Mahoosuc Bird Notes: Spruce Grouse | Lewiston Sun Journal - The Bethel Citizen

jawawuts.blogspot.com

Spruce Grouse Dick Daniels

The Spruce Grouse (photo by Dick Daniels) is another of Maine’s boreal specialists. Boreal forests comprise a region that occurs south of the artic and is characterized by its spruce, pine and hemlock. Vast boreal regions circle the globe and can be found at low elevations as you move further north. In our area, classic boreal terrain can be found as you move up slope in the mountains. The bogs and thick conifer forests are home to a range of unique plants, animals and birds. The Spruce Grouse is one of these.

Spruce Grouse and Ruffed Grouse are very similar in size and shape and their ranges can overlap. Spruce Grouse, however, rely predominately on conifer needles, especially during the winter when their entire digestive track morphs to allow it to digest this food more efficiently.

Female Spruce Grouse are a mottled brown, gray and black with white tipped feathers concentrating across their belly. This makes them extremely difficult to see in the dense undergrowth where they live. Males have more black than the females, especially on their tails and chest. They also have red combs of bare skin that form a crest over each eye.

One behavior makes these birds both more difficult to find but easier to observe when you do encounter them. They are known to show less fear. As a result, they are less likely to be flushed from cover the way a Ruffed Grouse will do. This means if they don’t move, you might walk right by one. On the other hand, because they don’t seem to be as fearful, sometimes these birds will walk out from their cover for inexplicable reasons.

The next time you are walking or driving through spruce or fir forest, especially at elevation, watch for this shy bird.

James Reddoch, of Albany Township and Boston, leads birding events for the Mahoosuc Land Trust. Visit Mahoosuc Land Trust at 162 North Road, Bethel, ME. To learn more visit www.mahoosuc.org. To contact James, send your emails to [email protected]

Invalid username/password.

Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

filed under: