Falcipennis canadensis Linnaeus, 1758
Text, photo and map from
Storch I. (2000) : Grouse Action Plan 2000-2004,
reproduced here with the Editor's agreement
Synonyms:
Dendragapus
canadensis,
Common
names:
Spruce grouse
English
Tétras du
Canada
French
Fichtenhuhn
German
Gallo canadiense
Spanish
Canachites canadensis
a male, photo by Hans
Aschenbrenner
Conservation Status
IUCN 1996: Lower risk
(least concern).
CITES 1998: not listed in Appendices.
National red data books: listed in several states of the eastern
US.
Taxonomy
The taxonomy of the spruce grouse is currently under debate. Sibley and Monroe (1991) and Boag and Schroeder (1992) place the species in the genus Dendragapus and accept only two subspecies, which are well differentiated based on plumage and behaviour: the southwestern D. c. franklinii, and the more broadly distributed northeastern D. c. canadensis. del Hoyo et al. (1994) and the American Ornithologists´ Union (1998) list the spruce grouse as Falcipennis canadensis and recognise two groups of subspecies, the F. c. canadensis-group with five subspecies and the franklinii-group with F. c. franklinii, for which a new subspecies F. c. isleibi has recently been proposed for Prince of Wales and nearby islands of the Alexander Archipelago (Gustafson 1994, Dickerman and Gustafson 1996)
Distribution
Throughout northern North America. The range extends from Alaska to Labrador and south into New England and the northern states of the western US. F. c. franklinii occupies the montane forests of the cordilleras of the Southwest, and F. c. canadensis the remaining northern taiga. Spruce grouse are mostly sedentary with some restricted, undirectional movements between individual summer and winter habitats.
Population size and trend
Spruce grouse are widespread and still fairly common throughout most of their original range. Some localised habitat loss and range contractions due to logging have been observed along southern limits. Estimated densities are commonly below 10 birds per km2, but range to over 50 in Ontario (D. Keppie, pers. comm.). Populations may markedly fluctuate between years. Spruce grouse in the temperate rainforest of southeast Alaska appear to be living in isolated and scattered low-density populations. (Compare Boag and Schroeder 1992.)
Habitat and ecology
The spruce grouse uses a wide range of conifer-dominated forest habitats from sea level to >3600 m in elevation. Over most of its range, it uses spruce and pine-dominated seral stages following fire and other disturbance, and unburned patches of wet spruce forest. In the breeding season, spruce grouse also use open subalpine parklands with widely scattered trees in western mountains (F. Zwickel, pers. comm.). A widespread structural attribute of spruce grouse habitats are branches and/or subordinate trees or shrubs in the range of 2-8 m above ground (D. Keppie, pers. comm.). Short-needled pines and spruce needles are the exclusive winter food. They generally prefer relatively young (<30 years) dense forests with a well-developed middle storey. In the snow-free seasons, spruce grouse feed on ericaceous shrubs and various other plants and typically forage alone on the ground; during winter they may form loose flocks of up to 30 birds. Their association with conifer forest may be less close during periods of dispersal and migration, and the birds may occasionally be found several kilometres from the next coniferous habitat. (See Boag and Schroeder 1992.)
Hunting and cultural importance
The spruce grouse is commonly hunted although to most hunters it is an occasional prey rather than a major game species. Annual hunting bags comprised some 500.000 birds in the late 1970s. The impact of hunting on the populations is generally considered to be low. Spruce grouse populations, however, may rapidly decline near advancing roads and settlements due to over-exploitation.
Principal threats
Habitat degradation. Spruce grouse rely on conifer forests. A mosaic of older coniferous habitats interspersed with burned, regenerating patches support high grouse densities. Changes in forest structure, e.g. the loss of softwood patches due to forest harvesting and fire suppression may lead to population declines. Logging may result in temporary, local extinctions.
Small population size. Along the limits of the bird=s range spruce grouse live in scattered low-density populations in highly isolated patches of spruce forest, e.g. in southeast Alaska, New York, Maine and Vermont. The total population of the newly proposed subspecies F. c. isleibi is considered to be low, but its population status is unknown (J. Gustafson, pers. comm). Isolated small populations are particularly vulnerable; the advance of new roads and settlements may reduce the exchange between neighbouring populations making it difficult for isolated populations to recruit new breeders.
Research needs
Over major parts of the range little is known about the local subspecies and populations. Particularly, the specific life-history traits and habitat requirements of the franklinii populations in southeast Alaska are poorly understood. At least two graduate studies are currently in progress addressing dispersal and the effects of clearcutting, one in Alaska (A. Russell) and one in British Columbia (S. Harrison). In some localities, more research is needed regarding densities and trends of populations in relation to current and cumulative habitat modifications, such as habitat losses and the development of interconnected road systems. In the south, the capability of timber management interventions to produce the stand structure that the birds use need to be determined.
Current conservation measures
Legal protection. The spruce grouse is partially protected throughout its range; hunting is regulated by defined seasons and bag limits.
Habitat preservation. In Vermont, the state is actively engaged with the industrial landowner in some timber management planning and harvesting to foster better forest structure in the small area in which the bird occurs (D. Keppie, pers. comm.).
Education. There are some regional and local public education programmes on spruce grouse along the southern distribution limits. In New York, there is public education for landowners in the Adirondacks region about the bird's endangered status. In Wisconsin, there is a local group (Fool-hen's Forever) trying to encourage naturalists to see the bird (D. Keppie, pers. comm.).
Priority conservation measures
Habitat and forestry. Because so little is known about the species from much of the range, research into the effects of man-made habitat alterations appear most important; guidelines should be developed on how to integrate habitat conservation with forest utilisation practices.
Monitoring. Species-specific counting methods (Schroeder and Boag 1989, Keppie 1992) and monitoring schemes should be developed and applied in localities where populations appear to be declining or threatened.
Protected areas. In some locations where spruce grouse appear to be threatened by advancing forest exploitation, protected areas may be important for the long-term survival of highly isolated and scattered low-density populations; e.g. in southeast Alaska (J. Gustafson, pers. comm.). Others, however, caution that protected areas may not be the best tool for spruce grouse conservation because the species is favoured by diverse forest age structures and is most abundant in young, upland stands (D. Keppie, pers. comm).
Correspondents
David Boag, Jack Gustafson, Scott Harrison, Dan Keppie, Amy Russell, Mike Schroeder, Loren Smith, Fred Zwickel
Key publications
Boag, D. A. and Schroeder, M. A. 1992. Spruce grouse. The birds of North America, No. 5. The birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
Dickerman, R. W. and Gustafson, J. 1996. The Prince of Wales spruce grouse: a new subspecies from southeastern Alaska. Western Birds 27:41-47.