The Mount Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura rainierensis) is a chicken-sized bird in the grouse family, and one of the few animals to spend its entire life in the alpine environment. It is one of five subspecies of white-tailed ptarmigan in North America. Other subspecies can be found in Alaska, Vancouver Island and the Rocky Mountains.

The “p” in ptarmigan is silent. (pronounced “TAR-mih-gun”)

The plural of ptarmigan is the same as the singular. There is no “s” added.

The Mount Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan is found in high-elevation alpine environments in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state and British Columbia. The boundary of the subspecies’ territory stretches from the Fraser River Valley in British Columbia south to Mount Adams.

The bird is uniquely suited to its chilly domain with feathered, snowshoe-like feet to keep it warm and help it traverse snow. Its plumage also changes color seasonally to match its alpine surroundings. During winter months, its feathers turn snow-white to camouflage itself. In the brief summer, it similarly changes to a mottled brown and white to blend into the tundra and dwindling patches of snow.

Adult ptarmigan primarily eat plants found in the alpine environment including dwarf huckleberry, heathers, saxifrages, and dwarf willow.

The Mount Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan is likely to be in danger of extinction within the foreseeable future. This is solely due to the projected effects of climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change , especially increasing temperatures and a loss of the conditions that support suitable alpine habitat.

Climate change is expected to significantly diminish the alpine habitat upon which the Mount Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan depends, driven by decreases in meltwater from snowpack and glaciers as well as a rising tree line. As the tree line creeps upward, the bird’s habitat will disappear.

The birds also have a low tolerance for excessive heat. Their survival during warmer months depends on access to pockets of cool shelter within their habitat that are likely to diminish. Climate change will similarly affect the timing and abundance of the bird’s seasonal foods, leading to a lack of available resources.

Yes. Several examples of listing determinations where climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change impacts were identified as one of the primary drivers of status include meltwater and lednian stoneflies, eastern black rail, and polar bear. However, even if climate change is not one of the primary drivers of status, we still consider how it impacts the species.

Worldwide, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has been tracking threats to species, and indicates that climate change is currently affecting 19% of species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, increasing the likelihood of their extinction. 

The Service is implementing a 4(d) rule that provides measures for its conservation by prohibiting take, except as otherwise authorized or permitted. Listing under the ESA also results in increased public awareness and conservation by agencies, partner organizations, and individuals. 

Further actions that are necessary to halt or reverse the species' decline will be addressed at later dates in a Recovery Outline followed by a Recovery Plan for the species. 

No, the Service has not designated critical habitat for the Mount Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan. However, as noted in the final listing rule, in light of revised regulations in April 2024, the Service will reevaluate our 2021 determination that the designation of critical habitat for the ptarmigan is not prudent, and if prudent, will publish a separate determination in the future in the Federal Register.

In that determination, we will also respond to any comments related to critical habitat in general that we received during the public comment period on our June 15, 2021, proposed rule (86 FR 31668).

We don’t know if numbers of Mount Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan have changed over time, as to date no one has tracked range-wide population trends of the bird in a systematic, comprehensive way. The proposed listing of the bird is based on projections and changes we expect to see in the amount and distribution of their habitat as a result of climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change . The habitat this bird occupies will be significantly reduced, and populations are likely to follow. The Species Status Assessment, however, does include maps of observations https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FWS-R1-ES-2020-0076/document.

Pinnacle Peak near Mount Rainier was where the subspecies was first identified as separate from other subspecies of white-tailed ptarmigan (Taylor, 1920). As the largest and tallest of mountains in the Cascade Range, the area around Mount Rainier is also a very visible example of the bird’s habitat.

Due to its elevation, the mountain is also likely to be one of the species’ last major refuges as its habitat disappears elsewhere.