Subject: Re: spruce grouse for atlas
Date: Nov 20 17:11:30 1998
From: "Andy Stepniewski" - steppie at wolfenet.com


My bet is this is a White-tailed Ptarmigan if I interpret the photo
correctly. My screen seems to show feathered toes, which eliminates Spruce
and Blue Grouse. There is enough white splotching plumage-wise to make it a
ptarmigan too.

Of course, my screen might not have enough pixels and it may be that the
toes are not feathered!

But ptarmigans my vote.

Andy Stepniewski
Wapato WA

----------
> From: Kelly Cassidy <lostriver at seanet.com>
> To: tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> Cc: Ravenedit at aol.com
> Subject: Fw: spruce grouse for atlas
> Date: Friday, November 20, 1998 4:03 PM
>
> Tweets:
>
> I received the following request for a grouse ID (possible Spruce
Grouse)
> from Daniel Mathews. He found the grouse west of the range shown in the
> Breeding Bird Atlas, in Snohomish County. He has sent me his scanned
photo.
> It's at:
> http://www.seanet.com/~lostriver/grouse.htm
>
> Mr. Mathews is not subscribed to tweeters. If you know which grouse
this
> is, please cc your comments to him at
> Ravenedit at aol.com
>
> Kelly Cassidy
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ravenedit at aol.com <Ravenedit at aol.com>
> To: kelly at u.washington.edu <kelly at u.washington.edu>
> Date: Wednesday, November 18, 1998 1:19 PM
> Subject: spruce grouse for atlas
>
>
> >Dear Birders
> >On 8/12/96 I saw a grouse female leading her brood around, by the Crest
> Trail
> >just north of Glacier Peak. That would be T31N R14E Sec 27 at about
5200'
> >elev. Somewhat outside the peripheral habitat on [Smith's online] map,
let
> >along nearby records, especially because it's several miles west of the
> >Cascade Crest.
> >
> >I'm only about 95% sure on the i.d., though, and would be interested in
> >sending you my photo.
> >
> >Anyway, this grouse is barred all over in shades of gray/black/white,
not
> >brown; photo shows only a very few white bars having a yellow tinge. And
a
> >slight orange eyebrow. I saw Spruce grouse in Canadian Rockies this
> summer,
> >and they were gold-brown; but all the refs say female Spruce grouse has
a
> >brown phase and a gray phase---and they all depict only the brown phase,
so
> >I'm left wondering just how completely gray the gray phase is, and
whether
> it
> >is known in Washington. Photo #262 in Udvardy 1977 is totally gray, but
is
> >presumably a male.
> >
> >Of course the other variability question would be just how completely a
> White-
> >tailed Ptarmigan can lose its white patches in summer. This female had
none
> at
> >all, and seemed both big for a Ptarmigan and low-elevation for a
Ptarmigan.
> >(I've seen Ptarmigan a few times in the North Cascades, but its been
> several years
> >now.)
> >
> >Daniel Mathews
> >
> >