Where can the Blue Grouse be found?

Where do blue grouse live in the US?

Blue grouse are birds of western North America, found from the Yukon to Mexico and from the Pacific shore to the Rocky Mountains. However, within this range, their distribution is not uniform. Another common name is mountain grouse, which suggests their preferred habitat of coniferous forests on mountain slopes.

When did the Blue Grouse become two different species?

They were later combined into one species called the “blue grouse” in the 1900s. It remained that way until 2006, when the American Ornithologist’s Union decided to once again split the species into two separate species (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife 2018).

What kind of grouse live in BC?

Blue grouse ( Dendragapus species) are the largest of the four groups of grouse currently found in BC: blue, ruffed, spruce and sharp-tail. A fifth, the sage grouse, was unfortunately extirpated from BC in the early 1900s.

What does a grouse look like in the Rocky Mountains?

This large grouse is split into two separate species; the Sooty Grouse of the Sierra Nevada and Pacific Coast Ranges and the Dusky Grouse of the Rocky Mountains. Adults have a long tale that is gray at the end. Males will be dark in color (the Sooty Grouse will be especially so).

How big does a blue grouse get?

This a fairly large bird, between 12 to 15 inches in length or about the size of a medium weight chicken. During summer and fall the Blue Grouse enjoy the highland meadows at the edges of confer and mixed forests where they can be concealed under shrubs or a log.

How many species of grouse are there?

There are about 10 species of grouse in the United States and Canada. These include the blue grouse, spruce grouse, ruffed grouse, sharp-tailed grouse and sage grouse. Also included are the greater and lesser prairie chickens, willow ptarmigan, rock ptarmigan and white-tailed ptarmigan.

How did Lewis and Clark classify the blue grouse?

Lewis and Clark described these two birds on their 1804 to 1806 expedition across the northern US, and for the next 100 years these grouse were classified as separate species. But then in the early 1900s, they were grouped together as one species: blue grouse.

What is the difference between a blue grouse and a dusky grouse?

The dusky grouse ( Dendragapus obscurus) and the sooty grouse ( Dendragapus fuliginosus) were first identified separately by Lewis and Clark in the 1800s. They were later combined into one species called the “blue grouse” in the 1900s.

What are the two types of grouse?

This large grouse is split into two separate species; the Sooty Grouse of the Sierra Nevada and Pacific Coast Ranges and the Dusky Grouse of the Rocky Mountains. Adults have a long tale that is gray at the end.

What is a red grouse?

The red grouse is a medium-sized game bird. It has a plump body, a short tail and a lightly hook-tipped bill.

What does a sooty grouse look like?

The sooty grouse is is 15- 21 inches in length. The male sooty grouse is gray to bluish-gray with a red to yellowish-orange comb over its eyes. It has a yellow neck sac surrounded by white. The female is spotted brown with a dark tail.

What is a blue grouse?

The blue grouse is a bird shrouded in mystery. The dusky grouse ( Dendragapus obscurus) and the sooty grouse ( Dendragapus fuliginosus) were first identified separately by Lewis and Clark in the 1800s. They were later combined into one species called the “blue grouse” in the 1900s.

What is the largest type of grouse?

Spruce grouse ( Falcipennis canadensis ). Two species that display spectacularly are the sage grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus) and the sharp-tailed grouse ( Tympanuchus phasianellus ). The former is the largest New World grouse, exceeded in the family only by the capercaillie.

What birds did Lewis and Clark see in the Great Plains?

Bird species occurring here that were observed by Lewis and Clark in the Great Plains include the American white pelican, American bittern, sharp-tailed grouse, American avocet, willet, horned lark, and western meadowlark.

What type of Hawk did Lewis and Clark see in Missouri?

This common and widespread small falcon, traditionally called a “sparrow hawk,” was observed in the vicinity of the Little Missouri River on April 13, 1805. It was probably too common and too familiar for Lewis and Clark to have made repeated mention. Few specific notes were made on this common species.

What did Lewis and Clark discover about grouse?

Lewis and Clark were the first biologists to encounter and mention what are now recognized as the plains ( jamesi) and Columbian ( columbianus) races of the sharp-tailed grouse.

How many species of plants did Lewis and Clark discover?

At least 17 new plant species were discovered while the explorers were in the Great Plains region. Gary Moulton has summarized the specimen and archival data from all the herbarium sheets currently known to exist in volume 12 of his definitive 13-volume Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

What is the difference between blue grouse and dusky grouse?

Till very recently, the dusky grouse and sooty grouse were considered subspecies of the blue grouse. This has ceased to be the case, and each is a separate species.

Is a grouse a Tetraonidae?

Alternative Title: Tetraonidae. Grouse, any of a number of game birds in the family Tetraonidae (order Galliformes). In addition to species called grouse, the group includes several birds known by particular names, such as the capercaillie and prairie chicken (see below) and the ptarmigan. The order Columbiformes contains the sandgrouse.

What is the red grouse and why is it under threat?

The red grouse is an umistakeable bird – plump and round, with a gingery-red body as its name suggests. Found on upland heathlands, it is under threat from the nationwide, dramatic loss of these habitats. Classified in the UK as Green under the Birds of Conservation Concern 5: the Red List for Birds (2021).

What does the red grouse eat?

The red grouse is herbivorous and feeds mainly on the shoots, seeds and flowers of heather. It will also feed on berries, cereal crops and sometimes insects. The birds begin to form pairs during the autumn and males become increasingly territorial as winter progresses. The nest is a shallow scrape up to 20 cm across which is lined with vegetation.