Dusky grouse
{{short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Dusky grouse
| image = Dendragapus obscurus USNPS.jpg
| image_caption = Male displaying, Yellowstone National Park
| image2 = Dendragapus obscurus NPS.jpg
| image2_caption = Female in New Mexico, USA
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Dendragapus
| species = obscurus
| authority = (Say, 1822)
| range_map = Dendragapus obscurus map.svg
}}
The dusky grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) is a species of forest-dwelling grouse native to the Rocky Mountains in North America.del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., & Sargatal, J., eds. (1994). Handbook of the Birds of the World 2: 401–402. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona {{ISBN|84-87334-15-6}}.{{cite book | author=Sibley, D. | author-link=David Allen Sibley | title=The Sibley Guide to Birds | publisher=Knopf | year=2000 | isbn=0-679-45122-6 | page=[https://archive.org/details/sibleyguidetobir00sibl_0/page/143 143] }} It is closely related to the sooty grouse (Dendragapus fuliginosus), and the two were previously considered a single species, the blue grouse.{{cite journal | last=Banks | first=R. C. | last2=Cicero |first2= C. |last3=Dunn |first3=J. L. |last4=Kratter |first4=A. W. |last5=Rasmussen |first5=P. C. |last6=Remsen |first6=J. V. Jr. |last7=Rising |first7=J. D. |last8=Stotz |first8=D. F. | title=Forty-seventh Supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds | journal=The Auk | year=2006 | volume=123 | issue=3 | pages= 926–936 | url = http://www.aou.org/checklist/suppl/AOU_checklist_suppl_47.pdf | access-date = 2007-09-16 | doi=10.1642/0004-8038(2006)123[926:FSTTAO]2.0.CO;2|doi-access=free }}
Description
Adults have a long square tail, gray at the end. 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 underparts.
Males are larger than females, with a male mean body mass of 1.21 kg (2.67 lbs.) compared to a mean 0.91 kg (2.01 lbs.) in females.{{Cite book |last=Dunning, Jr. |first=John B. |title=CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses |publisher=CRC Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-4200-6444-5 |edition=2nd |pages=71}}
Distribution and habitat
The breeding habitat of the dusky grouse is the edges of conifer and mixed forests in mountainous regions of western North America, from southeastern Alaska and Yukon south to New Mexico. Their range is closely associated with that of various conifers. Their nest is a scrape on the ground concealed under a shrub or log.
Taxonomy
Migration
Diet
Dusky grouse forage mainly for plant matter on the ground, as well as in trees and along branches (in the winter). During the coldest months, they mainly eat fir and douglas-fir needles, occasionally consuming hemlock and pine needles, as well. Then, in the spring and summer, the fresh green growth of various herbaceous perennials (Pteridium, Salix) and berry plants (Gaultheria, Mahonia, Rubus, Vaccinium), as well as invertebrates (particularly larger ants, beetles, crickets and grasshoppers), become more available and thus more readily consumed. Chicks are almost entirely dependent on insect prey for several weeks after hatching.
Breeding
Males sing with deep hoots on their territory and make short flapping flights to attract females. Females leave the male's territory after mating.{{cn|date=November 2024}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://vireo.acnatsci.org/search.html?Form=Search&SEARCHBY=Scientific&KEYWORDS=dendragapus+obscurus&showwhat=images&AGE=All&SEX=All&ACT=All&Search=Search&VIEW=All&ORIENTATION=All&RESULTS=24 Dusky Grouse photo gallery] VIREO
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Category:Native birds of the Rocky Mountains
Category:Native birds of Western Canada