Bird of the Week 1/24-1/28

botw goes north

Hi all,

Often times, I like to take BOTW south to the tropics for the crazy diversity found there. But this week, we are going north…

This week’s bird is the: Willow Ptarmigan

1) Ptarmigans are related to chickens, pheasants, and peacocks. There are only 3 ptarmigan species in the world (two of which have now been honored as BOTW!).

2) Ptarmigans all live in high-altitude or high latitude environments. They thrive in the cold, and have the camouflage to match the copious amounts of snow they encounter.

3) But, during the summer when they are trying to attract mates (and when there is less snow around) these birds shed their white feathers for sexier browns and reds.

4) These birds are basically just feathered walkers. They don’t love to run, and love flying even less. During breeding season, they fly less than 1% of the time.

5) Why walk with normal bird feet, when you can have *ptarmigan feet* - ultra warm and unbelievably badass.

Bonus: The Willow Ptarmigan is the state bird of… you guessed it… Alaska! The only US state where the bird can be found.

Have a great week!