Similar noises made by the tail, a swishing sound and decisive whoosh, are delivered during the final parts of the male’s courtship display. Home. The Franklin's subspecies of Spruce Grouse in Montana, Idaho, Washington, and British Columbia have a darker black breast without white barring. Get Instant ID help for 650+ North American birds. The spruce grouse or Canada grouse is a medium-sized grouse closely associated with the coniferous boreal forests or taiga of North America. See more images of this species in Macaulay Library. Tail is either black with fine white spots near base (Franklin's) or black with rufous-brown tip (Tiaga). When finally ready to move, will often run only a short distance, or fly only to a nearby tree. Search. Most of the remaining subspecies are of the "Canada" Spruce Grouse type (canadensis, labradorius, osgoodi, atratus, canace, torridus). Spruce Grouse has two very different forms with differences in plumage, behavior, and genetics: "Franklin’s" Spruce Grouse (subspecies franklinii) inhabits montane forests in parts of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, Alberta, and British Columbia. The tail is either dark or tipped in chestnut depending on location. Males perform a strutting display in spring to entice females. Females are browner and intricately patterned; best distinguished from other grouse by short tail and barred chest and belly. Males are brown-black with neat white spots and, during displays, a searing red eyebrow comb. Favorites. Females are mottled in brown, gray, gold, black, and white; males are similarly patterned above but more blackish, with variable white feathering below. When approached by a predator, it relies on camouflage and immobility to an amazing degree, for example letting people come to within a few feet before finally taking flight, a behavior that has earned it the nickname "fool's hen". Chicks in alarm give a high, short seer. Females also give calls including a short kuk, nasal purr, and a sharper version of the latter, sounding like a bark. Spruce grouse. This individual from Maine has chestnut tips. Feeds primarily on needles from spruce and pines, but when not eating needles they forage on the ground, eating fresh growth from shrubs and understory plants. But our camp was on a lake surrounded by black spruce, and we usually had a couple of spruce grouse wander through camp each day. A - Z. App. Most Franklin’s Spruce Grouse make a loud double wing clap by striking the wingtips together over the head. I took it with a grain of salt and moved on with my day. Spruce Grouse are usually solitary in summer, but in winter they may gather in loose flocks. These chickenlike birds eat mostly the needles of fir, spruce, and pine, an aromatic diet that makes them unpalatable to many hunters. Generally act very tame; may allow a hunter or a slow-moving vehicle to approach to within a few feet. Spruce Grouse: Medium grouse with barred, dark gray-brown upperparts, black underparts show white bars on breast, white chevrons on sides, belly. Get Instant ID help for 650+ North American birds. This female has chestnut mottling throughout with strong horizontal barring on the underparts. Throat is white-bordered black; red eye combs. song. They use younger, regenerating tracts with a dense understory more than old growth. Chicks in alarm give a high, short seer. It is one of the most arboreal grouse, fairly well adapted to perching and moving about in trees. Smaller than a Dusky Grouse, larger than a California Quail. A stout chickenlike bird with a small bill, short but thick legs, and medium-length tail that can be fanned into a semicircle. Common in the north woods but very easy to overlook, the Spruce Grouse eludes many birders who seek it. Absurdly tame, it may sit motionless while observers pass by just a few feet away, and it may thus go unnoticed. Spruce Grouse forage on the ground for small plants, fungi, and insects; or in coniferous trees, where they nibble fresh needles, their primary diet for most of the year. Most Franklin’s Spruce Grouse make a loud double wing clap by striking the wingtips together over the head. Other partridges, grouse… He told me a story, claiming it was possible to locate and even call in ptarmigan by clicking rocks together. Eats primarily pine and spruce needles in the canopy, but also forages on the ground for insects, fresh growth on shrubs, and berries. Females come in two color morphs, gray and chestnut. Females also give calls including a short kuk, nasal purr, and a sharper version of the latter, sounding like a bark. Females are intricately scaled with brown, buff, and white. Plump bird of spruce forests. The Cornell Lab will send you updates about birds, birding, and opportunities to help bird conservation. Males in conflict sometimes utter low croaking notes but otherwise seldom vocalize. Other Sounds. Quiet and inconspicuous in coniferous forests, especially where moss covers ground.