Blue Grouse

aka Sooty Grouse

Dendragapus fuliginosus

A Blue Grouse in Colorado
Photo courtesy of Blair Maddy

This bird is sometimes consdered conspecific with the Dusky Grouse (Dendragapus obscurus). The Blue is found in the Rocky Mountains, while the Dusky is in the Pacific Northwest and the Sierra Nevadas. They range around the edges of conifer and mixed forests.

The long tail with it's square and lighter gray tip is a good identifying feature.

A displaying male has a yellow (Sooty) or purplish (Dusky) air sac and a yellow (Sooty) or yellow to reddish (Dusky) wattle over the eyes.