Blue grouse

Adults have a long square tail, gray at the end. Adult males are mainly dark with a purplish throat air sac surrounded by white, and a yellow to red wattle over the eye during display. Adult females are mottled brown with dark brown and white marks on the underparts.

The Blue grouse is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

Blue Grouse are endemic to mountainous regions of western North America and have a restricted geographic range (Fig. 1). Nevertheless, this species occupies a wide range of breeding habitats from maritime to continental in climate, from sea level to 3,600+ m in elevation, and from northwestern coast rain forest to shrub/steppe high desert and subalpine/alpine tundra. Virtually all populations winter in conifer forest, where conifer needles comprise the main winter food. More

same species, the Blue Grouse, until the American Ornithologists’ Union split them in 2006 based on DNA evidence. * When flushed, these birds will often fly to an evergreen bough and just freeze at which time one may be able to walk to within a few feet of the bird. * They have large numbers of eggs in their clutches, as many as fifteen have been observed. More

The Blue Grouse is a fairly common bird on Vancouver Island when you get out into timber country. You can often hear their 'wump-wump-wump' hooting from some distance away when you hike in the back woods. The noise they make has earned them the nickname 'hooter' among hunters and hikers. The male Blue Grouse has a yellow nec sac surrounded by white feathers and a dark tail. The female has a dark mottled upper part with a grey under part. More

This Blue Grouse was captured in the Blakiston Creek Valley in Waterton Lakes National Park this summer. Blue Grouse Dendragapus obscurus Also known as - Dusky Grouse. General Description By Gustave J. Yaki Blue Grouse breed from Yukon south along the coast into California and in the mountains into Arizona and New Mexico. In Alberta, it occurs in the southwestern part, along the foothills country. More

Blue Grouse - Dendragapus obscurusThe Blue Grouse is a large grouse of mountains forests of the West. Only the 2 Sage Grouse species are larger amoung North American grouse species. Observations of the species were made in the Black Hills during the 1800s, but the species was probably extirpated from the state by 1900 (Birds of South Dakota - SDOU, 2001). Reintroduction efforts since that time have evidently been unsuccessful, with no observed birds more than 2 years after any reintroduction attempt. More

* In Alberta, blue grouse occur only in the foothills and mountains. They spend their winters in high coniferous forests near timberline. Natural History Food * Conifer needles and buds make up about 95 percent of the blue grouse winter diet. More

Blue grouse in flight. Note rounded or fan-shaped tail.Reproduction: Dusky grouse courtship displays are not as centralized as sage or sharp-tailed grouse. Males defend territories and "display" by clapping their wings, hooting, hopping and strutting with their tail feathers fanned. Females, once bred, lay seven to nine eggs in ground nests under shrubs, trees or thick sagebrush. Hens raise the chicks in the breeding area for the remainder of the summer and into early fall. More

The blue grouse is the largest upland game bird in Alaska with the males sometimes attaining weights of 3½ pounds (1.6 kg). This grouse can be distinguished not only by its large size but also by the pale band of gray on the tip of its otherwise blackish tail. In spring, the skin on each side of the male's neck develops a deep yellow air sac that becomes encircled with a frill of white feathers when inflated. More

may be confused with female Blue Grouse, but both sexes of that bird have a lighter tail, with a bold black band near the tip. Voice: Male in courtship gives a series of 5-7 low, muffled, booming or hooting notes, ventriloquial. Range: Western N. America. Map . Habitat: Deciduous and mixed forests in mountains in summer; in conifer forests at higher elevations in winter. More

If most of your Blue Grouse sightings are of the interior (Dusky) form, NOT from western Washington, western Oregon, or California: * Switch to World mode * Find "blue grouse" or type /blgr * Click Edit | Edit species name * Change the English name to Dusky Grouse and click OK * Click Edit | Add Species * For the English name, enter Sooty Grouse * For the Latin name, enter Dendragapus fuliginosus and click OK All your current More

A blue grouse hunt in Arizona probably isn't the easiest adventure you'll ever tackle. For one thing, their habitat is restricted to elevations above 8,500 feet in mixed conifer and aspen forests. As a consequence, the Game and Fish Department says that they are only found in the White, Blue, Escudilla, Chuska, and Buckskin (North Kaibab) mountains, and on the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona. Kilian Roever of Phoenix has hunted blue grouse in the Escudillas for many years. More

Blue Grouse are a species of grouse which inhabit forested areas of the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Coastal Ranges as far south as California and Colorado and as far north as the Yukon. B.C. however, has well over 50% of the world's population of blue grouse. They can be found in all areas of the province except the far north-east, the northern Chilcotin-Cariboo, and most of the Boreal Forest. The greatest abundance appears to be on the east coast of Vancouver Island. More

Blue Grouse Identification - USGS Blue Grouse Life, Behavior, Distribution and Identification - Birds of Washington Join a network for good: Audubon Society of Washington Washington Ornithological Society Related bird books Birding Washington Bird Songs of the Okanagan Birds of Yakima County The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America Peterson Field Guide to Western Birds Western Birding by Ear: A Guide to More

Blue Grouse Lodge are for YOU! Map shows route from Seatac Airport to Leavenworth. More

Blue Grouse direction Blue Grouse FAQ blue grouse estate winery links Blue Grouse Estate Winery 4365 Blue Grouse Rd. Duncan, British Columbia V9L 6M3, Canada Tel: (250) 743-3834 Email: info@bluegrousevineyards.com Blue Grouse is a family-owned and operated vineyard and winery established as one of the founding Estates wineries of Vancouver Island. More

Aspects of the topic blue grouse are discussed in the following places at Britannica. Assorted References * description (in grouse (bird family)) ...conifer country, is nearly as big as a ruffed grouse, the male darker. Its flesh usually has the resinous taste of conifer buds and needles, its chief food. More

The Blue Grouse was recently split into two species, the coastal Sooty Grouse Dendragapus fuliginosus and the interior Dusky Grouse Dendragapus obscurus. Details from the AOU, - Forty-seventh Supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. Other Names: Blue Grouse, Mountain Grouse, Richardson's Grouse Range: Rocky Mountains, from the southern Yukon and Northern British Columbia, south the Northern Arizona and western New Mexico. Subspecies: D. o. richardsonii, D. o. obscurus, D. o. More

Blue Grouse on a Strut Blue grouse strut Blue grouse favor high mountain meadows in summer and fall, often feeding on insects and seeds on exposed ridges like Spring Mountain, Bald Mountain, or Indian Post Office. More

Blue Grouse - Photo Copyright Ward Cameron 2003 - Click to view a larger image Blue Grouse - Photo Copyright Ward Cameron 2003 - Click to view a larger image Blue Grouse - Photo Copyright Ward Cameron 2003 - Click to view a larger image Blue Grouse - Photo Copyright Ward Cameron 2003 - Click to view a larger image Click on an image (if available) to see a larger version Site Directory = MountainNature Home Ward Cameron Ent. More

Blue Grouse reaches the southern terminus of its range in montane forest areas of northern and central New Mexico. Range-wide the species has shown significant and long-term population declines; little is known about trends in New Mexico populations. More

this term, Blue Grouse had no problem accounting for her rivals in the second division of the two-year-old maiden.Lingfield: Godolphin double adds more gloss to strike-rate by The Racing Post (London, England)The Lost Fork Fire started in September 2001 and burned about 2,300 acres of forest, displacing summering mule deer, elk, and blue grouse.Other 2005 wildfire releaf projects by American ForestsHouse sparrows, black-capped chickadees, and blue grouse dine on mistletoe berries, whileFrom bad to benefactor. More

Photo of a blue grouse The male blue grouse, tipping the scales at 3 pounds, is a handsome bird, with its yellow comb standing out against the slaty blue of the head, and with its long black tail tipped with pale gray. The females are browner than the males, and are slightly more that two-thirds their size. More

Picture of Dendragapus obscurus above has been licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial.
Original source: Blake Matheson
-Blake Matheson -Author: Blake Matheson
Permission: Some rights reserved
Order : Galliformes
Family : Phasianidae
Genus : Dendragapus
Species : obscurus
Authority : (Say, 1823)