Overview

Sooty Grouse: Large, chicken-like bird, dark gray to blue-gray with yellow-orange eye comb, black tail with wide pale gray terminal band. Patch of yellow skin with red veining on neck surrounded by white feathers is displayed during courtship. Formerly (with Dusky Grouse) known as the Blue Grouse.

Sooty Grouse: Found in southeastern Alaska to California in a narrow range between the coast and the western Rocky Mountains. One exception is an inland range in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. Prefers semi-open woodlands and mature stands of hemlock, cedar, spruce, and white fir in winter.

Voice Text

"whoop-whoop-whoopo-whoop"

• The Sooty Grouse and the Dusky Grouse were considered to be the 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 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. Even though hatching success may be as high as 90%, mortality of the young can reach as much as 50% prior to the fall hunting season. This is often due to inclement weather after the hatch as well as a poor food supply or predators.
• A group of grouse has many collective nouns, including a "chorus", "covey", "drumming", "grumbling", and "leash" of grouse.

• Ruffed Grouse
• White-tailed Ptarmigan
• Sharp-tailed Grouse
• Rock Ptarmigan
• Spruce Grouse
• Kalij Pheasant

Turkeys and Grouse (Phasianidae)

ORDER

An order of five families found on most continents (some taxonomic systems only recognize four of these, classifying the fifth as a sub-family), the GALLIFORMES (pronounced gal-lih-FOR-meez) include “fowl” like birds such as guineafowl, pheasants, grouse and turkeys, and the wild ancestor to the domestic chicken.

FAMILY TAXONOMY

Turkeys and grouse are members of the Phasianidae (pronounced fah-see-AH-nih-dee), a family of one hundred and eighty-seven species in fifty-six genera found on all continents except for South America and Antarctica.

NORTH AMERICA

In North America, the Phasianidae is represented by twenty-six species in seventeen genera. This total includes several introduced and native species such as the Wild Turkey, prairie chickens, and various species of grouse.

KNOWN FOR

The Phasianidae are known for their elaborate courtship displays that frequently utilize raised tails that are spread to reveal intricate patterns. Male Sage Grouse, Sharp-tailed Grouse, and prairie chickens take these displays a step further by displaying communally at traditional “lekking “ sites where birds inflate prominent neck and chest patches that produce loud, popping sounds.

PHYSICAL

The Phasianidae range in size from the small Japanese Quail to one of North America’s largest bird species; the Wild Turkey. Regardless of size, all members of this family have stout bills, long, strong legs and short wings that attest to a mostly terrestrial lifestyle. Several species also have fairly long tails that are adaptations for their courtship displays.

COLORATION

Aside from the radiant, iridescent plumages of male Common Peafowls and some pheasant species, most of the Phasianidae exhibit barred and streaked patterns in tones of brown and black that match their terrestrial habitats, thus providing these birds with excellent camouflage. In winter, the ptarmigans molt from such brown and gray dominated plumages into mostly white plumages to match their snowy environments. Bright colors in native North American species are restricted to bits of red, orange, and purple found on the necks and heads of some members for display purposes.

GEOGRAPHIC HABITAT

In North America, the members of the Phasianidae occur in tundra, grasslands, and forest. Three species of ptarmigan crouch in the far northern tundra and alpine habitats of the Rocky Mountains while the sage-grouse, Sharp-tailed Grouse, and prairie chickens display in sagebrush and grasslands of the west. Deciduous and coniferous forests are home to the Wild Turkey and four grouse species. Introduced species live in a variety of Hawaiian habitats while the Ring-necked Pheasant is now common in North American grasslands.

MIGRATION

Aside from occasional short-distance migration by the ptarmigans of the far north, species in the Phasianidae spend all four seasons in the vicinity of their breeding grounds.

HABITS

Turkeys, grouse, and other members of this family often flock together to forage for small creatures, seeds, and buds. Most look for food on the ground although the Spruce Grouse also forages in the trees for pine and spruce needles.

CONSERVATION

Although populations of Wild Turkeys have made a wonderful, successful comeback since their decline earlier in the twentieth century, all five species of grouse that occur in sagebrush and grasslands (sage-grouse, Sharp-tailed Grouse and prairie chickens) have threatened and declining populations. These declines are due to degradation and conversion of their grassland habitats to agriculture and other development.

INTERESTING FACTS

To aid in walking in their snowy winter environments, Ruffed Grouse and ptarmigans have evolved “natural snowshoes”. In Ruffed Grouse, scales on their toes have extensions to keep them from sinking into snowdrifts, while ptarmigans have a profusion of feathers on their feet for this purpose.

Author

Crystal Adams

Artist

Yury Lisyak