The birds of Pasvik / E. I. Khlebosolov, O. A. Makarova, O. A. Khlebosolova [et al. ; English transl. Nikita Chernetsov]. - Ryazan : Golosgubernii, 2007. - 175 с. : ил., портр.

J.A. Kushel The Rock Ptarm igan inhabits m ountain tundra. evening they forage again. They overnight in snow. Only in late w inter, when most willow and birch shoots are covered w ith snow, Willow G rou se often sit on high w il­ lows and birches and eat apices o f twigs (Sem enov -T ian -Shan sky 1960, Semenov- Tian-Shansky & Gilyazov 1991). The Rock Ptarmigan inhabits th e m oun tain tu n d ra , m ainly m oun tain tops where rocks and detritus m inerals are alternated w ith mosses and lichens (Fig. 2.6). In summer, males and unpaired females live high in th e m o un tain s in the rocky desert. Broods usually occur in the lower part o f the A lpine belt on the grassy m ead ­ ows, in subshrub growths along the streams, at the old tu n d ra fire sites grown by polytrichum moss, sometimes in th e ravines w ith unm elted snow. In w inter, Rock Ptarm igans occur in the lower part o f the A lpine belt. On the B arents Sea coast this species can also be found in the low land tu n d ra (S em enov -T ian -Shan sky 1960, Semenov-T ian-Shansky & Gilyazov 1991). In summer, Rock Ptarm igans eat shoots, leaves, flowers and berries o f b ilber­ ry, great bilberry, red bilberry, alpine bearberry, black crowberry. They also take flowers and leaves o f different willows, m oun tain avens, saxifrage, and rom eda, Alpine hawkweed, seeds o f sedges, rush, wood rush, A rctic b irch , bulbs o f bu ck ­ wheat, polytrichum sporangia. Fledglings, apart from th is, eat slugs, spiders, b e e­ tles, caterpillars and o ther insects. Unlike o th e r grouse species, foraging regimen o f the Rock Ptarm igan does not change much w hen th e snow cover is established. In winter, they take the same food as in summer. They dig th e snow where the snow 92