Spruce Grouse in Lake County
2011-01-09

Common in Lake County in the Winter season

This Spruce Grouse (Falcipennis canadensis), which appeared to be an immature male, was found by my MBW group on Forest Road 186 just off MN Hwy 1, <1/4 mi SE of the Spruce Rd. Of particular note on this individual (though perhaps difficult to discern in this image taken under low light conditions) are the white tips on the upper tail coverts and the limited amount of rust on the tip of the tail. Both the Geographic and Sibley field guides indicate these characteristics refer to the "Franklin's" subspecies (F. c. franklinii) of the western U.S. and Canada, which does not occur in Minnesota. However, I suspect that some individuals of the race found here (the nominate subspecies F. c. canadensis), perhaps immature males especially, can also exhibit these features.

Kim R. Eckert; "digibin" photo with 10x32 Ultravid Leica binoculars.