Colorado Division of Wildlife

WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN with Joyce Gellhorn & Calvin Whitehall

White-tailed ptarmigan, camouflaged to blend into their surroundings, are the only birds capable of survival in harsh, alpine environments throughout the year. The program follows ptarmigan and shows their unique adaptations including their diet, courtship displays, nesting, and rearing their young. One of the few birds to molt three times per year, ptarmigan change from winter white to mottled summer plumage. Because this species lives exclusively in cold regions, it may serve as a barometer to the health of our planet in terms of climate change.