If they are of any help, the SPRUCE GROUSE photos (4) are on our website. There is also one photo of a imm. or female BLUE GROUSE. To me the Ruffed Grouse always seems to have a small top knot or pointy head.

Jerry and Sandy Converse
Grand Coulee, WA

http://members.tripod.com/nature_scenic_photos/

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember, amateurs built the Ark and
Professionals built the Titanic.

Franny Drobny wrote:

> To Rick Romea and Tweeters:
>
> Rick's recent post to Tweeters wondering about the blue grouse and ruffed
> grouse brought to mind a similar question I had a couple years ago about a
> blue grouse versus a spruce grouse in trying to ID a mystery grouse Jack
> Bowling in B.C. provided some helpful information about grouses in general,
> so I thought I re-post his information about that
>
> "Anyone familiar with both species (blue and spruce) would never get them
> mixed up: Blues are a noticeably bigger bird than Spruce Grouse. Here in
> central BC this time of year, when one climbs a mountain you usually find
> Ruffeds in the mixed woods at the bottom of the mountain, Spruce in the
> conifers halfway up, Blues in the sub-alpine krumholtz (with sizeable chicks
> this time of year [August]), and White-tailed Ptarmigan in the alpine. Yes,
> the base color of a "male" Blue Grouse is a bluish to slate-gray whereas
> that of a female tends more toward medium brownish-gray. Female Spruce
> Grouse in any plumage usually show a most beautiful complicated barred and
> mottled pattern on the underparts which is unique among our grouse species.
> I would tend to favor Blue Grouse for your mystery bird due to the fact that
> you didn't comment on the barring of the underparts."
>
> Hope this might be of some help although it doesn't get into a full
> description of the Ruffeds v. Blues.
>
> Franny Drobny
> Seattle, Washington
>
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