Granddad’s Camera
Ptarmigan, as it appears in the game

No.076 · Birds · Rare

Ptarmigan

Lagopus muta

A hardy grouse of the high tops that goes white in winter and grey-brown in summer, nearly invisible on stones and snow.

When to look

All year, mostly at dawn, day and dusk.

Time of day

Best time
Day, all year on the high plateau; winter in the corries for the white plumage.
Where in the game
the Cairngorms (mountain)
Size
34–36 cm
Wingspan
54–60 cm
Weight
Male 400–600 g, female 350–450 g
Lifespan
Typically about 2 years once breeding (BTO)
Population
About 2,000 pairs in the UK (BTO estimate from 2007 data)
Status
Red (Birds of Conservation Concern 5, 2021)

Diet

Crowberry, heather, blaeberry, dwarf willow and moss; insects for chicks.

Habitat

Bare, stony mountain tops above about 750 m.

Breeding

Nests in a scrape among stones in May–June; 5–8 eggs, incubated by the female for 21–23 days; chicks leave the nest soon after hatching and fledge in 10–15 days

Field signs

  • A dry, croaking, frog-like call on the plateau
  • Snow-white winter body with black eye and tail
  • Droppings among stones
  • Mottled summer plumage and white wings

Did you know?

  • Ptarmigan grow feathers on their feet, acting like snowshoes and insulation.
  • They moult their body feathers three times a year: white in winter, mottled brown in summer and grey in autumn (Scottish Wildlife Trust).
  • Ptarmigan's UK range has shrunk by 11% since 1968–72, with losses mostly on lower hills at the edge of the range (BTO).

Moments worth waiting for

  • White winter plumage November to March, day and dawn
    A ptarmigan in pure white winter plumage huddles by a boulder, only a black eye and tail feathers showing.

Photo tip

Take the funicular or walk up early. Move slowly, kneel and let the bird settle; look for its shape among rocks. In winter expose for white feathers.

Be a good naturalist

Stay on paths above the treeline, keep dogs on a lead, and stay away from birds with chicks in June–July. Do not flush birds in bad weather.

The law

Not a Schedule 1 bird. Ptarmigan can be legally shot from 12 August to 10 December (Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981), and all wild birds and nests are protected the rest of the year

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