Willow Ptarmigan in Winter

The Willow Ptarmigan is Alaska's State Bird.  Like the Snowshoe Hare, all three species of Ptarmigan turn white in winter and brown in summer.

In winter Ptarmigan group up in large flocks, sometimes numbering in the hundreds.  In prime habitat you may find literally millions upon millions of bird tracks in the snow as far as the eye can see. Their tracks lead from willow bush to willow bush, as the birds' preferred winter food are the willow catkins, or buds, growing on the tips of the shrubby branches.