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
Ptarmigan (sternwheeler) surface). Captain Armstrong was able to raise "Ptarmigan" and return her to service. However "Ptarmigan" caught fire later in 1907, and her upper works were destroyed. Again, "Ptarmigan" was salvaged, her upper works were rebuilt and she was returned to service. The gasoline engine was a new development in the early 1900s. Captain Northcote Cantlie, who has gone down in history as "an eccentric Scot" purchased a gasoline-engined launch, "Gian", and placed her on the upper Columbia. Unlike Armstrong, Cantlie came from a wealthy background, drank champagne for breakfast, and kept a bagpiper as his personal attendant. Cantlie, knowing that