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 of heat from the subsurface land and ocean (both of which gain heat in summer and release it in winter) to the surface and atmosphere. Arctic days lengthen rapidly in March and April, and the sun rises higher in the sky, both bringing more solar radiation to the Arctic than in winter. During these early months of Northern Hemisphere spring most of the Arctic is still experiencing winter conditions, but with the addition of sunlight. The continued low temperatures, and the persisting white snow cover, mean that this additional energy reaching the Arctic from the sun is slow to have