How to identify it
Smaller than the willow ptarmigan with a smaller bill. [1]
Winter: both sexes mostly white; winter male has a black line from bill to eye. [1]
Breeding: females turn mottled brown before males; males stay mostly white into early summer. [1]
Compared with the willow ptarmigan: Willow is larger with a heavier bill; the winter male lacks the black eye line and breeding molt timing differs. [1]
Species it is confused with
Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.
- Willow ptarmigan · Lagopus lagopus
Field notes
- Identification Do not identify Rock ptarmigan from colour alone. Compare structure, size, range and the listed similar species before making a field decision.[1]
Where it lives
Dry, open tundra with rock outcrops and dwarf shrubs, above timberline in mountains and on northern coasts. [1]
How it behaves
Courting males give a snoring kurr-kurr. [1]
Where it is listed for legal take
These authorities list this species for legal take in their own regulations.
Where legal take is listed
- Alberta — hunting · 2026 Alberta Guide to Hunting Regulations
- British Columbia — hunting · 2026-2028 Hunting and Trapping Regulations Synopsis
- Manitoba — hunting · Manitoba Hunting Guide 2026
- Newfoundland and Labrador — hunting, trapping · 2026-27 Hunting and Trapping Guide
- Northwest Territories — hunting · NWT Summary of Hunting and Trapping Regulations, July 1 2022 - June 30 2023
- Nunavut — hunting · Summary of the Nunavut Hunting Regulations 2021-2022
- Ontario — hunting · Ontario Hunting Regulations Summary — Small game and furbearing mammals
- Québec — hunting · Périodes de chasse au petit gibier 2026-2028
- Saskatchewan — hunting · Saskatchewan Hunters Guide 2026-27
- Alaska — hunting · 2026-2027 Alaska Hunting Regulations: Fur Animals, Small Game, Unclassified Game, and Deleterious Exotic Wildlife (pp.140-142)
Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.
Where it is found
Arctic and alpine tundra of Alaska and northern Canada.
Sources
Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.
National Audubon Society · reviewed 2026-09-30
National Audubon Society