These birds live high in the alpine tundra of the Rocky Mountains around tree line, which is about 11,500 ft in elevation where trees stop growing. They change colors from white in winter to match the snow, to a mottled tan and gray to camouflage among the dirt and rocks the rest of the year. This means they are often molting, or changing plumage, and look like they are in transition like the ptarmigan that I carved as a linocut.

This White-tailed Ptarmigan linocut print is 9” x 12,” and the paper is 12” x 15.” It is printed on Rives BFK paper with black ink in an edition of 20.