Doug Thorburn, that indefatigable wanderer of local mountains, sent me these two pictures of a grouse he saw this last week when he tracked down the sound of drumming. The trouble is, I cannot tell what it is. The head looks like a Dusky, while the breast and wings look more like a Spruce.
Can anyone settle the question?
Hi Alistair
The sticking point for me is that, so far as I know, only the Ruffed Grouse drums. The Spruce Grouse makes a repeated sharp clapping sound, while the Blue (or Dusky) Grouse goes ‘mump – mump – mump’. Clearly this isn’t a Ruffed, so I’m guessing what attracted Doug’s attention must have been a mumping sound which admittedly could sound like drumming, but is lower-pitched, softer, and slower. If so, then this is surely a Blue Grouse, which to me is what it looks like. But Rick Howie will surely have more to say…
Trevor
Trevor, you raise a good point. I had recognized this problem, but chose to merely repeat what I was told assuming it would be interpreted as implying he heard a sound generated by a grouse. Incidentally, Wayne Weber suspects the pictures show a Dusky Grouse.
Hi Alistair, this fellow had the inflatable neck sacs, used when making his mating “mump” calls. I believe that these distinguish the Blue (Dusky) grouse from the spruce grouse.