Animalia > Chordata > Aves > Galliformes > Phasianidae > Lagopus > Lagopus leucuraLagopus leucura (White-tailed Ptarmigan)Synonyms: Lagopus leucurus; Tetrao leucurus (homotypic) The white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura), also known as the snow quail, is the smallest bird in the grouse family. It is a permanent resident of high altitudes on or above the tree line and is native to Alaska and the mountainous parts of Canada and the western United States. It has also been introduced into the Sierra Nevada in California, the Wallowa Mountains in Oregon and the Uinta Mountains in Utah. Its plumage is cryptic and varies at different times of the year. In the summer it is speckled in gray, brown and white whereas in winter it is wholly white. At all times of year the wings, belly and tail are white. The white-tailed ptarmigan has a diet of buds, leaves, flowers and seeds. The nest is a simple depression in the ground in which up to 8 eggs are laid. After hatching, the |
Uniqueness Scale: Similiar (0) Unique (100) Uniqueness & Vulnerability Scale: Similiar & Secure (0) Unique & Vulnerable (100) ED Score: 6.43456 EDGE Score: 2.00614 |
| Adult Weight [1] | 349 grams | | Birth Weight [3] | 13 grams |  | | Breeding Habitat [2] | Alpine tundra | | Wintering Geography [2] | Non-migrartory | | Wintering Habitat [2] | Alpine tundra | | | Diet [4] | Herbivore | | Diet - Plants [4] | 100 % | | Forages - Ground [4] | 100 % | | | Female Maturity [1] | 1 year 6 months | | Male Maturity [3] | 1 year | | | Clutch Size [5] | 6 | | Clutches / Year [3] | 1 | | Global Population (2017 est.) [2] | 2,000,000 | | Incubation [3] | 23 days | | Mating Display [6] | Ground display (mostly) | | Mating System [6] | Monogamy | | Maximum Longevity [3] | 15 years | | Snout to Vent Length [1] | 13 inches (33 cm) |
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| Name |
IUCN Category |
Area acres |
Location |
Species |
Website |
Climate |
Land Use |
|
Banff National Park |
II |
1690912 |
Alberta, Canada |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve |
|
864738 |
British Columbia, Canada |
|
|
|
|
|
Denali Biosphere Reserve |
|
1932364 |
Alaska, United States |
|
|
|
|
|
Fraser Biosphere Reserve |
|
23050 |
Colorado, United States |
|
|
|
|
|
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve |
Ib |
591068 |
Alaska, United States |
|
|
|
|
|
Glacier National Park |
II |
953799 |
Montana, United States |
|
|
|
|
|
Jasper National Park |
II |
2776809 |
Alberta, Canada |
|
|
|
|
|
Konza Prairie Biosphere Reserve |
|
8617 |
Kansas, United States |
|
|
|
|
|
Kootenay National Park |
II |
341762 |
British Columbia, Canada |
|
|
|
|
|
Mesa Verde National Park |
II |
40098 |
Colorado, United States |
|
|
|
|
|
Mount Rainier National Park |
II |
235186 |
Washington, United States |
|
|
|
|
|
Mount Revelstoke National Park |
Ia |
18 |
British Columbia, Canada |
|
|
|
|
|
Nahanni National Park Reserve |
II |
1309627 |
Northwest Territories, Canada |
|
|
|
|
|
Niwot Ridge Biosphere Reserve |
|
2965 |
Colorado, United States |
|
|
|
|
|
Rocky Mountain Biosphere Reserve |
II |
239938 |
Colorado, United States |
|
|
|
|
|
Sequoia and Kings Canyon Biosphere Reserve |
II |
172261 |
California, United States |
|
|
|
|
|
Waterton Biosphere Reserve |
II |
121459 |
Alberta, Canada |
|
|
|
|
|
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve |
Ib |
2476446 |
Alaska, United States |
|
|
|
|
|
Yoho National Park |
II |
317576 |
British Columbia, Canada |
|
|
|
|
|
Yosemite National Park |
II |
95209 |
California, United States |
|
|
|
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 Attributes / relations provided by ♦ 1Nathan P. Myhrvold, Elita Baldridge, Benjamin Chan, Dhileep Sivam, Daniel L. Freeman, and S. K. Morgan Ernest. 2015. An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96:3109 ♦ 2Partners in Flight Avian Conservation Assessment Database, version 2017. Accessed on January 2018. ♦ 3de Magalhaes, J. P., and Costa, J. (2009) A database of vertebrate longevity records and their relation to other life-history traits. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 22(8):1770-1774 ♦ 4Hamish Wilman, Jonathan Belmaker, Jennifer Simpson, Carolina de la Rosa, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira, and Walter Jetz. 2014. EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95:2027 ♦ 5Jetz W, Sekercioglu CH, Böhning-Gaese K (2008) The Worldwide Variation in Avian Clutch Size across Species and Space PLoS Biol 6(12): e303. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060303 ♦ 6Terje Lislevand, Jordi Figuerola, and Tamás Székely. 2007. Avian body sizes in relation to fecundity, mating system, display behavior, and resource sharing. Ecology 88:1605 ♦ 7del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ♦ 8Exploring the Denali Food Web, ParkWise, National Park Service ♦ 9International Flea DatabaseEcoregions provided by World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF). WildFinder: Online database of species distributions, ver. 01.06 Wildfinder Database |
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0
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