today's bird is the willow ptarmigan, also called « awebo » due to the sound they make! | (• ◡•)| in summer, the male is reddish-brown, the female brown, and the female brown with white wings. the winter plumage is almost entirely white, although the males have a red wattle above each eye. their diet varies according to the season and the age of the birds. it consists mainly of herbaceous plants, as well as the buds, shoots, and leaves of bushes and deciduous trees. in autumn, they also feed on various berries, and in winter, more exclusively on willow and birch buds. the fledglings begin by feeding on insects (including mosquitoes) before adopting a more herbivorous diet, more or less, when they begin to fly. the willow ptarmigan inhabits the boreal belt of the northern hemisphere, like the rock ptarmigan, but it does not extend as far north, ranging further south. it frequents mainly lower-altitude regions, tundras and forests dotted with ponds, where it finds ideal nesting conditions and sufficient food resources. it avoids the rocky and barren habitats preferred by the rock ptarmigan.