Spruce Grouse
Spruce Grouse
Canachites canadensis
At a Glance
Common in the north woods but very easy to overlook, the Spruce Grouse eludes many birders who seek it. Absurdly tame, it may sit motionless while observers pass by just a few feet away, and it may thus go unnoticed. Spruce Grouse are usually solitary in summer, but in winter they may gather in loose flocks. They readily perch in trees, and do most of their feeding there in winter.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Pheasants and Grouse, Upland Ground Birds
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Forests and Woodlands, Freshwater Wetlands, Shrublands, Savannas, and Thickets, Tundra and Boreal Habitats
Region
Alaska and The North, Eastern Canada, Great Lakes, Mid Atlantic, New England, Northwest, Plains, Rocky Mountains, Western Canada
Behavior
Flap/Glide, Rapid Wingbeats, Running
Population
11.000.000
Range & Identification
Migration & Range Maps
Most individuals are permanent residents, but some move short distances (less than ten miles) between summer and winter territories. This "migration" is accomplished on foot. Females more likely to move than males, and tend to go farther.
Description
15-17" (38-43 cm). Male looks gray, with white edging on black throat and chest, red "combs" above each eye. In most regions, note the rusty tip on black tail. Female may look reddish or grayish overall. Similar to Ruffed Grouse but has shorter, darker tail, black and white bars on belly; lacks broad bars on sides. Note: in a form found in northern Rockies called "Franklin's Grouse", male lacks rusty tail tip and has white spots above base of tail.
Size
About the size of a Crow, About the size of a Mallard or Herring Gull
Color
Black, Brown, Gray, Red, White
Wing Shape
Fingered, Rounded, Short
Tail Shape
Rounded, Short, Square-tipped
Songs and Calls
Males give a low krrrrk, krrrk, krrk, krrk, krrk, said to be the lowest-pitched vocal sound of any North American bird. Females produce low clucking notes.
Call Pattern
Flat
Call Type
Drum, Raucous
Habitat
Conifer forest, pines, muskeg. Almost always in conifer forest but not necessarily in spruce. Prime habitat includes burned areas grown up to dense stands of jack pine or lodgepole pine, also forests of spruce, subalpine fir, hemlock, with dense undergrowth. Also on blueberry barrens. During dispersal in fall, sometimes found in deciduous woods.
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Behavior
Eggs
4-10, usually 5-7. Olive to buff, usually blotched with brown. Females of Franklin's race tend to lay fewer eggs. Incubation is by female only, about 20-24 days. When leaving nest, female may partly cover eggs with dry needles and leaves.
Young
Downy young leave nest shortly after hatching. Female tends young, brooding them at night and in cool weather; young find all their own food. Young can make short flights at 6-8 days old, are full-grown at about 10-11 weeks, become independent at about 10-15 weeks.
Feeding Behavior
Does much of its foraging on the ground in summer; forages almost entirely in trees in winter.
Diet
Mostly conifer needles. Adults are mostly vegetarian, feeding heavily on needles of pines, spruce, other conifers. Diet may be almost entirely conifer needles in winter. At other times also eats fresh green shoots and leaves of other plants, berries, flowers, insects, snails, and fungi. Very young birds may eat more insects.
Nesting
Both females and males defend individual territories in breeding season. Male displays by drumming with wings, making deep thumping sound audible only at close range. Males of Franklin's race also make loud wing-clap in flight. In courtship, male raises and spreads tail, fluffs out feathers, postures in front of female. One male may mate with several females. Nest site is on ground under dense cover. Nest (built by female) is shallow depression, lined with a few needles and leaves.
Climate Vulnerability
Conservation Status
Local populations fluctuate in numbers. May have declined in parts of southern edge of range, but still common in far north.
Climate Threats Facing the Spruce Grouse
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.