Moults of wild Scottish ptarmigan, Lagopus mutus, in relation to sex, climate and status

The three annual moults and plumages of Scottish ptarmigan ( Lagopus mutus ) were studied from shot specimens but particularly from field observations. Cocks were ahead of hens in showing the grey autumn plumage but hens were ahead of cocks in turning white in winter. Although cocks were ahead in gr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Zoology
Main Author: Watson, Adam
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 1973
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1973.tb02216.x
https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1469-7998.1973.tb02216.x
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1973.tb02216.x
https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1973.tb02216.x
Description
Summary:The three annual moults and plumages of Scottish ptarmigan ( Lagopus mutus ) were studied from shot specimens but particularly from field observations. Cocks were ahead of hens in showing the grey autumn plumage but hens were ahead of cocks in turning white in winter. Although cocks were ahead in growing summer plumage, after late April the hens passed them. Ptarmigan on the same hill turned dark earlier in mild than in cold springs.