The ptarmigan is the state bird of Alaska. It is white in the winter and brown in the summer to blend with its surroundings. There are several kinds of ptarmigan in various areas throughout the state. These birds, as a general rule, tend to act tame. It you were to visit the island of Adak, a member of the Andreanof group in the Aleutian Islands, and climb Mt. Moffet, you would probably still find large numbers of ptarmigan that would ignore your presence. It used to be possible to get close enough to a ptarmigan to pet it as you might your favorite cat. The song tells us much more about some unusual features of this interesting bird.
There's a bird in the North we shall sing to today,
And his name is Terry the Ptarmigan.
He's a fast flying bird,
And he flies silently,
And he's pretty as a bird could be.
He has thick feathered legs clear down to his claws,
And he changes colors each season.
He is white when there's snow,
And he's brown when it's warm,
And he changes colors just for that reason.
Terry walks on the snow and without sinking in,
And his feathered feet help to do this.
He's a bird that is shy,
Yet he'd like to be tame,
But so many hunters try to shoot him.
Now to Terry we sing because we love him so,
And we hope we often will see him,
'Way up high by his home near the tundra so soft.
When I'm there I think I’ll sing this to cheer him.
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