BIRDS: NONPASSERINES: PHEASANTS, GROUSE, AND TURKEYS

Dusky Grouse, Dendragapus obscurus

Family Phasianidae (Pheasants, Grouse, and Turkeys)

Size: 19"; males larger than females

Season: Year-round

Habitat: Forest edges, open brushland, mountain ridges

The dusky grouse of the interior was once considered a blue grouse, the same species as the Pacific region’s sooty grouse. It is large and heavy, with a long tail and thick, feathered legs. The male is finely marked gray-brown overall, with some white patterning along the back, wings, and sides. He has a relatively thick bill and an orange-red comb above his eye. In display he spreads his neck feathers to reveal a circle of white feathers around a bare patch of reddish skin. The female is extensively mottled gray, brown, and white overall. The dusky grouse forages on the ground for seeds, berries, and insects, and voices a deep, soft, resonant yoop, yoop. Strangely, the grouse move from low elevations in summer to higher elevations in the winter. The adult male is illustrated.