Pheasants, Grouse, and Quail
Chukar Sharp-tailed grouse
Mountain Quail Sage grouse
Ruffed grouse (Dusky grouse) Ring-Necked Pheasant
Spruce grouse
Chukar Sharp-tailed grouse
Mountain Quail Sage grouse
Ruffed grouse (Dusky grouse) Ring-Necked Pheasant
Spruce grouse
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Chukar: (Alectoris chukar)
Order: Galliformes Characteristics: Chukars are sandy brown overall with bold, vertical black bars on the sides. A dark band through the eyes wraps around the white cheek and throat. A red bill and eye-ring tops off the look. Chukars are ground-dwelling birds that would rather walk or run than fly. Picture: https://pixabay.com/photos/chukar-partridge-bird-animal-8215492/ |
Mountain Quail: (Oreortyx pictus)
Order: Galliformes Characteristics: A plump bird patterned in gray, white, and chestnut, the Mountain Quail sports a dramatic head plume like an exclamation point on its head. It is an elusive bird of western scrub and highlands—easy to hear but difficult to see. Picture: https://pixabay.com/photos/quail-mountain-bird-wildlife-864993/ |
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Ruffed Grouse: (Bonasa umbellus)
Order: Galliformes Characteristics: The dappled, grayish or reddish Ruffed Grouse is hard to see, but its “drumming on air” display is a fixture of many spring forests. It can come as a surprise to learn this distant sound, like an engine trying to start, comes from a bird at all. This plump grouse has a cocky crest and a tail marked by a broad, dark band near the tip. Displaying males expose a rich black ruff of neck feathers, giving them their name. Picture: https://pixabay.com/photos/ruffed-grouse-bird-animal-plumage-5592432/ |
Blue Grouse (Dusky Grouse): (Dendragapus obscurus)
Order: Galliformes Characteristics: The blue grouse, also known as the dusky grouse, is a large bird that lives in temperate forests, scrub forests, and mountains. Both sexes have long, square tails which are unbarred. Males have slate-colored upper parts, white-based neck feathers around the air sacs, and yellow-orange eye combs. Females tend to be browner than males and have barring on the head, neck, and back. Picture: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Dusky_Grouse/photo-gallery |
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Sharp-tailed Grouse: (Tympanuchus phasianellus)
Order: Galliformes Characteristics: One of North America’s spectacular dancing grouse species, the Sharp-tailed Grouse gathers at open display grounds known as leks on spring mornings. Females watch intently as males bend low to the ground, raise their pointed tails skyward, and stamp their feet so fast they become a blur, all while inflating purplish air sacs to make quiet cooing noises. The rest of the year, these plump birds forage in grasslands, open fields, bogs, and forest or woodland, where they take to the trees to nibble buds and berries. Picture: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/194489711 Darrin Clark |
Sage Grouse: (Centrocercus urophasianus)
Order: Galliformes Characteristics: Sage-grouse are mottled gray-brown with a black belly. Males have a black head and throat. The breast has a fluffy white ruff that, during displays, surrounds a pair of inflatable, yellow air sacs. Females have a dusky cheek patch emphasized by white markings behind the eye. Picture: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Greater_Sage-Grouse/photo-gallery |
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Ring-Necked Pheasant: (Phasianus colchicus)
Order: Galliformes
Characteristics: Male Ring-necked Pheasants are gaudy birds with red faces and an iridescent green neck with a bold white ring. The male’s very long tail is coppery with thin, black bars. Females are brown with paler scaling on the upperparts; buff or cinnamon underparts with black spotting on the sides; and thin, black bars on their tails. They forage on the ground in fields, where they eat waste grain, other seeds, and insects when available. Ring-necked Pheasants usually walk or run and only occasionally resort to flying, usually when disturbed at close range by humans or other predators. Males give a loud, cackling display that can be heard over long distances. Picture: https://pixabay.com/photos/ring-necked-pheasant-pheasant-bird-6632362/
Order: Galliformes
Characteristics: Male Ring-necked Pheasants are gaudy birds with red faces and an iridescent green neck with a bold white ring. The male’s very long tail is coppery with thin, black bars. Females are brown with paler scaling on the upperparts; buff or cinnamon underparts with black spotting on the sides; and thin, black bars on their tails. They forage on the ground in fields, where they eat waste grain, other seeds, and insects when available. Ring-necked Pheasants usually walk or run and only occasionally resort to flying, usually when disturbed at close range by humans or other predators. Males give a loud, cackling display that can be heard over long distances. Picture: https://pixabay.com/photos/ring-necked-pheasant-pheasant-bird-6632362/
