#1153 · 🐦 birds

Rock Ptarmigan

🇳🇱 Alpensneeuwhoen ·Lagopus muta

LCleast concern 🐦 Birds 📍 in Europe, not in NL

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

what is it?

The rock ptarmigan ( Lagopus muta ) is a medium-sized gamebird in the grouse family. It is known simply as the ptarmigan in the UK and in Canada, where it is the official bird for the territory of Nunavut, Canada, and the official game bird for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and colloquially as the snow chicken in the United States. In Japan, it is known as the raichō (雷鳥), which means "thunder bird". It is...

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 6,726iNaturalist observations
weight 665 gadult, up to
threat LCleast concern

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
6,726 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Weighs only about 665 g.
Scientifically named by Lars Jonasson Montin in 1781 (245 years ago).