The Four Keys to ID
- Size & Shape
A stout chickenlike bird with a small bill, short but thick legs, and medium-length tail that can be fanned into a semicircle.
Relative Size
Smaller than a Dusky Grouse, larger than a California Quail.
crow-sizedMeasurements
- Both Sexes
- Length: 15.3-15.9 in (39-40.5 cm)
- Weight: 17.3-20.9 oz (491-591 g)
- Wingspan: 21.5-22.6 in (54.5-57.5 cm)
© Amanda Guercio / Macaulay Library
- Color Pattern
Females are mottled in brown, gray, gold, black, and white; males are similarly patterned above but more blackish, with variable white feathering below.
© Luke Seitz / Macaulay Library - Behavior
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. They are almost always seen walking rather than in flight. Males perform a strutting display in spring to entice females.
- Habitat
Evergreen forests of the north and western mountains, especially spruce, jack pine, and lodgepole pine. They use younger, regenerating tracts with a dense understory more than old growth.
© Chris Wood
Regional Differences
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. Most of the remaining subspecies are of the "Canada" Spruce Grouse type (canadensis, labradorius, osgoodi, atratus, canace, torridus). Male "Franklin’s" Spruce Grouse lacks the rufous tail tips of "Canada"; and "Franklin’s" has uppertail coverts tipped in white, lacking in "Canada."
