Ptarmigans under a tree on 51A avenue NNSL Photo/Stephane Gagne

Ptarmigan are small chicken-like birds which live year round in the arctic lands, and are found most commonly on tundra hiding in rocks or bushes. They have two different colors of plumage depending upon the season. They are brownish with dark stripes in summer, but completely white in winter. These changes in appearance are so they can hide when they eat.

In summer, they blend into the tundra plants and look like shadows; in winter, they look like the snowy ground they walk on. Because Snowy Owls are camouflaged in the same way, Ptarmigan have to be careful when they move around to eat. If they aren't, the owls will catch them! Ptarmigan can fly, but they usually like to walk slowly and eat berries and leaves from the tundra plants.

They move in flocks, often numbering several hundred, during their migration, when they pass to and from their summer haunts.