Alaska · UplandWhite-tailed ptarmigan

White-tailed ptarmigan is by far the most range-restricted of Alaska's three ptarmigan species. ADF&G's own species profile confines the range to Southcentral Alaska and central Yukon, generally not extending far north of the Alaska Range, and describes the species as a true bird of the mountains, living above timberline nearly year-round in the youngest, most rugged mountain ranges of southcentral and southeastern Alaska, boulder fields, snowfields, glaciers, cliffs, and rockslides at higher altitudes than either rock or willow ptarmigan use. This concentration is confirmed quantitatively: ADF&G's RY24 statewide wing-donation data shows 97% of all harvested white-tailed ptarmigan wings came from the Southcentral region alone, the single most lopsided regional concentration of any of Alaska's seven native grouse/ptarmigan species.