White-tailed Ptarmigan vs Altai Snowcock

Lagopus leucura 对比 Tetraogallus altaicus

Side-by-Side Comparison

属性 White-tailed Ptarmigan Altai Snowcock
学名 Lagopus leucura Tetraogallus altaicus
Galliformes Galliformes
Phasianidae Phasianidae
保护状况 Least Concern Least Concern
体长
翼展 34.6 cm (13.6 in) 56.9 cm (22.4 in)
体重 361.8 g (12.76 oz) 2770.0 g (97.71 oz)
食性 Eats alpine willow and heather buds and leaves; switches to berries and insects in summer. … Feeds on alpine grasses, seeds, berries, and shoots; digs for roots and bulbs in Altai …
产卵数 2-9 4-15
Population Trend

Habitat Comparison

共同栖息地

White-tailed Ptarmigan only

Altai Snowcock only

Song & Call Comparison

White-tailed Ptarmigan

鸣唱

Soft, chicken-like clucking 'ko-ko-ko'; quiet relative to other ptarmigan. Alarm is a sharp 'kek' series. Males give low, croaking calls on alpine tundra at dawn. Flock contact is muted burbling.

Altai Snowcock

鸣唱

Loud, ringing whistled 'whi-WHEEE' echoing across Altai alpine slopes; deeper than Tibetan Snowcock due to larger size. Alarm is rapid barking. Calls at dawn from rocky ridgelines.

Geographic Range & Migration

White-tailed Ptarmigan

Breeds in alpine tundra from Alaska south through the Rockies to New Mexico. Largely resident, descending to lower elevations in winter.

Altai Snowcock

Resident of alpine rocky slopes and grassy hillsides in the Altai and Sayan mountains of Russia, Kazakhstan, and western Mongolia, at 2,000–4,000 m.

保护状况

Least Concern

White-tailed Ptarmigan

Least Concern

Altai Snowcock

How to Tell Them Apart

White-tailed Ptarmigan

Altai Snowcock

羽毛

Largest snowcock; grey-brown upperparts with buff streaks; white underparts with grey breast; rufous necklace streaks on lower neck; white outer tail in flight; whitish face with dark ear patch. Sexes …

About These Birds

White-tailed Ptarmigan

The smallest ptarmigan (~360 g) of family Phasianidae; the only ptarmigan with a white tail year-round. Inhabits alpine tundra and rocky slopes above treeline in the Rocky Mountains from Alaska to New Mexico. Plumage turns all-white in winter for camouflage. Feeds on willows, sedges, and berries. Least Concern; well adapted to extreme mountain environments but vulnerable to climate warming.

Altai Snowcock

The largest snowcock (~2.77 kg), family Phasianidae, of alpine scree and subalpine meadows in the Altai and Tian Shan ranges of Central Asia. Heavily built, grey and white with rusty-brown markings. Feeds on roots, bulbs, and alpine plants. Forms small flocks outside breeding season. Least Concern.

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