Spruce Grouse

Spruce Grouse, male

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Spruce Grouse, female

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A bird of coniferous forests, the Spruce Grouse inhabits much of Canada and portions of the northern United States. Inconspicuous and relatively quiet, it feeds largely on the needles of spruces and other conifers.

Description

• Medium to large chicken-like bird.
• Thick bodied.
• Mostly dark, with short, dark tail.

• Size: 39-40 cm (15-16 in)
• Wingspan: 57 cm (22 in)
• Weight: 400-650 g (14.12-22.95 ounces)

Sex Differences

Male is larger and dark gray, with black neck and white spots on underside. Smaller female is barred on underside, and is lighter gray or brown.

Sound

Various diverse calls, including hisses, purrs, and hums. Territorial males issue loud wing claps, resembling gunshots. Territorial "song" from female "Franklin's Grouse" is a long series of complex notes.

Conservation Status

Habitat loss leads directly to the dramatic reduction or elimination of Spruce Grouse populations. Spruce Grouse have historically inhabited forests showing a fire-related patchwork of various stages of regeneration; timber harvesting can produce similar patterns, but only if clear-cut areas are small and if sufficient quantities of optimal habitat are preserved. Listed as "endangered" or "threatened" in some states at the edge of its range.

Other Names

Tétras du Canada (French)

Cool Facts

• Two distinct subspecies of Spruce Grouse exist. "Franklin's Grouse," D. c. franklinii, found in the southwestern portion of the range, in the mountains from Alberta southward, has an all black tail with small white spots on the feathers overlying it. The northeastern subspecies, D. c. canadensis, has a rufous tip to the tail and lacks white spots above the tail.
• The Spruce Grouse's crop can store up to ten percent of the bird's body weight in food, to be digested at night.

• The Spruce Grouse's gastrointestinal organs change with seasonal shifts in diet. In winter, when the bird must eat more food to maintain its mass and energy balance, the gizzard grows by about 75 percent, and other sections of the digestive tract increase in length by about 40 percent.

Sources used to construct this page:

Boag, D. A. and M. A. Schroeder. 1992. Spruce Grouse (Dendragapus canadensis). In The Birds of North America, No. 5 (A. Poole, P. Stettenheim, and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, DC: The American Ornithologists' Union.