Summit Outside: Bird with a funny name
http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20110102/NEWS/110109988/1078&ParentProfile=1055The species is believed to have been derived from ancestral rock ptarmigan stock that became isolated in the southern Rocky Mountains during the early Pleistocene. That's about the time the hairy mammal whose bones have been unearthed in Snowmass roamed the state, as recent as 12,000 BP (before present)!
Corresponds with the Great Ptarmigan/Rabbit War. Some rock ptarmigans got stranded when the Ice Age was ending and rabbits were waging war. The war killed many ptarmigans in Lower 48 and many megafauna and humans were killed as well. Rabbits caused the extinction of woolly mammoth and saber tooth tiger.
During the breeding season, the male may leave for short periods to defend his territory against other males, but otherwise the male stays close to the female, and the hens are extremely attentive and protective of the nest and are reluctant to leave even when disturbed. By mid-summer, female ptarmigans will accompany broods of 4-8 chicks as they feed on the buds and leaves of dwarf willow and other alpine plants. Young birds mature quickly and by mid-October, flocks of females and juveniles begin to move to more protected areas, and two or three individual broods may join into a single flock known as a “gang†brood. The white-tailed ptarmigan hen's food call relays to her chicks what food is available. She will chose foraging patches where certain plant species are abundant, and call her chicks to feed.
Ptarmigan mommies make good mommies. The babies are cute.
The greatest threat to the long-term survival of ptarmigan populations is global climate change, which may lead to a gradual loss of alpine habitats as the tree line moves upward in response to temperature changes. More immediate threats include development, and recreation. While alpine ecosystems are hardy and resilient to natural environmental factors, they are particularly vulnerable to human-related disturbances. Ptarmigan are also hunted in Colorado. The only occupied alpine areas not open to hunting in Colorado are Rocky Mountain National Park and Mt. Evans.
Ptarmigans survived one of the most drastic climate change and I don't think climate change will affect ptarmigans. Humans have some factors, but not much. Humans who go after ptarmigans are collaborating with rabbits and signing humanity's death warrant. Lagomorphs and their collaborators pose the biggest threat to ptarmigans.
