Male is mottle gray above, black throat and breast and red visible above each eyes. Female is a barred rusty-brown with a rusty orange band at the tip of the blackish tail. Very common in open woodlands, forest edges and muskeg. They feed on spruce needle, buds, berries, seeds, plants and insects. They are the largest of the 3 species in Alaska and are 16 inches long.
Males have red eyebrows in spring and summer.
They are found in willow shrub thickets and occasionally in mudkeg. They feed on willow, alder and birch leaves and buds and berries. They are the smallest of the family and usually prefer the higher more exposed rocky slopes. It is distinguished in winter by black bar through its eye, and in summertime its color is gray-brown with a lot of white showing. Both sex have red eyebrows during breeding season.