Willow ptarmigan seeds and berries during the summer and largely subsisting on the buds and twigs of willow and other dwarf shrubs and trees during the winter. The willow ptarmigan is a medium to large ground-dwelling bird and is the most numerous of the three species of ptarmigan. Males and females are about the same size, the adult length varying between with a wingspan ranging from . The weight is . It is deep-chested and has a fairly long neck, a broad bill, short feathered legs and a moderately short rounded tail. In the summer, the male's plumage is marbled brown, with
Ptarmigan (sternwheeler) allowed the vessel to be more capable of pushing barges, which increased the vessel's utility and effective cargo capacity. "Ptarmigan" was placed on the Columbia River route that began at Golden and ran south, at least during high water, to Columbia Lake, the ultimate source of the Columbia River. In 1903, soon after completion, "Ptarmigan" was sold to the Columbia River Lumber Company, which hired Armstrong to manage its steamboat operations. In 1907 "Ptarmigan" hit a snag and sank (A snag is a sunken log jammed in the river bottom but sticking up through the water to just below the