# Rock ptarmigan (*Lagopus muta*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/rock-ptarmigan  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) is a bird in the family Phasianidae and the order Galliformes. It is a small, sedentary, terrestrial herbivore of grassland habitat, with an adult body mass of 535.3 g and a wingspan of 57 cm. It lays one clutch of 7 eggs per year, the eggs are incubated for 21.5 days, and it reaches sexual maturity at 363.5 days. The IUCN lists the rock ptarmigan as Least Concern, not a threatened category, and its geographic range covers 15,000,000 km².

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 510.5 g – 665 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 57 cm |
| Lifespan | 6.08 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | grassland |
| Egg incubation | 21.5 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 7 |
| Age at maturity | 11.9 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Sedentary |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Galliformes
- family: Phasianidae
- genus: Lagopus
- species: *Lagopus muta* (Montin, 1781)

Synonyms: *Lagopus alpinus*, *Lagopus mutus*, *Lagopus mutus*, *Lagopus mutus*, *Lagopus mutus*, *Lagopus vulgaris*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the rock ptarmigan?

The rock ptarmigan is a bird in the family Phasianidae, order Galliformes.

### How heavy is a rock ptarmigan?

An adult rock ptarmigan weighs 535.3 g, with reported values from 510.5 g to 665 g. Its wingspan is 57 cm.

### What does the rock ptarmigan eat?

The rock ptarmigan is a herbivore.

### What habitat does the rock ptarmigan live in?

The rock ptarmigan lives in grassland habitat and is terrestrial and sedentary.

### Is the rock ptarmigan endangered?

No. The IUCN lists the rock ptarmigan as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a rock ptarmigan live?

The rock ptarmigan has a lifespan of 6.1 years.

### How many eggs does the rock ptarmigan lay?

The rock ptarmigan lays 7 eggs per clutch and one clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 21.5 days.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/rock-ptarmigan