View source for Spruce grouse

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Distinguish|Spruce Goose}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Spruce grouse
| image = Falcipennis-canadensis-002.jpg
| image2 = Falcipennis-canadensis-001.jpg
| image_caption = Male of the nominate subspecies
| image2_caption = Female
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |year=2016 |title=''Falcipennis canadensis'' |article-number=e.T61204079A95166927 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T61204079A95166927.en}}</ref>
| status2 = G5
| status2_system = TNC
| status2_ref = <ref name=ns/>
| parent_authority = [[Leonhard Stejneger|Stejneger]], 1885
| display_parents = 2
| genus = Canachites
| species = canadensis
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
| synonyms = *''Dendragapus canadensis'' {{small|(Linnaeus,&nbsp;1758)}}
*''Tetrao canadensis'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;1758}}
*''Falcipennis canadensis''
| range_map = Falcipennis canadensis map2.svg
| range_map_caption = Distribution map of the spruce grouse
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision = * ''C. c. atratus'' (Grinnell, 1910)
* ''C. c. canace'' ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1766)
* ''C. c. canadensis'' ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
* ''[[Franklin's grouse|C. c. franklinii]]'' (Douglas, 1829)
* ''C. c. isleibi''  (Dickerman & Gustafson, 1996)
* ''C. c. osgoodi'' (Bishop, 1900)
}}

The '''spruce grouse''' ('''''Canachites canadensis'''''), also known as '''Canada grouse, spruce hen''' or '''fool hen''',<ref name="M-W_NewInternational">{{cite book |title=Webster's New International Dictionary |date=1943 |publisher=Marriam-Webster |location=Springfield, Massachusetts |page=982 |edition=2}}</ref><ref name="RandomDictionary">{{cite book |title=Random House unabridged dictionary |date=1993 |publisher=Random House |location=New York |isbn=0-679-42917-4 |page=746 |edition=2nd}}</ref>  is a medium-sized [[grouse]] closely associated with the coniferous [[boreal forest]]s or [[taiga]] of North America. It is the only member of the [[genus]] '''''Canachites'''''.

It is one of the most [[arboreal]] grouse species, fairly well adapted to perching and moving about in trees. When approached by a predator, it relies on camouflage and immobility to an amazing degree; for example, letting people approach within a few feet before finally taking flight.

==Taxonomy==
In 1747, the English naturalist [[George Edwards (naturalist)|George Edwards]] included an illustration and a description of a female spruce grouse in the second volume of his ''A Natural History of Uncommon Birds''. He used the English name "The Brown and Spotted Heathcock". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a preserved specimen that had been sent to him in London from the [[Hudson Bay]] in Canada by a Mr Light.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Edwards | first=George | author-link=George Edwards (naturalist) | year=1747 | title=A Natural History of Uncommon Birds | location=London | publisher=Printed for the author at the College of Physicians | volume=Part II | page=71, Plate 71 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/50240765 }}</ref> Edwards was later sent what he assumed was a specimen of the male bird by [[James Isham]]. In 1750, he included the male bird in the third volume of his book under the English name "The Black and Spotted Heathcock".<ref>{{ cite book | last=Edwards | first=George | author-link=George Edwards (naturalist) | year=1750 | title=A Natural History of Uncommon Birds | location=London | publisher=Printed for the author at the College of Physicians | volume=Part III | page=118, Plate 118 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/50196230 }}</ref> When in 1758, the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] updated his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' for the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|tenth edition]], he placed the spruce grouse with other grouse in the [[genus]] ''[[Tetrao]]''. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the [[binomial name]] ''Tetrao canadensis'' and cited Edwards' work.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title=Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume=1 | edition=10th | page=159 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | location=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727066 }}</ref> The spruce grouse is now the only species placed in the genus ''Canachites'' that was introduced in 1885 by the zoologist [[Leonhard Stejneger]].<ref>{{ cite journal | last=Stejneger | first=Leonhard | author-link=Leonhard Stejneger | year=1885 | title=Notes on some apparently preoccupied ornithological generic names | journal=Proceedings of the United States National Museum | volume=8 | issue=26 | pages=409–410 [410] | doi=10.5479/si.00963801.530.409 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/32020694 }}</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=July 2021 | title=Pheasants, partridges, francolins | work=IOC World Bird List Version 11.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/pheasants/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=13 October 2021}}</ref> The genus name ''Canachites'' combines the name ''[[Canace]]'' from [[Greek mythology]] with the [[Ancient Greek]] ''-itēs'' meaning "resembling".<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=87 | url=https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n087/mode/1up }}</ref>

In the first half of the 20th century, spruce grouse were classified as two separate species in the genus ''Canachites'': spruce grouse (''C. canadensis'') and [[Franklin's grouse]] (''C. franklinii''), a position reinstated by Birdlife International in 2014. However, as of early 2021, the [[International Ornithological Congress]] (IOC)<ref name=IOC11.1>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/ |title=IOC World Bird List (v 11.1) |last1=Gill |first1= F. |last2=Donsker|first2=D.|last3=Rasmussen |first3=P. |date=January 2021 |access-date=January 14, 2021 }}</ref><!-- -->, the [[American Ornithological Society]]<ref name=AOS>{{cite web |url=http://checklist.aou.org/taxa |title=Check-list of North and Middle American Birds |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=June 30, 2020 |publisher=American Ornithological Society |access-date=July 1, 2020 }}</ref><!-- -->, and the [[Clements taxonomy]]<ref>Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ March 5, 2021</ref> retain Franklin's grouse as a subspecies of spruce grouse.

The species was later moved to the genus ''Dendragapus'', congeneric with the [[blue grouse]] with which spruce grouse often share coniferous habitats. However, spruce grouse do not have inflatable cervical sacs as in blue grouse, and the natal plumage of the two species is different. Based on its stronger resemblance to the [[Siberian grouse]] (''Falcipennis falcipennis''), the spruce grouse was later reclassified into the genus ''Falcipennis''. However, taxonomic studies found this classification to be [[Paraphyly|paraphyletic]], with the Siberian grouse being [[Basal (phylogenetics)|basal]] to a clade containing the spruce grouse, ''[[Tetrao]]'', and ''[[Lyrurus]]''. Due to this, the spruce grouse was again reclassified in ''Canachites'', bringing its taxonomy full-circle.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Taxonomic Updates – IOC World Bird List|url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/updates/taxonomy/|access-date=2021-07-14|language=en-US}}</ref>

The spruce grouse has six recognized subspecies:<ref name="ioc" />
{| class="wikitable "
|-
! Image !! Subspecies !! Distribution
|-
|[[File:A spruce grouse sits on a tree branch near Igloo Canyon on Saturday, September 16, 2017. (a937286c-76a8-46b1-8955-2148e6ed32b3) (cropped).JPG|120px]] || ''C. c. atratus'' [[Joseph Grinnell|(Grinnell]], 1910) || southern [[Alaska]]
|-
| [[File:Spruce Grouse (C. c. canadensis).jpg|120x120px]]|| ''C. c. canadensis'' ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758) || central [[Alberta]] to [[Labrador]] ([[Canada]]) and [[Nova Scotia]]. Introduced in [[Newfoundland]] in 1964<ref>{{cite journal|author=Tuck, L.M. |year=1968|title= Recent Newfoundland bird records|journal=Auk|volume= 85|pages=304–311 |doi=10.2307/4083588 |jstor=4083588 }}</ref> and [[Anticosti Island]] in 1985–86.<ref>{{cite thesis|author=Lemay, Y. |year=1989|title=Charactérisation de l'habitat de reproduction du tétras du Canada (Dendragopus canadensis) sur l'Ile d'Anticosti|degree= MSc|publisher= Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières}}</ref>
|-
|[[File:Spruce grouse at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge. Credit- USFWS (11713901455).jpg|120px]] || ''C. c. canace'' ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1766) || southeast [[Canada]] and northeast [[United States]]
|-
|[[File:Sprucegrouse.jpg|120px]] || ''C. c. franklinii'' ([[David Douglas (botanist)|Douglas]], 1829) || southeast [[Alaska]] to northwest [[Wyoming]] and [[Idaho]]
|-
||| ''C. c. isleibi'' ([[species:Robert W. Dickerman|Dickerman]] & Gustafson, 1996) || southeast [[Alaska]]
|-
| || ''C. c. osgoodi'' (Bishop, 1900) || northern [[Alaska]]
|-
|}

==Description==
Spruce grouse are {{cvt|38|-|43|cm}} long; males weigh {{cvt|550|-|650|g}} and females {{cvt|450|-|550|g}}. The spruce grouse has a wingspan range of {{cvt|21.5-22.6|in|cm}}.<ref name=aab>{{Cite web|title=Spruce Grouse Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology|url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Spruce_Grouse/id|access-date=2020-09-26|website=www.allaboutbirds.org|language=en}}</ref> Races vary slightly in plumage, especially in the tail pattern and in the extent of white on the underparts, but in general adult males are mainly grey above and black below, with white spots along the side, and a red patch of bare skin over the eye called the "eyebrow comb".<ref name=aab/> This red eyebrow comb, should not be confused by a similar yellow marking found on other species of grouse including, but not limited to, [[Sharp-tailed grouse|sharp-tailed]] and [[dusky grouse]]. Adult females are mottled brown (red morph) or mottled grey (grey morph) with dark and white bars on the underparts. Juveniles resemble females. Females may be confused with [[ruffed grouse]] but they have a dark tail with a pale band at the end (while the reverse is true in ruffed grouse) and they do not erect their crown feathers when alarmed the way ruffed grouse do.

Spruce grouse are among the most silent of all grouse, but they nevertheless have a number of calls used to warn of predators, to repel territorial intruders, to maintain brood cohesion, or to elicit brooding. In the subspecies ''franklinii'', territorial males are notable for their wing-clap display. At the end of a short flight through the trees, the wings are brought together over the back so as to produce two sharp claps, about half a second apart, loud enough to be heard by the human ear {{cvt|150|m}} away. These territorial displays can sometimes be elicited by similar hand clapping, and can be used to detect male territories and estimate their density. Other non-vocal sounds include soft drumming by territorial males (a sound produced by the beating wings) and a tail-swish and a whoosh produced by the tail feathers in flight.

==Distribution and habitat==
As a specialist of the [[taiga]], the spruce grouse is found throughout Canada. In the [[United States]], it is present in Alaska, northern [[New England]], the [[Adirondacks]] in [[New York (state)|New York]], northern [[Michigan]], northeastern [[Minnesota]], northern [[Wisconsin]] and the montane [[conifer]]ous forests of [[Montana]], [[Idaho]], [[Maine]], [[Oregon]], and [[Washington (state)|Washington]]. Spruce grouse are always associated with conifer-dominated forests, be they [[pine]], [[spruce]], or [[fir]]. They seem to prefer young [[ecological succession|successional]] stands. In summer they can be found near rich understory of [[blueberry|blueberries]] and other shrub, and in winter they prefer denser stands.
[[File:Spruce Grouse KNWR.png|thumb|[[Kenai National Wildlife Refuge]], Alaska.]]
The spruce grouse is essentially a permanent resident. However, in southwestern Alberta up to 35% of females and 7% of males move several kilometers (up to {{cvt|11|km}}) between summer breeding sites and wintering sites.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Schroeder, M.A. |year=1985|title= Behavioural differences of female Spruce grouse undertaking short and long migrations|journal=Condor|volume= 85|pages=281–286 |doi=10.2307/1366896 |jstor=1366896 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Schroeder, M.A.|author2= D.A. Boag |year=1987|title=Dispersal in Spruce grouse: is inheritance involved?|journal=Animal Behaviour|volume= 36|pages= 305–307 |doi= 10.1016/S0003-3472(88)80279-3 }}</ref> Similar movements have also been documented in Alaska<ref>{{cite journal|author=Ellison, L.N. |year=1973|title= Seasonal social organization and movements of Alaskan Spruce Grouse|journal=Condor|volume= 75|pages=375–385 |doi=10.2307/1366559 |jstor=1366559 }}</ref> and New Brunswick (Canada).<ref>{{cite journal|author=Herzog, P.W.|author2= D.M. Keppie |year=1980|title=Migration in a local population of Spruce Grouse|journal=Condor|volume= 82|pages=366–372 |doi= 10.2307/1367557 |jstor= 1367557 }}</ref>

==Behaviour and ecology==
[[File:Spruce Grouse.jpg|thumb|right|Immature male "hiding" in tree, Matagamasi Lake, [[Temagami, Ontario]]]]
This species prefers to walk on the ground or along tree limbs rather than fly. Like other grouse, in the fall they grow "snow shoes" (short lateral extensions, or [[pectination]]s) on their toes. This increases the surface area of the toes and helps support the bird on snow and probably to grip branches as well. The pectinations are shed in the spring.
Flights are usually over short distances, most commonly from the ground to a tree nearby, or vice versa. Flight can be rapid but no actual measures of velocity have been made.

==Breeding==
Males are promiscuous; they disperse and advertise a territory that is visited by females for mating. Females are solely responsible for the rest of the reproductive effort though males have been known to stay with young chicks and seem to aid in keeping the brood together. For a nest, they scratch a depression in the ground in a bush or under a low-lying coniferous branch or fallen tree, away from other females and from the males' territories. The nest is lined with grasses, leaves, and a few feathers. Nesting season is from early May to early July. Up to 10 eggs may be laid, the usual number being 4–7. Laying rate is 1 egg every 1.4 days.<ref>{{cite journal|author=McCourt, K.H.|author2= D.A. Boag|author3= D.M. Keppie |year=1973|title=Female Spruce Grouse activities during laying and incubation|journal=Auk|volume= 90|pages=619–623|doi= 10.2307/4084160|jstor= 4084160}}</ref> Eggs are about {{cvt|40|mm}} and are tawny olive or buff, marked with blotches of brown. Incubation begins with the last egg laid and lasts about 24 days. Young are about {{cvt|15|g|oz|round=0.5}} at hatching and they are [[precocial]]; they walk out of the nest as soon as they are dry (about 8 h after hatching). They are capable of fluttering up from the ground at 1 week of age. The brood stays together and is accompanied by the hen, who broods them all night and frequently during the day until the young are 3–5 weeks old. Brooding behaviour of the female seems to be initiated by specific calls from the chicks when they are cold. At 70–100 days of age, chicks tend to leave the group and become independent.
Females breed only once a year. Most females first breed at 1 year of age, but about half the males delay establishing a territory until 2 years. The species' lifespan appears to be about 5–6 years in the wild, though one study in Southwestern Alberta has found two males and one female that lived to be at least 13 years old.<ref name=BirdsNA>{{cite book|author=Boag, D.A. |author2= M.A. Schroeder |year=1992|chapter= Spruce Grouse |title=The Birds of North America, No.5|editor=A. Poole|editor2= P. Stettenheim|editor3= F. Gill|location= Philadelphia; Washington, DC|publisher=The Academy of Natural Sciences; The American Ornithologists' Union}}</ref>

===Food and feeding===
The staple winter food is conifer needles, clipped directly from the tree, preferably the midcrown of pines though other conifers such as spruce are exploited as well. Spruce needles are high in calcium and their increase in use by females in Spring may be related to egg production<ref name=nutrition>{{cite journal|first1=B. A.|last1=Pendergast|first2=D. A.|last2=Boag|date=1971|title= Nutritional Aspects of the Diet of Spruce Grouse in Central Alberta|journal=The Condor|volume=73|issue=4|pages=437–443|doi=10.2307/1366665|jstor=1366665}}</ref> In summer the birds can forage on the ground, eating [[berry|berries]], green plants such as blueberry leaves, [[fungi]], and some [[insect]]s.<ref name=nutrition/> In winter, when only needles are consumed, the [[caecum|caeca]] (dead-end extensions of the intestines) and ventriculus (gizzard) increase in size to support digestion.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Pendergast|first1=B.A.|first2=D. A.|last2=Boag|year=1973|title= Seasonal Changes in the Internal Anatomy of Spruce Grouse in Alberta|journal=The Auk| volume=90|issue=2|pages=307–317}}</ref> The [[crop (anatomy)|crop]] is also well developed: up to 45 cc of needles<ref>{{cite journal|author=Ellison, L.N. |year=1966|title= Seasonal foods and chemical analysis of winter diet of Alaskan spruce grouse|journal=Journal of Wildlife Management|volume= 30|pages=729–735 |doi=10.2307/3798279 |jstor=3798279 }}</ref> (about 10% of body mass) can be stored in the crop at the end of the day, to be digested over the duration of the night fast. Like other birds, spruce grouse consume clay, grit or small stones to help their [[gizzard]] break down food. Chicks under 1 week old feed on insects and other [[arthropod]]s, then switch to berries and [[fungi]] until the fall, when they start feeding on needles. Birds captured while on the winter diet have been maintained several months without loss of weight, on only pine needles and grit and clay taken from where they were seen consuming it.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Pendergast, B.A. |author2= D.A. Boag |year=1971|title=Maintenance and Breeding of spruce Grouse in Captivity|journal=Journal of Wildlife Management|volume= 35|issue=1|pages=177–179 |doi= 10.2307/3799888 |jstor= 3799888 }}</ref>

==Predators==
Spruce grouse eggs are taken by [[American red squirrel]]s,<ref>{{cite journal|author=Boag, D.A.|author2= S.G. Reebs|author3= M.A. Schroeder |year=1984|title= Egg loss among Spruce Grouse inhabiting lodgepole pine forests |journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology|volume= 62|issue= 6|pages=1034–1037|doi= 10.1139/z84-147|bibcode= 1984CaJZ...62.1034B}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Robinson, W.L. |year=1980|title=Fool Hen: the Spruce Grouse on the Yellow Dog Plains|location= Madison|publisher= University of Wisconsin Press}}</ref> [[gray fox]]es, [[weasel]]s, and possibly [[corvid]]s. Adults can fall prey to various [[hawk]]s and [[owl]]s, [[red fox]]es, [[American marten|American]] and [[Pacific marten]]s, [[Gray wolf|wolves]], [[cougar]]s, and [[coyote]]s.

==Relationship with humans==
This species is commonly hunted. Annual bag figures in the late 1970s were about 188,000 birds in the US and about 360,000 in Canada.<ref name=BirdsNA/>  Even though it has been deemed of Least Concern by IUCN, in the United States this bird is a protected species according to many northern states' hunting rules. The spruce grouse is available for hunting in Alaska from August 10 - March 31 and in some regions through May 15 according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Conversely, the spruce grouse is considered threatened in its southern range - being listed as [[Endangered]] in New York and [[Vermont]], and ''Critically Imperiled'' in Wisconsin according to [[NatureServe]].<ref name=ns>{{cite web |work=NatureServe Explorer 2.0 |title=''Canachites canadensis'' |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104936/Canachites_canadensis |publisher=[[The Nature Conservancy]] |access-date=16 November 2022}}</ref> In New York, the population is estimated at 175–315 individuals, with declines recorded since the 1970s. However, a management plan has been developed.<ref>{{cite web |last1=DEC |first1=NYS |title=Spruce Grouse - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation |url=https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7078.html |website=www.dec.ny.gov |access-date=16 November 2022}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="200" heights="150">
File:Male and female spruce grouse Nelson BC.jpg|alt=Male and female spruce grouse, Nelson, British Columbia|Male and female spruce grouse, Nelson, British Columbia
File:Tetras-du-Canada.jpg|alt=Female spruce grouse, Grands-Jardins National Park|Female spruce grouse, Grands-Jardins National Park, Québec
File:Spruce Grouse (Falcipennis canadenis) RWD.jpg|Male, Acadia National Park, Maine
File:Sgrouse1.jpg|Male spruce grouse during mating season
File:Spruce Grouse Chick.jpg|A chick, Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

* del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal (eds.) (1994). ''Handbook of the Birds of the World.'' Volume 2. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.
* Ehrlich, P.R., D.S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye (1988). ''The Birder's Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds.'' New York: Simon and Schuster Inc.
* Terres, J.K. (1982). ''The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds.'' New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
*Pendergast, B.A. and D.A. Boag (1971). "Maintenance and Breeding of spruce Grouse in Captivity" Journal of Wildlife Management 35(1):177-179.
*Pendergast, B.A. and D.A. Boag (1970). "Seasonal Changes in Diet of Spruce Grouse in Central Alberta" Journal of Wildlife Management 34(3):605–609.
*Pendergast, B.A. and D.A. Boag (1973). "Seasonal Changes in the Internal Anatomy of Spruce Grouse in Alberta" The Auk Vol. 90,(2): 307–317.
*Pendergast, B.A. and D.A. Boag (1971). "Nutritional Aspects of the Diet of Spruce Grouse in Central Alberta" The Condor Vol. 73, (4): 437–443.

{{Commons|Canachites canadensis}}
{{Wikispecies|Falcipennis canadensis}}

{{North American Game}}
{{Pangalliformes|Pha.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q19056}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Tetraonini|spruce grouse]]
[[Category:Grouse|spruce grouse]]
[[Category:Native birds of Alaska]]
[[Category:Birds of Canada]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1758|spruce grouse]]
[[Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus|spruce grouse]]