Adult male in breeding plumage. Uinta mountains,Utah
ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14473677 These are not easy birds to find. I spent 2 days in the alpine scouring the Tundra trying to find one. Day 1: gale force 70mph winds kept me limited to the leeward sides of the ridge,summited the peak, found feathers and scat,but no luck. Day 2: 25F in the morning, but the winds were light,only 5-20mph,I took a different route staying on the ledges below the peak,finally found one 3/4 the way around the mountain. They are so camouflaged that unless they move or cluck,its almost impossible to see them in the rocks, and they wont move unless you get within 10 yards,but once you do find them they are tame and allow close approach. I've spent the last 3 summers trekking across the alpine tundra of the Uintas,as well as in Colorado and Montana trying to get one,no luck. I have trekked across a LOT of tundra every summer in the Uintas in the past 20 years,this is my 6th one,last one in 2009,first 1999