomonsen, 1950 – coastal NW Greenland.
L. m. reinhardi
(C. L. Brehm, 1824) – coastal SW & SE Greenland.
L. m. welchi
Brewster, 1885 – Newfoundland.
L. m. islandorum
(Faber, 1822) – Iceland.
Descriptive notes
33–40 cm; male 448–880 g; female 406–700 g; in Japan, male body mass decreases gradually in late Apr, at start of breeding season, but returns to normal... read more
Voice
During display at communal leks, males take flight and emit a series of grating guttural barks,... read more
Habitat
Rocky tundra with fairly sparse vegetation, or alpine summits; in summer, in Alaska, is more common... read more
Food and feeding
Winter food mainly taken from ground; varies greatly between localities, as well as depending on snow conditions, but typically differs on... read more
Breeding
Lays mostly Jun, from late May in Scotland, from mid Jun in Spitsbergen, but varies strongly (by up to c. 1 month) according to prevailing... read more
Movements
Most populations, including mountain ones, make only very limited movements, largely altitudinal... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Total population in North America estimated to vary between 2,100,000 and 8,400,000 birds in spring and between 3,700,000 and 24,300,... read more
Original description often erroneously dated to 1776#R. Complex internal taxonomy, a result largely of complicated moults. Many races vary only slightly in colour and pattern of summer plumage, and are sometimes lumped in a variety of ways. Proposed race barguzinensis (NE L Baikal) appears undiagnosable. Study of Aleutian Is and parts of Alaska and Siberia revealed three major phylogenetic lineages, two endemic to Aleutians; molecular variance in Aleutian populations indicated significant genetic structuring and low estimates of gene flow despite small inter-island distances; genetic divergence among lineages was concordant with distribution of plumage types among races#R. Another study, focused on five insular populations in Aleutian–Commander archipelago and two mainland Alaskan populations, revealed four distinct populations which appear to be entirely isolated and correspond closely to recognized subspecies (the most geographically isolated ones have lowest genetic diversity)#R. Race saturata should perhaps instead be called dispar#R, but validity of latter name disputed#R. Has possibly hybridized with L. lagopus in Sweden#R. Thirty-one subspecies recognized.