Spruce Grouse
Falcipennis canadensis

f4 @ 1/1600s, ISO:1000, Nikon D3S w 500mm

\"Spruce Grouse,\" Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The spruce grouse or Canada grouse is a medium-sized grouse closely associated with the coniferous boreal forests or taiga of North America. It is one of the most arboreal grouse, fairly well adapted to perching and moving about in trees. When approached by a predator, it relies on camouflage and immobility to an amazing degree, for example letting people come to within a few feet before finally taking flight, a behavior that has earned it the nickname \"fool\'s hen\". Females may be confused with ruffed grouse but they have a dark tail with a pale band at the end (while the reverse is true in ruffed grouse) and they do not erect their crown feathers when alarmed the way ruffed grouse do.

Dalton Highway, Alaska

10/07/2014