• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2016	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	altitudinal migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	77,700,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	17,500,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	5000000-24999999 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2012
Population trend	decreasing	-	suspected	-
Generation length	4.2 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population is estimated to number > c.8,000,000 individuals (Rich et al. 2004). The European population is estimated at 257,000-1,010,000 pairs, which equates to 514,000-2,020,000 mature individuals (BirdLife International 2015). Europe forms approximately 10% of the global range, so a very preliminary estimate of the global population size is 5,140,000-20,200,000 mature individuals, although further validation of this estimate is needed. National population estimates include: <c.100 breeding pairs in China; c.100-10,000 breeding pairs in Japan and c.100,000-1 million breeding pairs in Russia (Brazil 2009).

Trend justification: The population has declined locally owing to habitat loss (especially over-grazing by sheep) and mountain tourism, including establishment of ski-resorts. The species is not thought to be vulnerable to over-hunting (del Hoyo et al. 1994). In Europe the population size is estimated to be decreasing at a rate approaching 30% in 12.6 years (three generations) (BirdLife International 2015).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Andorra	extant	native	yes
Austria	extant	native	yes
Bulgaria	extant	vagrant
Canada	extant	native	yes		yes
China (mainland)	extant	native	yes
Faroe Islands (to Denmark)	extant	introduced	yes
Finland	extant	native	yes
France	extant	native	yes
Germany	extant	native	yes
Greenland (to Denmark)	extant	native	yes
Iceland	extant	native	yes
Italy	extant	native	yes
Japan	extant	native	yes
Kazakhstan	extant	native	yes
Liechtenstein	extant	native	yes
Mongolia	extant	native	yes
Norway	extant	native	yes
Russia	extant	native	yes
Russia (Asian)	extant	native	yes
Russia (Central Asian)	extant	native	yes
Russia (European)	extant	native	yes
Slovenia	extant	native	yes
Spain	extant	native	yes
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (to Norway)	extant	native	yes
Sweden	extant	native	yes
Switzerland	extant	native	yes
Tajikistan	extant	native	yes
United Kingdom	extant	native	yes
USA	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Austria	Hohe Tauern National Park
Austria	Karwendel
Austria	Silvretta and Verwall
France	Haut Giffre
France	Hautes Vallées d'Aspe et d'Ossau
France	Massif du Canigou-Carança
France	Parc National de la Vanoise
France	Parc National des Ecrins
France	Parc National du Mercantour
France	Puig Carlit et environs
France	Rive Gauche de la Vallée d'Aspe et Pic d'Anie
Italy	Adamello-Brenta
Italy	Gran Paradiso
Italy	Lagorai mountains
Italy	Maritime Alps
Italy	Mont Blanc (Italian side)
Italy	Monte Rosa (versante valdostano) ed Alta Val Sesia
Italy	Stelvio National Park
Italy	Val d'Ossola
Slovenia	Grintovci
Slovenia	Julijci
Slovenia	Karavanke
Spain	Alt Pallars
Spain	Belagua-Ansó-Hecho
Spain	Cerdaña
Spain	Collarada-Telera
Spain	Fresser-Setcases
Spain	Ordesa-Bielsa
Spain	Panticosa-Vignemale-Tendeñera
Spain	Posets-Maladeta
Spain	San Mauricio-Bohí-Beret

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Grassland	Tundra	major	resident
Altitude	2000 - 5000 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Whole (>90%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Indirect ecosystem effects, Ecosystem degradation

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence, national
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international
Sport hunting/specimen collecting	subsistence, national

---

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus muta. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/rock-ptarmigan-lagopus-muta on 25/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 25/12/2024.