How to identify it
Winter: white with black tail feathers; feet heavily feathered to the toes. [1]
Breeding male: chestnut head and neck on a white body, becoming mostly reddish-brown with white wings. [1]
Female: duller mottled brown through summer. [1]
Males raise red combs in display. [1]
Compared with the rock ptarmigan: Rock ptarmigan is smaller with a smaller bill; the winter male has a black eye line. [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.
- Rock ptarmigan · Lagopus muta
Field notes
- Identification Do not identify Willow ptarmigan from colour alone. Compare structure, size, range and the listed similar species before making a field decision.[1]
Where it lives
Tundra, willow scrub and muskeg north of treeline, especially low wet tundra with dwarf willow thickets; also near treeline in mountains. [1]
How it behaves
Courting males give a loud, staccato go-back, go-back. [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
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