Grouse (Tetraonidae)
Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus) - HBW 2, p. 403
French: Lagopède alpin
German: Alpenschneehuhn
Spanish: Lagópodo Alpino
Taxonomy: Tetrao mutus Montin, 1776, Sweden.
Occasional hybrids known with L. lagopus, Tetrao tetrix and Bonasa bonasia. Very complex internal taxonomy, largely due to complicated moults. Many races vary only slightly in colour and pattern of summer plumage; sometimes lumped, though in rather different ways: races komensis pleskei and transbaicalicus sometimes included in kelloggae, or all of these in nelsoni, with possible addition of krascheninnikovi and kurilensis; race reinhardi sometimes included in rupestris, macrorhynchus in nadezd.. View all taxonomy...
Taxonomy: Tetrao mutus Montin, 1776, Sweden.
Occasional hybrids known with L. lagopus, Tetrao tetrix and Bonasa bonasia. Very complex internal taxonomy, largely due to complicated moults. Many races vary only slightly in colour and pattern of summer plumage; sometimes lumped, though in rather different ways: races komensis pleskei and transbaicalicus sometimes included in kelloggae, or all of these in nelsoni, with possible addition of krascheninnikovi and kurilensis; race reinhardi sometimes included in rupestris, macrorhynchus in nadezdae, and pyrenaicus in helveticus. Thirty subspecies currently recognized.
Occasional hybrids known with L. lagopus, Tetrao tetrix and Bonasa bonasia. Very complex internal taxonomy, largely due to complicated moults. Many races vary only slightly in colour and pattern of summer plumage; sometimes lumped, though in rather different ways: races komensis pleskei and transbaicalicus sometimes included in kelloggae, or all of these in nelsoni, with possible addition of krascheninnikovi and kurilensis; race reinhardi sometimes included in rupestris, macrorhynchus in nadezdae, and pyrenaicus in helveticus. Thirty subspecies currently recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- hyperboreus Sundevall, 1845 - Svalbard (Spitsbergen), Franz Josef Land and Bear I.
- mutus (Montin, 1776) - Norway, N Sweden, N Finland and Kola Peninsula.
- millaisi Hartert, 1923 - Scotland.
- hyperboreus Sundevall, 1845 - Svalbard (Spitsbergen), Franz Josef Land and Bear I.
- mutus (Montin, 1776) - Norway, N Sweden, N Finland and Kola Peninsula.
- millaisi Hartert, 1923 - Scotland.
- pyrenaicus Hartert, 1921 - Pyrenees.
- helveticus (Thienemann, 1829) - Alps, from Savoie to C Austria.
- komensis Serebrovsky, 1929 - N Urals.
- pleskei Serebrovsky, 1926 - N Siberia, from Taimyr Peninsula to Chukotsky Peninsula.
- macrorhynchus Serebrovsky, 1926 - Tarbagatai.
- nadezdae Serebrovsky, 1926 - mountains of S Siberia and Mongolia (Altai, Sayan, Khangai and others).
- transbaicalicus Serebrovsky, 1926 - SE Siberia, from L Baikal to Sea of Okhotsk.
- krascheninnikovi Potapov, 1985 - Kamchatka.
- ridgwayi Stejneger, 1884 - Commander Is.
- kurilensis Kuroda, 1924 - Kuril Is.
- japonicus Clark, 1907 - C Honshu (Japan).
- evermanni Elliot, 1896 - Attu I (Aleutian Is).
- townsendi Elliot, 1896 - Kiska I (Aleutian Is).
- gabrielsoni Murie, 1944 - Amchitka I (Aleutian Is).
- sanfordi Bent, 1912 - Tanaga I and Kanaga I (Aleutian Is).
- chamberlaini Clark, 1907 - Adak I (Aleutian Is).
- atkhensis Turner, 1882 - Atka I (Aleutian Is).
- yunaskensis Gabrielson & Lincoln, 1959 - Yunaska I (Aleutian Is).
- nelsoni Stejneger, 1884 - Unimak, Unalaska and Amaknak Is (Aleutian Is).
- dixoni Grinnell, 1909 - Glacier Bay islands and adjacent mainland (SE Alaska).
- kelloggae Grinnell, 1910 - Alaska and N Yukon.
- rupestris (Gmelin, 1789) - N Canada, from Melville I and Ellesmere I to C British Columbia, S Mackenzie, Southampton I, N Quebec and Labrador.
- captus Peters, 1934 - E Greenland.
- saturatus Salomonsen, 1950 - NW Greenland.
- reinhardi (C. L. Brehm, 1824) - SW Greenland.
- welchi Brewster, 1885 - Newfoundland.
- islandorum (Faber, 1822) - Iceland.
- Least Concern Enlarge map
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A group resting and preening in the snowy tundra, winter plumage Locality Pyasina Delta, Taymyr Peninsula, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Eastern Russia, Russia
Laurent Demongin 10 June 2008 4 years ago 30 sec 3.5 -
A pair feeding Locality Cerdanya, Catalonia, Spain (ssp pyrenaicus)
Job Roig i Simon 19 March 2004 8 years ago 35 sec 3.5 -
A male on the ground Locality Cerdanya, Catalonia, Spain (ssp pyrenaicus)
Job Roig i Simon 19 March 2004 8 years ago 29 sec 3.5 -
A male feeding in the snow and soil Locality Cerdanya, Catalonia, Spain (ssp pyrenaicus)
Job Roig i Simon 19 March 2004 8 years ago 28 sec 3.4 -
A female feeding and a male arriving Locality Cerdanya, Catalonia, Spain (ssp pyrenaicus)
Job Roig i Simon 19 March 2004 8 years ago 28 sec 3.4 -
A lone chick walking in short vegetation on hillside Locality Taylor Highway, Alaska, USA (United States) (ssp kelloggae)
Marc de Bont 12 July 2008 2 years ago 21 sec 3.3
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Small flock in the high arctic.
Locality Alert, Nunavut, Canada
Ken Simonite 20 August 2009 2 years ago 1.2
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Calls by two males taking off away. Locality Adak Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, USA (United States)
(ssp chamberlaini)
Josep del Hoyo 28 May 2012 44 weeks ago 4 -
Calls by one male. Locality Adak Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, USA (United States)
(ssp chamberlaini)
Josep del Hoyo 28 May 2012 44 weeks ago 4 -
A male calling softly Locality Pyasina Delta, Taymyr Peninsula, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Eastern Russia, Russia
(ssp pleskei)
Laurent Demongin 14 June 2008 3 years ago 3 -
A female calling softly Locality Pyasina Delta, Taymyr Peninsula, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Eastern Russia, Russia
(ssp pleskei)
Laurent Demongin 14 June 2008 3 years ago 3 -
A female alarming near the nest Locality Pyasina Delta, Taymyr Peninsula, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Eastern Russia, Russia
(ssp pleskei)
Laurent Demongin 14 July 2008 3 years ago 3 -
Calls of a dominant male chasing other male Locality Pyasina Delta, Taymyr Peninsula, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Eastern Russia, Russia
(ssp pleskei)
Laurent Demongin 10 June 2008 3 years ago 2
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