Alpenschneehuhn (Alpine Rock ptarmigan)

Another of the detail Images I'm drawing for my Bachelor project for the Swiss National Park about Alp Grimmels. This one being from the Ice age(s) (30'000-12'000 years ago). Back then the Alps and the Swiss National Park were covered by glaciers with a thickness of two or more Kilometers. The ecosystem was comparable to that of the arctic tundra, with sparse vegetation and highly adapted animals such as reindeer and the here depicted rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta). As the ice retreated north, so did the animals and vegetation adapted to those conditions, in order to make room for the typical moist Middle European ecosystems. Whilst those arctic organisms vanished from Western and Middle Europe, some organisms remained in the higher regions of the Alps as glacial relics from the Ice Age, even though they are part of typically Arctic or Skandinavian ecosystems of today. The rock ptarmigan of the Alps (Lagopus muta helvetica) therefor became a subspecies of the common rock ptarmigan known in Northern Europe.
Rock ptarmigans are well camouflaged to the rocky mountain peaks to do not be spotted by predators, such as the golden eagle. In late autumn they will grow a new all white plumage to remain camouflaged during winter. This has to be timed well in order to prevent being an easy to spot all white bird between the rocks or vice versa. Therefor I drew an already white hen and a cock (that's dirty!) that's still in the middle of changing it's plumage. Cocks feature a black line between the beak and eyes, as well as a red crest above the eyes in order to attract the hens. Rock ptarmigans are famous for their big feet covered with dense fur-like feathers in order to keep their feet warm and prevent sinking into the snow. They function as snow shoes so to speak. Also they are highly resistant to extremely cold temperatures by puffing themselves up into fluffy feather balls or in extreme cases, by digging several meters deep into the snow to sit out extreme weather in their own small igloos. The Alpine Rock ptarmigan is considered endangered today due to climate change that may reduces it's current habitats even more due to rising temperatures and lesser snowfall in the Alps.


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