Sooty grouse

Scientific name: Dendragapus fuliginosus

How weight is recorded: Whole weight

Field notes

Appearance

Males are dark charcoal-grey with faint barring, inflatable yellow-orange neck patches, and a white-spotted tail; females are mottled brown-grey with lighter underparts. Males are noticeably larger and darker than females.

Size and weight

Males 450–550 g, 40–43 cm; females 350–450 g, 38–41 cm.

Habitat

Sooty grouse inhabit coniferous and mixed-conifer forests from low elevations to alpine timberline, preferring Douglas-fir, spruce, and fir stands with understory shrubs and openings. They favour steep, forested slopes and ravines with varied topography.

Distribution

Found from British Columbia and northern California south through the Rocky Mountain and Cascade ranges; they prefer higher-elevation conifer forests in the southern portion of their range.

Diet

Sooty grouse eat conifer needles, buds, and mast year-round, supplemented by berries, leaves, and insects during spring and summer.

Behaviour

Primarily ground-dwelling and terrestrial, active in early morning and late afternoon; they are solitary or in small family groups outside breeding season and move vertically between elevations seasonally.

Hunting tips

Look for droppings (dark, elongated pellets in clusters) and dust-bathing sites in loose forest soil. Approach steep, timbered slopes into the wind during morning and evening hours, stepping slowly and pausing frequently to listen for alarm calls. Flush birds by methodically walking likely cover, keeping to open understory areas where birds rest between feeding.

Whole weight

This species is logged by whole weight — the animal weighed entire, as taken.

Where it is hunted

Listed as huntable in 2 countries in Huntify.

Names in other languages

These field notes are general species knowledge, not legal advice. Always check the current seasons, quotas and firearm rules where you hunt.