Spruce Grouse

     The Spruce Grouse, also known as the Trail Chicken or Canada Grouse, is a dark, stocky bird of coniferous forests in the northern United States and Canada. It’s one of the most arboreal Grouse, which is fairly well-adapted to perching and moving between trees.

     The male Spruce grouse is mainly dark-grey above, with blackish barring, and black below with white spots on the breast and belly. His tail is short and dark, sometimes with white spots or with a broad reddish-brown tip, according to the subspecies. The female Spruce grouse is paler than the male and is superbly camouflaged against the forest floor. She is largely brownish to grey in color with extensive brown and white barring. Both sexes of the Spruce grouse have a scarlet area above the eye, which becomes a conspicuous bright red in the male during courtship display.

     Up to six subspecies of the Spruce grouse are currently recognized. Most scientists divide them into two major subspecies that differ mainly in the patterning on the tail. The Spruce grouse resembles the Dusky Grouse and the Sooty Grouse in appearance, but it’s mainly smaller. The heavily barred rather than plain grey underparts of the female, the lack of inflatable vocal sacs in the male, and the red eyebrows are also major differences between the Spruce grouse and the Dusky grouse. Spruce grouse are also similar in appearance to the rarer Siberian Grouse, but they have less white-mottling on the breast.

     Spruce grouse usually breed around May or June. The female lays between 4 and 7 eggs, which she incubates for 23 – 24 days. Young Spruce grouse can make short flights from just 6 to 8 days old. And they become fully independent at around 9 – 15 weeks.