Spruce Grouse Sounds

Overview
ID info
Life History
Maps
Sounds

Display (Spruce)
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Maine, June 04, 1989Recorded by Charles Duncan / Macaulay Library
Display (Spruce)
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Maine, April 04, 2010Recorded by Andrew Spencer
Calls (Spruce)
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Alaska, June 19, 2019Recorded by Zak Pohlen / Macaulay Library
Calls (Spruce)
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Alaska, June 10, 2017Recorded by Lucas DeCicco / Macaulay Library
Calls (Spruce)
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Quebec, June 24, 1955Recorded by Arthur A. Allen / Macaulay Library
Calls (Spruce)
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Alaska, April 14, 2020Recorded by Andy Bankert / Macaulay Library
Calls (Franklin's)
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May 28, 1967Recorded by Stewart D. MacDonald / Macaulay Library
Calls (Franklin's)
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Montana, July 04, 2017Recorded by Bruce Tannehill / Macaulay Library

Sounds provided by Macaulay Library.
Listen to more sounds of this species from the ML archive.

Songs

No song.

Calls

Males in conflict sometimes utter low croaking notes but otherwise seldom vocalize. In spring, females perch high in trees to deliver a loud series of nasal clucks called the cantus, usually at dawn and dusk, perhaps to mark territory. Females also give calls including a short kuk, nasal purr, and a sharper version of the latter, sounding like a bark. Chicks in alarm give a high, short seer.

Other Sounds

Males produce multiple sounds when displaying. Most Franklin’s Spruce Grouse make a loud double wing clap by striking the wingtips together over the head. Males also make an audible fluttering sound as they perform their flutter-flight display. Similar noises made by the tail, a swishing sound and decisive whoosh, are delivered during the final parts of the male’s courtship display. Drumming—similar to Ruffed Grouse, but involving only two thumps—is sometimes heard during courtship.