This bird was totally fearless of people, which allowed me to get down nice and low for a great angle. Definitely one of my favorite photos of all time, even though I am much more at home in tropical areas. At 12000 ft./3660 m., it takes a long time for the snow to melt. This photo was taken on May 1st, but it still looked like the middle of winter, and this ptarmigan had barely begun to molt into it's mostly brown summer plumage.
Africa (entire continent rather than south of Sahara)
AN
Antarctica
AO
Atlantic Ocean
AU
Australasia (Wallacea (Indonesian islands east of Wallace's line), New Guinea and its islands, Australia, New Zealand and its subantarctic islands, the Solomons, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu)
PAL
Eurasia (Europe, Asia from the Middle East through central Asia north of the Himalayas, Siberia and northern China to Japan)
IO
Indian Ocean
LA
Latin America (Middle and South America)
MA
Middle America (Mexico through Panama)
NA
North America (includes the Caribbean)
NO
Northern oceans
OR
Oriental Region (South Asia from Pakistan to Taiwan, plus Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and Greater Sundas)