File:White-tailed Ptarmigan in Snow (7090694033).jpg
White-tailed_Ptarmigan_in_Snow_(7090694033).jpg (640 × 480 pixels, file size: 46 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)
Captions
Captions
Summary
[edit]DescriptionWhite-tailed Ptarmigan in Snow (7090694033).jpg |
Male and female white-tailed ptarmigan share similar body size, shape, and winter plumage, with adult body lengths up to 13.4 inches (34 centimeters) and body masses up to 0.9 pound (425 grams). Both the southern and Mt. Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan are white in winter and brown in summer, the feathers changing color with the seasons to camouflage the birds. Although the body feathers change color, the white-tailed ptarmigan is named for its perpetually white tail feathers, a morphological trait that distinguishes it from other ptarmigan species. During the winter, males and females are stark white and difficult to distinguish from the background of snow. In the summer during the breeding season, males turn a lighter color of brown or gray than females and develop a dark band of feathers on the breast that resembles a necklace. During the winter, the southern and Mt. Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan feed on exposed willows above the snow and dig roosts, or burrows, into the soft snow as protection from wind and weather. During the summer, the white-tailed ptarmigan feeds on willows and other alpine vegetation. White-tailed ptarmigan require cool temperatures, rocky areas, soft snow, and the presence of willows. The southern and Mt. Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan spend their entire lifecycles in alpine habitats and are well adapted to survive in the cold, arid, and open alpine environments. Adaptations of the white-tailed ptarmigan to these alpine environments include its cryptic plumage, low metabolic rates, and heavily feathered feet that act as snowshoes. Photo Credit: Craig Hansen / USFWS |
Date | |
Source | White-tailed Ptarmigan in Snow |
Author | USFWS Mountain-Prairie |
Licensing
[edit]![w:en:Creative Commons](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/CC_some_rights_reserved.svg/90px-CC_some_rights_reserved.svg.png)
![attribution](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Cc-by_new_white.svg/24px-Cc-by_new_white.svg.png)
- You are free:
- to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work
- to remix – to adapt the work
- Under the following conditions:
- attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
![]() |
This image was originally posted to Flickr by USFWS Mountain Prairie at https://flickr.com/photos/51986662@N05/7090694033. It was reviewed on 12 April 2016 by FlickreviewR and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0. |
12 April 2016
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse |
![]() |
This image or recording is the work of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee, taken or made as part of that person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain. For more information, see the Fish and Wildlife Service copyright policy.
العربيَّة ∙ català ∙ čeština ∙ eesti ∙ English ∙ español ∙ français ∙ italiano ∙ Nederlands ∙ polski ∙ português ∙ sicilianu ∙ suomi ∙ svenska ∙ Tiếng Việt ∙ Türkçe ∙ Zazaki ∙ македонски ∙ русский ∙ українська ∙ 日本語 ∙ 中文 ∙ 中文(简体) ∙ 中文(繁體) ∙ +/− |
![]() |
File history
Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.
Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
current | 18:34, 12 April 2016 | ![]() | 640 × 480 (46 KB) | Holly Cheng (talk | contribs) | Transferred from Flickr via Flickr2Commons |
You cannot overwrite this file.
File usage on Commons
The following page uses this file: