Rock Ptarmigans Act as June Birds on Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023

Summary: Rock ptarmigans act as June birds on the Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 by which the National Audubon Society appreciates Arctic, near-Arctic wildlife.

"God talks to human beings through many vectors: through each other, through organized religion, through the great books of those religions, through wise people, through art and music and literature and poetry, but nowhere with such detail and grace and color and joy as through creation. When we destroy a species, when we destroy a special place, we're diminishing our capacity to sense the divine, understand who God is and what our own potential is." Robert Francis Kennedy Jr., April 19, 2023, Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts.

John James Audubon (April 26, 1785-Jan. 27, 1851) accommodated a spring-plumed male rock ptarmigan on the left and an adult winter-plumed white-tailed ptarmigan on the left with an accurately Arctic or near-Arctic habitat such as the couple appreciates along Canadian, Finnish, Greenlandic, Icelandic, Japanaese, Russian, Norwegian, Scottish and Unitedstatesian coastlines; rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) under synonym of American ptarmigan Tetrao mutus, Leach, and white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura) under synonym of white-tailed grous Tetrao leucurus, Swains; Drawn from Nature by J.J. Audubon, F.R.S., F.L.S.; Engraved, Printed & Coloured by Robt Havell, 1838; John James Audubon, The Birds of America, No. 84, Plate CCCCXVIII: No copyright--United States (NoC--US), via ULS (University of Pittsburgh Library System)

Rock ptarmigans act as June birds on the Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 by which the National Audubon Society appreciates Arctic, near-Arctic wildlife of coastal and continental Canada and the United States.

The Galliformes (from Latin gallus, “cock, male chicken, rooster” and -fōrmis, “-shaped”) galliform, gallinaceous, gamebird, gamefowl, landfowl order member breeds between April and June or July. The Phasianidae (from Greek φασιανός, “pheasant [Phasianus colchicus]” and -ειδής, “-like” via Latin -idæ) family member claims rocky tundra (from Lappish тӯннтрэ, “treeless” via Russian ту́ндра). Non-Arctic mountaintops draw Lagopus muta (from Greek λαγώς, “hare”; πούς, “foot” via Latin lagōpūs; mūtus, “silent”), described by Lars Jonasson Montin (Sep. 6, 1723-Jan. 3, 1785).

Rock ptarmigans (from Greek πτ[ερόν], “wing”; Goidelic tórmach, “addition” via Scots Gaelic tàrmachadh, “originating”) endure Andorran, Austrian, French, German, Kyrgyz, Slovenian, Spanish, Swiss and Tajik mountaintops.

Rock ptarmigans adapt to Arctic and near-Arctic climates along Canadian, Finnish, Greenlandic, Icelandic, Japanaese, Russian, Norwegian, Scottish and Unitedstatesian coastlines and to continental mountain climates of Andorra, France and Spain; Austria, Germany, Slovenia and Switzerland; and Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan; adapted from BirdLife International and Handbook of the Birds of the World (2016) 2006 Lagopus muta. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-2 @ https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22679464/113623562: Darekk2 and the IUCN Red List spatial data, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Female rock ptarmigans fit single-brooded eggs into natural, open-site or plant tuft- or rock-sheltered depressions, or bare, hollow scrapes that they finish with feathery, grassy linings.

Rock ptarmigan mothers-to-be generate 5 to 10 or 3 to 12 black-brown-blotched, black-brown-mottled, glossy, 1.69-inch- (43-millimeter-) long, 1.22-inch- (31-millimeter-) wide, smooth, sub-elliptical, white to white-yellow eggs. They have their eggs at 1- or 2-day intervals, with the next-to-last egg hastening 24- to 26-day incubations, during which rock ptarmigan fathers-to-be house themselves nearby. Maximally 8-year life expectancies include eggs hatching into downy, precocial (precocious, from Latin praecox, “early-ripened”) nestlings who inhabit birth nests after independence as 10- to 12-week-olds.

Male rock ptarmigans, as Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 June birds, join unmated-male flocks 5 to 6 weeks before the independent journeys of their weak-flying nestlings.

Rock ptarmigan mothers-to-be add 5 to 10, or 3 to 12 dark-marked, glossy, smooth, subelliptical eggs to their feather-, grass-, plant part-lined nests; Saturday, Sep. 3, 3011, 11:57, image of rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) eggs, collected in Lapland (Northern Sami: Sápmi); Collection Jacques Perrin de Brichambaut (Oct. 18, 1920-March 17, 2007), Muséum de Toulouse (Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de la ville de Toulouse, MHNT), Jardin des Plantes de Toulouse, quartier de Busca-Montplaisir, Toulouse center, Haute-Garonne department, Occitania region, southwest France: Didier Descouens (Archaeodontosaurus), CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons

Eggs hatching kindles rock ptarmigan nestlings with black-edged buff-rufous (from Latin rūfus, “red, red-haired, reddish, redheaded, ruddy”) to rufous bodies and black-sided buff-rufous to rufous heads.

The black-billed, black-eyed nestling looks buff-gray-white as a 10-day-old launching what ultimately looks like bursting flight patterns with rapid wingbeats and subsequent gliding and shallow flapping. Rock ptarmigan mothers and their young maintain close lifestyles until they move into all-female or all-male, large, non-breeding flocks for Arctic, near-Arctic coastal, inland winter months. Aspen (Populus), birch (Betula ssp) and willow (Salix ssp) trees’ summertime buds, flowers, leaves and seeds and wintertime buds and catkins nourish summer insect-nurtured rock ptarmigans.

Rock ptarmigans as Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar June birds offer brown- and black-barred, mottled-bellied, white-winged females and red eye-combed, white-bellied males with black-barred, brown-barred, brown-bodied upper-parts.

Bold-patterned down adorns rock ptarmigan chicks all the way to and over their legs, feet and toenails; Tuesday, July 9, 2013, 09:31, image of juvenile Japanese rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta japonica), Mount Ontake (御嶽山, Ontake-san), also known as Mount Kiso Ontake (木曽御嶽山, Kiso Ontake-san), Kiso town, Nagano prefecture, Chūbu region, central Japan: Alpsdake, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Winter plumage presents female rock ptarmigans with dark, small bills; dark eyes; white-feathered heads and necks; white-feathered backs, bellies and tails; and white-feathered feet and legs.

Winter-plumed rock ptarmigan males quarter dark, delicate, small bills; red combs above dark eyes; black- and white-barred, round, small heads; and black- and white-barred gray upperparts. Male rock ptarmigans reveal as winter plumage white-feathered bellies; white-feathered legs to feet white-feathered all the way to their claws; gray-patched, white-feathered wings; and black-feathered tails. Mature rock ptarmigans secure 12.5- to 15.5-inch- (32- to 40-centimeter-) long, 16- to 23-ounce (450- to 650-gram) bodies with 19.5- to 23.5-inch (50- to 60-centimeter) wingspans.

Rock ptarmigans as June birds on Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023 tend toward taciturnity even as rock ptarmigan males tender clucks, growls and raspy krrrh calls.

Black- and brown-barred upper-parts, mottled bellies and white wings announce summer plumage on female rock ptarmigans even as summer-plumed rock ptarmigan males appear with red combs above dark eyes; gray- and white-barred gray upper-parts; white bellies; gray-patched wings; and black tails. Summer plumage approaches summer tundra habitats even as winter plumage approaches the colors associated with dense evergreen stands along high-elevation rivers and streams and with open meadows; Friday, May 28, 2010, 11:22, image of pair of rock ptarmigans, Jotunheimen ("the home of the Jötunn"), southern Norway: Jan Frode Haugseth (Jafro), CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

John James Audubon (April 26, 1785-Jan. 27, 1851) accommodated a spring-plumed male rock ptarmigan on the left and an adult winter-plumed white-tailed ptarmigan on the left with an accurately Arctic or near-Arctic habitat such as the couple appreciates along Canadian, Finnish, Greenlandic, Icelandic, Japanaese, Russian, Norwegian, Scottish and Unitedstatesian coastlines; rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) under synonym of American ptarmigan Tetrao mutus, Leach, and white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura) under synonym of white-tailed grous Tetrao leucurus, Swains; Drawn from Nature by J.J. Audubon, F.R.S., F.L.S.; Engraved, Printed & Coloured by Robt Havell, 1838; John James Audubon, The Birds of America, No. 84, Plate CCCCXVIII: No copyright--United States (NoC--US), via ULS (University of Pittsburgh Library System) @ https://digital.library.pitt.edu/islandora/object/pitt%3Aaud0418; Birds of America, vol. V (1842), No. 32, Plate 160, opposite page 119, Not in copyright, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40383849; Biodiversity Heritage Library (BioDivLibrary), Public Domain, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/61021753@N02/8589032537/; Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ptarmigan2.jpg

Rock ptarmigans adapt to Arctic and near-Arctic climates along Canadian, Finnish, Greenlandic, Icelandic, Japanaese, Russian, Norwegian, Scottish and Unitedstatesian coastlines and to continental mountain climates of Andorra, France and Spain; Austria, Germany, Slovenia and Switzerland; and Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan; adapted from BirdLife International and Handbook of the Birds of the World (2016) 2006 Lagopus muta. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-2 @ https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22679464/113623562: Darekk2 and the IUCN Red List spatial data, CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rock_Ptarmigan_Lagopus_muta_distribution_map.png

Rock ptarmigan mothers-to-be add 5 to 10, or 3 to 12 dark-marked, glossy, smooth, subelliptical eggs to their feather-, grass-, plant part-lined nests; Saturday, Sep. 3, 3011, 11:57, image of rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) eggs, collected in Lapland (Northern Sami: Sápmi); Collection Jacques Perrin de Brichambaut (Oct. 18, 1920-March 17, 2007), Muséum de Toulouse (Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de la ville de Toulouse, MHNT), Jardin des Plantes de Toulouse, quartier de Busca-Montplaisir, Toulouse center, Haute-Garonne department, Occitania region, southwest France: Didier Descouens (Archaeodontosaurus), CC BY SA 4.0 International, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lagopède_Alpin_MHNT.jpg

Bold-patterned down adorns rock ptarmigan chicks all the way to and over their legs, feet and toenails; Tuesday, July 9, 2013, 09:31, image of juvenile Japanese rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta japonica), Mount Ontake (御嶽山, Ontake-san), also known as Mount Kiso Ontake (木曽御嶽山, Kiso Ontake-san), Kiso town, Nagano prefecture, Chūbu region, central Japan: Alpsdake, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lagopus_muta_japonica_(juvenile).JPG

Black- and brown-barred upper-parts, mottled bellies and white wings announce summer plumage on female rock ptarmigans even as summer-plumed rock ptarmigan males appear with red combs above dark eyes; gray- and white-barred gray upper-parts; white bellies; gray-patched wings; and black tails. Summer plumage approaches summer tundra habitats even as winter plumage approaches the colors associated with dense evergreen stands along high-elevation rivers and streams and with open meadows; Friday, May 28, 2010, 11:22, image of pair of rock ptarmigans, Jotunheimen ("the home of the Jötunn"), southern Norway: Jan Frode Haugseth (Jafro), CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rock_Ptarmigan_(Lagopus_Muta).jpg

For further information:

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BirdLife International. 2017. "Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus muta." (Errata version of 2016 assessment). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22679464A89358137.en
Available @ https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22679464/89358137

Bull, John; and John Farrand, Jr. July 1977. "276, 277 Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus mutus." Pages 446-447. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Eastern Region. Revised by John Farrand, Jr. Second edition, fully revised, fifth printing, July 1977. Chanticleer Press Edition. New York NY: Borzoi Book, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

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Howell, Catherine Herbert (Writer); and Mary B. Dickinson (Editor). 1999. "Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus mutus." Pages 136-137. Field Guide to the Birds of North America. Third Edition. Washington DC: National Geographic Society.

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/04/brooks-range-acts-as-wild-april-on.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 April 2023. "Arctic Terns Are April Birds on Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2023." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/04/arctic-terns-are-april-birds-on-audubon.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 March 2023. "Western Sandpipers Are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar 2022 March Birds." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/03/western-sandpipers-are-audubon-arctic.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/03/baffin-island-wolves-are-audubon-arctic.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 18 February 2023. "Musk Ox, Muskox Are Audubon Arctic Wall Calendar February 2022 Animals." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/02/musk-ox-muskox-are-audubon-arctic-wall.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/02/red-throated-loons-are-audubon-arctic.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/01/mallard-ducks-aced-audubon-arctic-wall.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/01/red-foxes-are-january-wildlife-on.html

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Marriner, Derdriu. 26 November 2022. "Eared Grebes Are November Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/11/eared-grebes-are-november-birds-on-2022.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 1 October 2022. "Barred Owls Are October Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/10/barred-owls-are-october-birds-on-2022.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/09/ham-and-ptarmigan-are-christmas-meats.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 3 September 2022. "Brown Pelicans Are September Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/09/brown-pelicans-are-september-birds-on.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/08/allens-hummingbirds-are-august-birds-on.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/07/reddish-egrets-are-july-birds-on-2022.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 4 June 2022. "American Oystercatchers Are June Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/06/american-oystercatchers-are-june-birds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 5 May 2022. "Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks Are May Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Sunday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/05/rose-breasted-grosbeaks-are-may-birds.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/04/crested-caracaras-appear-as-april-birds.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 19 March 2022. "Cerulean Warblers Are March Birds on the 2022 Audubon Calendar." Earth and Space News. Saturday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/03/cerulean-warblers-are-march-birds-on.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/02/northern-bobwhites-are-february-birds.html

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