Blue or Spruce Grouse! Need help! (1 Viewer)

[B.C. Birder]

Hey,

So I was walking up a road (by my house) when I noticed there was a grouse on the side of the road. I almost wrote it off as just a Ruffed Grouse, but when I slowly got closer I realized it was different. First thing I thought was "It looks like a Ptarmigan". But that idea I soon acknowleged was wrong. Then I looked closer and realized it was either a Blue or Spruce Gouse (either of those would be lifers for me). I need help on which one it is.

Here are some of my observations:

-It had a yellowish eyebrow.

-It was very stalky and has short but thick legs. It appeared smaller then a Ruffed Grouse.

-It made low "gurgeling" sounds.

-It didn't appear to be that afraid of me.

-It was mostly mottled brown, and its underside was almost pure brown.

-When it strutted, it had its tail up almost as if it was displaying to me, and between the tail were very obvious tail feathers that stuck right up with a white band at the end of them.

-It was in a lowland place with mainly deciduous tree.

Thanks for any help!

CL

 

[redtail7]

Took these photos of a Spruce Grouse recently it is the hen and her chicks, the chicks could barely fly to the trees. the male is much darker[blacker] and has a small red patch on his head [not in these photos]

Redtail7

 

[cavan wood]

If it was strutting it was a male. I have next to no experience with spruce and none with blue, but according to sibley's the male blue has the more yellowish eyebrows and the uniformly coloured breast. Spruce has distinctive white markings on the breast. The tail tips vary from dark to light grey in blue grouse, and from rusty to black for spruce, depending on your location.

some links to blue males
http://www.tragopan.be/images/07duskybluegrouse.jpg
http://content.ornith.cornell.edu/UEWebApp/images/bna_FCZ_BlueGrouse_sooty_S.jpg
http://www.briansmallphoto.com/photo/blgr.jpg

and spruce males
http://www.seidata.com/~rausting/images/00/sprucegrouse00.jpg
http://www.lewis-clark.org/media/NewImages/VIEWS/brd_grouse-spruce.jpg

Scott

 

[tyrannulet]

I would go with Sooty Grouse on this one (formerly part of the blue grouse species) because of the yellow eyebrow it is not a spruce grouse and the white at the end of the tail feathers cancel out the dusky grouse.

Nice find

 

[cavan wood]

I would go with Sooty Grouse on this one (formerly part of the blue grouse species) because of the yellow eyebrow it is not a spruce grouse and the white at the end of the tail feathers cancel out the dusky grouse.

Nice find

Ah, didn't realize they had separated. I was thinking that it would be the sooty subspecies (now species), but wasn't sure if BC birder was interior or coastal, and I read that there are intergrades. Question: is it the eyebrow or the air sac or both that are less red in the sooty grouse?

Scott

 

[B.C. Birder]

I live in the interior.

Thanks for the info guys!

CL

 

[Dave Hall]

Hi From your description I would agree with Sooty Grouse