Sooty Grouse
Dendragapus fuliginosus
The Sooty Grouse (Dendragapus fuliginosus) is a uncommon partridges, pheasants, grouse, and alli found in 2 countries, weighing about 1.0 kg. The sooty grouse is a species of forest-dwelling grouse native to North America's Pacific Coast Ranges.
About the Sooty Grouse
The sooty grouse is a species of forest-dwelling grouse native to North America's Pacific Coast Ranges. It is closely related to the dusky grouse, and the two were previously considered a single species, the blue grouse.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
Adults have a long square tail, light gray at the end. Adult males are mainly dark with a yellow throat air sac surrounded by white, and a yellow wattle over the eye during display. Adult females are mottled brown with dark brown and white marks on the underparts. Females have longer skinnier necks than males. The males have stouter bodies than the females. The bird averages 40–50 cm (16–20 in) in length and weighs 750–1,300 g (1.65–2.87 lb).
Where it lives
When to see it
Best months: April, May, June, July, August, September, with peak activity in May. It is a summer visitor species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Sooty Grouse?
- Adults have a long square tail, light gray at the end. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Sooty Grouse?
- The Sooty Grouse is a large sized bird weighing about 1.0 kg.
- Where can you see a Sooty Grouse?
- The Sooty Grouse occurs in 2 countries, including the United States and Canada.
- What birds look similar to a Sooty Grouse?
- The Sooty Grouse is most easily confused with the Dusky Grouse.
- Is the Sooty Grouse endangered?
- The Sooty Grouse is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Sooty Grouse for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
Play BeakBrainEvery photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.