Spruce Grouse

Falcipennis canadensis

Order GALLIFORMES - Family PHASIANIDAE - Subfamily Tetraoninae

Menu

1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

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.

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.

Description

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

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

• Feathered legs and feet.
• Wings rounded in flight.
• Fleshy red combs over eyes.
• Bill blackish.
• Eyes dark amber.

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.

Male

Slate-gray overall, with bold white spots on lower breast and belly. Broken white line outlining black throat. Back feathers gray barred with blackish. Feathers above tail dark tipped in light, or with bold white spots. Red combs above eyes, white arcs under eyes. Feathers under tail black with large white tips. Tail all black or with a rufous tip.

Female

Rufous to gray overall, with strong barring, especially on the underparts. Broken whitish lines around face. Tail all blackish brown or with rufous tip.

Immature

Similar to adult female.

Similar Species

• Ruffed Grouse resembles female Spruce Grouse, but has a pale tail with a dark band near the tip.
• Blue Grouse much larger, has fewer spots on chest, has a gray tip to the tail, and yellow combs above the eyes.

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.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Resident across Alaska and Canada to the Atlantic Coast, southward to Idaho, northern Michigan, northern New York, and Maine.

Habitat

Coniferous forest, including those dominated by dense stands of spruce, pine, or fir.

Food

Mostly pine and spruce needles; some invertebrates in summer.

Behavior

Foraging

Forages in trees and on the ground.

Displays

Territorial displays include fanning and sweeping of the tail, and wing claps. Unlike some other North American grouse, the Spruce Grouse does not have throat-sacs that inflate during displays.

Reproduction

Nest Type

A depression in the ground, lined with conifer needles and feathers. Site always has overhead cover, often at the base of a tree.

Egg Description

Olive with variable spots.

Clutch Size

4-6 eggs.

Condition at Hatching

Downy and able to follow mother.

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)

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.