Grouse

Grouse are chicken-like birds that primarily forage and live on the ground. Both species are found in the park year-round.

Sooty Grouse

White-tailed Ptarmigan

 

Grouse - Order Galliformes, Family Phasianidae

 

A displaying male Sooty Grouse (top), and female Sooty Grouse (bottom)

Top: NPS/C. Roundtree; Bottom: NPS/S. Redman

Sooty Grouse

Dendragapus fuliginosus

Habitat: subalpine
Seasons: common year-round
Size: length 20 in (50.8 cm), wingspan 26 in (66 cm)
Sooty Grouse Calls

This common grouse is large, with a long neck and tail. Males are darker in coloring, with tail feathers tipped in lighter grey, while females are speckled grey-brown overall. Males have yellow "eyebrows". When displaying for mating, males puff up their throats to show apteria, bright yellow skin patches on either side of the neck, accompanied by deep, hooting calls.

 

Duration:

1 minute, 31 seconds

Unlike songbirds that are born with eyes closed and no feathers, precocial birds like the Sooty Grouse (Dendragapus fuliginosus), already have downy feathers and open eyes when they hatch. This means their mothers don’t have to keep them warm in a nest. Instead, precocial chicks are on the move! They need lots of food to develop, particularly protein-rich insects. However, precocial chicks still need mom, who keeps an eye out for predators. Both mom and chicks continually chirp softly to stay together.

 

White-tailed Ptarmigan (plumage in transition)

NPS Photo

White-tailed Ptarmigan

Lagopus leucura

Habitat: alpine
Seasons: uncommon year-round
Size: length 12.5 in (31.7 cm), wingspan 22 in (56 cm)
White-tailed Ptarmigan Calls

Ptarmigan are adapted for cold alpine areas of the park, with feathered feet that let them walk across snow as well as provide insulation. Their coloring also shifts with the seasons, from all white in winter to grey-brown speckles in summer when breeding. Males have orange "eyebrows" when breeding and darker black speckles on the neck and breast with a white belly. Ptarmigan were Federally Listed as "Threatened" in 2024. The loss and degradation of its habitat resulting from climate change will endanger the bird in the foreseeable future.

 

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