Waterfowl

Dusky Grouse

Dusky Grouse

 

The Dusky Grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) is found in North America’s Rocky Mountains.

Male Dusky Grouse
Male Dusky Grouse

Description

Adults have a long square tail with grey tips.

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 underplumage.

Distribution / Range

They occur at the edges of conifer and mixed forests in mountainous regions of western North America, from southeastern Alaska and Yukon south to New Mexico. They are mostly resident but may move to denser forest areas or move to higher altitudes for the winter.

Calls / Vocalizations

Males sing with deep hoots on their territory and make short flapping flights to attract females.

Nesting / Breeding

The nest is a scrape on the ground usually concealed under a shrub or log. Females leave the male’s territory after mating.

Diet / Feeding

These birds forage on the ground or in trees in winter.

In winter, they mainly eat fir and Douglas-fir needles, occasionally also hemlock and pine needles; in summer, other green plants (Pteridium, Salix), berries (Gaultheria, Mahonia, Rubus, Vaccinium), and insects (particularly ants, beetles, grasshoppers) are more important.

Chicks are almost entirely dependent on insect food for their first ten days.

Gordon Ramel

Gordon is an ecologist with two degrees from Exeter University. He's also a teacher, a poet and the owner of 1,152 books. Oh - and he wrote this website.

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