Ptarmigan - description, habitat

The tundra (or Tundra) partridge (keklik) is a very small bird. She is a very cautious animal, preferring to settle in places as far as possible from human life. This is due to the fact that the bird is of commercial value, the excellent taste of its succulent meat is well known to game lovers.

Characteristics of game birds

This class of birds belongs to the order of chickens and is a member of the pheasant family. The main habitat of their habitat is considered the mountainous Arctic, and still stony and lichen tundra. In addition, partridges can be found on some islands of the Arctic Ocean, in the mountains of Scotland, the Alps, the slopes of the Pyrenean ranges and in several northern regions of Japan. The life span of a polar inhabitant reaches 6 years.

The weight of a ptarmigan reaches 600 grams, and the total length of the bird is 40 centimeters together with the beak and tail. In the mating season, females can gain up to 650 grams in weight. There are practically no visible differences between the female and the male. Only in winter, when the birds clothe in the snow-white plumage, the males form black stripes, clearly visible on the head of the bird.

Kekliks spend the main part of their life on the ground, they feel very confident on their feet and run excellently. For the rest, these birds settle, taking shelter in the thickets of shrubs, under the cover of mosses, or settling in crevices between the stones. Winter frosts, they adapted to wait, making holes in the snow, hiding there from the weather for most of the day. For feeding, these northern birds prefer to choose the morning or evening hours.

Most partridges are sedentary, adhering to the limits of their land.However, in winter, when the weather conditions are especially harsh, they are forced to migrate to more southern areas, being like other members of this order. On average, the distance of a partridge's flights does not exceed 500 kilometers, but the inhabitants of Greenland are forced to travel over distances reaching 1000 kilometers.

In the natural habitat of a keklik there are a lot of different enemies, on the ground they are waited by inventive arctic foxes and treacherous foxes, for whom the partridge meat is a valuable trophy. And in the sky they are pursued by various birds of prey, with which low-skilled flyers cannot fly by their flight classes. Ptarmigan refers to game birds that are allowed to hunt. However, the remote location of their habitats makes them rare prey for hunters.

Mating season

Tundra kekliks prefer monogamous relations, but a feature of their type is that if the number of females within the family’s habitat exceeds the number of males, then the gallant cavaliers do not disregard single female friends, arranging patronage over several females.It is noteworthy that in this case the nest is built one for all females belonging to a wealthy male. Nevertheless, relationships among females in such a situation are quite friendly, and the female with the brightest summer plumage becomes the absolute favorite.

A male keklik chooses a settlement and a nest device independently. The entire territory of the community, during the hatching of chicks, is divided into zones of influence, the boundaries of which are zealously defended. If the limits of possessions of Tundra kekliks are associated with the habitats of the white partridges, then a peaceful existence between males of different subspecies cannot be expected.

Sexual maturity at the Tundra partridge begins after one year of life, and with the onset of the approaching spring, the birds create their first pair. The female builds the nest, preferring areas of low grass for this. In extreme cases, she uses a place under the cover of stones or arranges a small hole in soft soil.

In order to maintain a stable temperature inside the nest, during the incubation period, the female uses personal litter technology.To do this, carefully selected dry grass, which is mixed with moss and covered with feathers from your own "wardrobe".

The beginning of the marital activity of the Tundra partridges depends on the habitat of the population. This period is due to weather conditions and lasts from the second half of May to the last days of June. In the laying of females there are from 8 to 20 eggs, they have a characteristic yellow-red hue, camouflaged with dark spots. The incubation period for partridges lasts up to 26 days. Hatching chicks dry for several hours, then they rise and no longer lag behind their parents. If the chicks happen to be orphaned, then their adoptive parents.

Features molting

The females of the Tundra partridge have the individual characteristics of spring molting, the winter feather is replaced by the summer one in a short period of time, so that by the beginning of the mating season to be “fully armed”. Birds living in regions with more severe northern conditions also have peculiar differences in the characteristics of molting. Warm winter plumage, located on the legs, they retain even in the summer.

But partridges of this subspecies that inhabit the territory of Scotland, in the winter retain summer colors in their plumage. A peculiarity of the molt of males is considered to be a transitional form in the spring, when the motley feathers of summer color appear interspersed with white ones.

Distinctive features of the color of the young partridge

For the first time in the adult plumage, the youngsters dress, as a rule, in the fall, and it looks very colorful. On the neck of young birds a gray-yellow color is formed, which starts from the head of the bird and descends, covering the upper part of the chest. The abdomen of the young individual is almost completely painted white.Their chest and sides are covered with autumn plumage in the first place. The character of the color in these places acquires a streamy structure of a yellowish tint, located on a gray, and sometimes on a grayish-brown background. The back and sides of the neck of young fashionistas are decorated with plumage with a motley placer consisting of spots of white and cream shades.