Lagopus mutus Montin, 1776

 Text, photos and maps from Storch I. (2000) : Grouse Action Plan 2000-2004,
reproduced here with the Editor's agreement

Synonyms:	Tetrao alpinus
Common names:	Yan lei niao	Chinese
	Rock ptarmigan	English
	Kiiruna	Finnish
	Lagopède alpin, perdrix blanche	French (Europe)
	Lagopède des rochers	French (Canada)
	Alpenschneehuhn	German
	Rjúpa	Icelandic
	Pernice bianca	Italian
	Raicho	Japanese
	Fjellrype	Norwegian
	Tundryanaya kuropatka	Russian
	Belka	Slovenian
	Perdiz nival	Spanish
	Fjällripa	Swedish

photo by Hans Aschenbrenner

photo by Hans Aschenbrenner
 

Conservation Status

IUCN 1996: Lower risk (least concern).
CITES 1998: not listed in Appendices.
EU Birds Directive: Annex I
National red data books: listed in China, Japan, and some European countries.

Taxonomy

Rock ptarmigan show considerable geographic variation in size and plumage, and numerous subspecies have been described by various authors; their validity is uncertain. Johnsgard (1983) lists 23, Potapov and Flint (1989) recognise 25, and del Hoyo et al. (1994) suggest 30 subspecies worldwide; Holder and Montgomerie (1993) describe 14 subspecies for North America. Given the breadth of habitats used and probable differences in life history traits, the taxonomy of this species merits careful evaluation, especially between continents and with respect to latitude.

 

Distribution

Circumpolar. Arctic and alpine tundra of North America and northern Eurasia. Most of the arctic coast and islands are inhabited by the species; it retreats from the northernmost arctic regions during winter. The northernmost populations inhabit northern Greenland at 83°N and beyond; the southernmost populations are at 49°N in the Rocky Mountains of North America, at 42°N in the Pyrenees in Europe, and at 45°N in the Altai Mountains of central Asia. Only recently, the species has been discovered in Bulgaria (Miltschew and Georgiewa 1998) and in the Pamir mountains of Tadjikistan (Pfeffer 1997) south of 38°N. Rock ptarmigan are migratory in big parts of the northern arctic; in winter they often are nomadic in large flocks. Seasonal migrations of up to 500km have been described from arctic Russia and up to more than 1000km from coastal Greenland and North America. The rock ptarmigan has the widest latitudinal distribution of all grouse species and occurs over a range of 45° latitude. (See Potapov and Flint 1989, Holder and Montgomerie 1993.)

Population size and trend

The species still occupies most of its original range; it is relatively secure because of the inaccessibility of its habitat. Some range contractions with local extinctions are known, e.g. from the UK due to global warming or excessive sheep grazing, and in Siberia in the surroundings of human settlements. Population densities vary greatly and often in approx. 10-year cycles; reported figures range between <1 and >60 birds per km_. The total population size in North America has been estimated to vary between 2.1 and 8.4 million birds in spring and between 3.7 and 24.3 million in autumn. (See Potapov and Flint 1989, Holder and Montgomerie 1993, Flint 1995).

Habitat and ecology

The rock ptarmigan inhabits dry tundra and alpine habitats with rocky ridges or outcrops and relatively sparse vegetation dominated by grasses, lichens and mosses. The rock ptarmigan selects wintering areas that allow access to the ground vegetation, e.g. windswept ridges and slopes. Some populations, e.g. in British Columbia, spend the winter on or close to the breeding habitat; others winter in shrubby areas at or above treeline or in forest edge habitats. Long-distance southward winter migrations are common for high-latitude populations (see Potapov and Flint 1989, Holder and Montgomerie 1993). Where both species are sympatric, the rock ptarmigan generally occurs at higher elevations and in drier habitats with sparser vegetation than the willow grouse L. lagopus. In North America the white-tailed ptarmigan L. leucurus lives in habitats characteristic of the rock ptarmigan in central Europe.

Hunting and cultural importance

The species is hunted in many parts of its range, except for China, Japan, and some areas in Europe. Because of its lower densities and its less accessible habitats, the rock ptarmigan has always been less important as a game bird than the willow grouse. In North America, the rock ptarmigan historically was an important food source for native communities in the arctic; it is still hunted for food by indigenous peoples, and populations of rock ptarmigan may be exterminated in the surroundings of arctic communities (see Holder and Montgomerie 1993). Similar effects are described for settlements in the Russian arctic (Potapov and Flint 1989). Annual hunting bags in the early 1990s in Russia were estimated at 140,000 birds (Grabuzov 1995, Flint 1995).

Principal threats

In general, the species is well protected by its wide distribution in areas with low human population density. Threats to local populations are mostly related to overhunting and tourism development.

 Exploitation. Rock ptarmigan are susceptible to overharvesting, especially if hunted in spring, e.g. in the vicinity of settlements. Extinction due to overharvesting is a localised threat, however.

 Habitat degradation. Loss and degradation of habitats due to tourism developments, such as expansion or upgrading of ski-resorts, have been reported as threats to populations in Japan and in Europe (Alps, Pyrenees) (Ménoni and Magnani 1998, Zeitler and Glänzer 1998). Direct disturbance related to human presence may displace the birds from wintering areas and may be threatening populations in Japan and in Europe (Alps (Zeitler and Glänzer 1998), Pyrenees (Ménoni and Magnani 1998). Negative impacts on habitat quality have been reported from Iceland (erosion of heathlands due to sheep grazing) and China (cattle grazing).

Collisions with cables. Mortality due to collisions with cables around ski-stations have been reported as a threat in the Alps and the Pyrenees.

 

Research needs

Clarification of the taxonomic relationships within the species is desirable. The causes of cyclic population fluctuations still are not fully understood. Little is known about the status, trends, and life history traits of the species in the Alps and in the Pyrenees and the ability to detect changes in status is limited. As in the other Lagopus species, a better understanding is needed of migration and dispersal behaviour in relation to landscape patterns and their effects on population and metapopulation dynamics. Data are lacking on survival of young from autumn to next spring. Research into the effects of hunting on population dynamics is ongoing in Iceland.

 

Current conservation measures

Legal protection. In most of the range, setting of hunting seasons and bag limits is the only management activity. There are no hunting restrictions for North American indigenous peoples. The species is protected in some European countries, Japan, and China. Only a minor proportion of the species´ range is covered by protected areas; the correspondents considered the role of reserves for the survival of the species to be generally low; exceptions are some countries at the edge of the range (Andorra, China, France, Spain) where reserves were believed to play an important role for habitat preservation. 

Surveys and monitoring. In most of the range, surveys and monitoring are restricted to local scales.

 Reduction of human disturbance. A programme to limit the effects of human disturbance on grouse by ski-touring has been initiated in Germany. The major approaches are public awareness campaigns, re-routing of hiking and ski trail networks, and designation of core areas closed to the public (Zeitler and Glänzer 1998).

 

Priority conservation measures

Due to the vast range and secure status of the species, conservation needs are mostly local. Population monitoring to ensure sustainability of exploitation is recommended in areas with potentially high hunting pressure. In mountain ranges with high tourism pressure, measures should be initiated to minimise spatial and temporal overlap between important habitats and recreational activities, and their effectiveness monitored. In this context, activities that may increase the numbers of generalist predators (e.g. those that exploit garbage around ski-stations) need to be controlled.

 

Correspondents

Ariane Bernard-Laurent, Massimo Bocca, Ayurzanyn Bold, Miran Cas, Javier Castroviejo, Laurence Ellison, Michael Fasel, Yuzo Fujimaki, David Jenkins, Wolfgang Kantner, Harto Lindén, Christian Marti, Kathy Martin, Ann Matschke, Pierre Mollet, David Mossop, Olafur Nielsen, Roald Potatpov, Torstein Storaas, Ilse Storch, Adam Watson, Sun Yue-Hua, Albin Zeitler

 

Key publications

Holder, K. and Montgomerie, R. 1993. Rock ptarmigan. The birds of North America, No. 51. The birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

Potapov, R. L. and Flint, V. E. 1989. Handbuch der Vögel der Sowjetunion. Band 4 Galliformes, Gruiformes. 427 pp. Ziemsen Verlag Wittenberg Lutherstadt, Germany. (ISBN 3-7403-0027-2)