This ptarmigan inhabits alpine areas of western North America. Its plumage changes with the seasons, and feathers cover its feet.
In summer it has mottled plumage that blends with rocky ground; in winter it turns white. Its feet are feathered.
White-tailed Ptarmigan inhabit North American alpine environments. Plants and arthropods provide food in brood-rearing areas during the short mountain growing season.
Researchers monitored 120 nests and 67 broods at three Colorado sites from 2013 to 2015, alongside changes in plants and arthropods available to broods.
A survival model linked greater seasonal food mismatch to lower survival, with young chicks especially susceptible. Seasonal food availability during growth is part of the breeding environment.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
The Colorado study links individual chick survival with seasonal resource matching. Conservation assessments can consider brood habitat together with the timing of plant and arthropod availability and breeding.