Fir grouse
| Fir grouse | ||||||||||
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male |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Falcipennis canadensis | ||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The fir grouse ( Falcipennis canadensis ) is a North American hen bird from the pheasant family .
features
The pine grouse reaches a body length of 38 to 45 centimeters. The wingspan is 50 to 60 centimeters. The weight varies between 450 and 650 grams. As with other grouse , the weight varies greatly over the year.
The male is mostly gray-brown feathered with a black breast with white dots on the side, a black throat. The black tail has maroon tips in the nominate form. During the breeding season, the male has a red crest swelling over his eye. The male of the subspecies F. c. Living in the northern Rocky Mountains . franklinii lacks the brown tail end; but it has white tips on the upper tail-covers.
In both subspecies the female is speckled brown with dark and white lines on the underside.
Occurrence
The range includes Alaska , large parts of Canada and parts of New England , Michigan , Washington , Oregon and Idaho . Basically, the fir grouse is a boreal and nearctic species, the range overlaps almost exactly with the North American taiga . The pine grouse lives in coniferous forests .
behavior
The pine grouse lives individually or in small family groups. The pine grouse is not shy: it only flies open when a person has come within 6 to 45 meters. Since it can even be caught occasionally, it is also called " fool hen ". The diet consists mainly of needles and buds from conifers. In the warm season, leaves, flowers and berries such as blueberries and crowberries also complement the diet. Fledglings also eat a larger number of insects.
Reproduction
During the courtship season, the male fluffs up his plumage, flaps his wings and sometimes briefly to attract females. The nest of the grouse is a grass-padded hollow in the ground that is hidden under the branches of a young fir. The clutch consists of eight to eleven beige-colored eggs, which can also have brown spots. The young birds hatch after about three weeks and fledge at ten days.
literature
- Miklos DF Udvardy: National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds - Western Region Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1977,1994,2006 ISBN 0-679-42851-8
- Richard Sale: A Complete Guide to Arctic Wildlife , published by Christopher Helm, London 2006, ISBN 0-7136-7039-8
- Roald Potapov and Richard Sale: Grouse of the World . New Holland Publishers, London 2013, ISBN 978-1-78009-250-8 .
Web links
- Dendragapus canadensis inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.2. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sale, p. 163
- ^ Roald Potapov and Richard Sale: Grouse of the World . New Holland Publishers, London 2013, ISBN 978-1-78009-250-8 , p. 117