Characteristics
 The spruce grouse is thirteen inches in length and looks a little like a chicken. The male has gray and brown feathers mottled with white, a red comb over its eyes, a black throat and black chest with a white border. The female is a mottled gray-brown with white bars and spots. She has no comb.
Range
 The spruce grouse can be found in most parts of Canada, except for the extreme north. In the United States, it can be found in Washington, Wyoming, Michigan and Northern New England.
Habitat
The spruce grouse lives in coniferous forests, especially those with spruce and pine trees.
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Diet
Most of the spruce grouse's diet is made up of the needles and buds of evergreens. It also eats some insects.
Life Cycle
During mating season, the male struts around ruffling his feathers and beating his wings. Sometimes he flies just above the ground and flaps his wings to attract a female. The female lays four to eleven eggs in a hollow lined with moss, grass and leaves. The nest is usually built under low lying branches of a spruce tree. The chicks hatch after about three weeks and fledge when they are ten days old.
Behavior
The spruce grouse is also known as the
Fool Hen because it is so tame you could walk up to it and pick it up!
Image Credits: Clipart.com unless otherwise noted
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