Scandinavian Mountains over 2000m - Flora & Fauna

Scandinavian Mountains over 2000 metres - James Baxter

Flora & FaunaBirds › Willow Grouse

Lagopus lagapus, Willow Grouse, Lirype. 41cm.

Willow Grouse
A common resident found in the mountain birch and willow scrub zones.

Nests in a scrape well hidden in the scrub. It eats buds, flowers and seeds of willow scrub, also berries when available. In addition it will eat some insects.

Difficult to tell from ptarmigan but lives lower down the mountains and is larger. It is also white in winter and mottled in the summer with a rufus speckling.