Lagopus term is of feminine gender, and the specific epithet has to agree with that, the feminine "muta" and "leucura" are correct. The English name "ptarmigan" comes from the Scottish Gaelic name for the bird, , whose origin is unknown. The p- was added due to a mistaken belief in a Greek origin, as if the word were related to the Greek word ("pterón"), 'wing'. The three species are all sedentary specialists of cold regions. Willow ptarmigan is a circumpolar boreal forest species, white-tailed ptarmigan is a North American alpine bird, and rock ptarmigan breeds in both Arctic and mountain habitats
Climate of the Arctic twice as much as the global mean temperature has. In 2009, NASA reported that 45 percent or more of the observed warming in the Arctic since 1976 was likely a result of changes in tiny airborne particles called aerosols. Climate models predict that the temperature increase in the Arctic over the next century will continue to be about twice the global average temperature increase. By the end of the 21st century, the annual average temperature in the Arctic is predicted to increase by , with more warming in winter ( than in summer. Decreases in sea-ice extent and thickness are