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Spruce Grouse - Falcipennis canadensis

Spruce grouse
series details
 Phylum: Chordata
 Class: Aves
 Order: Galliformes
 Family: Phasianidae
 Genus:  Falcipennis 
  Description
Spruce GrouseThe 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 his eyes, a black throat, and a black chest with a white border. The female is a mottled gray-brown with white bars and spots. She has no comb.
  Range
Spruce GrouseThe spruce grouse is found in most parts of Canada, except for the extreme north. In the United States, it is found in Washington, Wyoming, Michigan, and Northern New England, including New Hampshire.
  Habitat
The spruce grouse lives in coniferous forests, especially those with spruce and pine trees.

  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
Spruce GrouseDuring 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 can walk up to it and pick it up!


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