Talk:White-tailed ptarmigan

Article rating

I promoted the article to B class. I think it is close to satisfying the criteria of good articles. Suggestions include:

• The range of Ranunculus nivalis does not extend south of British Columbia.[1] What species do ptarmigan substitute in the southern part of their range?
• The red-links in the diet section should be fixed.
• A hunting bag limit is mentioned. Where are ptarmigan hunted? Were they exploited by Native Americans/First Nations? What about European explorers/hunter/trappers? Are there other cultural uses?

--Walter Siegmund (talk) 19:00, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:White-tailed Ptarmigan/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Yzx (talk · contribs) 01:49, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

I'll take a look. Comments to follow. -- Yzx (talk) 01:49, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

• Images OK
• Formatting of author names in references is inconsistent

Done Cwmhiraeth (talk) 09:30, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

• ref 15 has a full date while all other refs only have year; also, there's no website information

Done Cwmhiraeth (talk) 09:30, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

• Italicization is inconsistent across refs, some titles are not in italics where they should be

Done Cwmhiraeth (talk) 09:30, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

• Formatting of volume number is inconsistent

Done Cwmhiraeth (talk) 09:30, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

• Why is "snow quail" not capitalized?

Done Cwmhiraeth (talk) 09:30, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

There are still some common names not capitalized, e.g. from the much browner willow ptarmigan and rock ptarmigan -- Yzx (talk) 02:55, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

Done. Do you think that "ptarmigan" should be capitalised every time I use it? Cwmhiraeth (talk) 05:10, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

I've thought about this, but I'm not sure. I think an argument can be made either way. -- Yzx (talk) 17:22, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

• Sierra Nevada should be linked

Done Cwmhiraeth (talk) 09:30, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

• finely-barred greyish coloration -- where is this barring exactly?

Done Cwmhiraeth (talk) 09:30, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

• What is an eyecomb?

Explained Cwmhiraeth (talk) 09:30, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

• The quote may be better placed under adaptation, since it's about the bird's camouflage ability

Moved Cwmhiraeth (talk) 09:30, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

• Any chance of a distribution map?

Maps are difficult Cwmhiraeth (talk) 12:54, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

• Timber line should be linked

Done Cwmhiraeth (talk) 09:30, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

• I don't understand; if the bird is found permanently above the treeline, how can it stay in "high valleys and mountain slopes where alder, willow, birch and spruce poke through the snow cover"? Those are trees, aren't they?

Changed to above or near the tree line. Even above the tree line there may be dwarf willows and birches and other low woody or semi-woody shrubs. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 09:30, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

• but become locally extinct -- should be "became"

Done Cwmhiraeth (talk) 09:30, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

• One side of the nest is generally left open as an escape route -- I can't picture this; if the nest is a pit in the ground, how can one side of it be open?

That's what the source said. The nest might be among rocks, dwarf scrub and tufted plants and have an easy escape route with no foliage. I can remove the sentence if you like. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 09:30, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

Maybe just say that it leaves an escape route on one side? -- Yzx (talk) 02:55, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

Done Cwmhiraeth (talk) 05:10, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

• avoids flight as far as possible -- think "as much as possible" is more appropriate

Done Cwmhiraeth (talk) 09:30, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

• During the summer, the ptarmigan eats grit to assist in digesting plant material -- seems like this belongs under Diet

Moved Cwmhiraeth (talk) 09:30, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

• There needs to be some mention of IUCN status and why it was granted in the body of the article

Added Cwmhiraeth (talk) 12:54, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

• Hunting limits are mentioned; is this bird hunted? If so, why?

For sport, I guess Cwmhiraeth (talk) 09:30, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

• It'd be nice to have some information on the circumstances of the bird's scientific description

I haven't managed to find this information. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 12:54, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

• In particular, I was confused about why (Richardson 1831) was in parentheses, but I figured out that the original species name was Tetrao (Lagopus) leucurus Richardson 1831. This synonym should be noted in the article.

Added Cwmhiraeth (talk) 12:54, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

It should also be in the taxobox, since it's an objective synonym -- Yzx (talk) 02:55, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

• Is there any phylogenetic information?

Added Cwmhiraeth (talk) 12:54, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

"Sister species" can be linked -- Yzx (talk) 02:55, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

Done Cwmhiraeth (talk) 05:10, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

Overall a nice read. -- Yzx (talk) 02:20, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

• Thank you for taking on this review. I have dealt with some of the points you raise. More later. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 09:30, 13 July 2013 (UTC)

The article looks good, so I'm promoting to GA. Nice job. -- Yzx (talk) 17:22, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

• Thank you for conducting the review. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 18:05, 16 July 2013 (UTC)