The Willow Ptarmigan is Alaska's State Bird. This bird is really good at camouflage — in the winter they turn completely white (in all the snow) while this time of year, their dappled brown feathers blend in really well in Alaska's summer landscape. We spotted this family out for a stroll on the outskirts of Denali National Park.
Of course this was a new bird for us because it doesn't migrate into the lower 48.
Ptarmigans are members of the grouse family. They are protective parents as we could tell watching them shepherd their babies.
Sometime after our visit to Denali, we spent a night in the old mining town of Chicken. The legend is that the settlers spotted a whole lot of these birds around the area and wanted to name their new town after them, but they couldn't agree on how to spell it. So they settled on Chicken. (I don't blame them.)
Sharing these birds (not the chicken) with WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY. Thank you to Stewart for hosting.
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