Subject: [Tweeters] new Ruffed Grouse?
Date: Oct 28 15:07:37 2006
From: Wayne C. Weber - contopus at telus.net


Ian,

So you are not satisfied with the recent split of Blue Grouse into
Sooty and Dusky Grouse, but are hoping for a split of Ruffed Grouse
too? Another one to pad your list with...... :-) :-)

Seriously, there is a much better likelihood of Franklin's Grouse
being split off from Spruce Grouse. There are significant differences
in plumage and in breeding displays between Franklin's Grouse
and eastern/northern Spruce Grouse. But I have not seen any serious
arguments in print that Ruffed Grouse should be split.

There seems to still be a lot that is unknown, or poorly known,
about noises made by grouse. There are frequent references in bird books
to Spruce Grouse hooting-- they don't. This is based largely if not
entirely
on a misidentification of Blue Grouse hoots as Spruce Grouse in the
Peterson "Field Guide to Bird Songs". Also, the wing-clapping display
of Franklin's Grouse (which is loud, but sounds very un-birdlike)
was first described in detail only about 40 years ago by S.D. MacDonald
in the "Living Bird" journal. And the differences in hooting between
Sooty and Dusky Grouse, well-known to some birders, seem unknown
to many birders even in states like Washington, where both
forms are common.

Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net



----- Original Message -----
From: <birdbooker at zipcon.net>
To: <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Cc: <birdwg01 at listserv.arizona.edu>
Sent: Saturday, October 28, 2006 2:34 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] new Ruffed Grouse?


HI:
Got the e-mail below from a friend of Don Kroodsma and I thought it might
be of interest:
I just realized that I could pester you for a possible answer to a burning
question that I have. Have you ever listened to ruffed grouse drumming out
your way? I am convinced that your grouse is a very different grouse from
grouse across the continent to the Atlantic.
If you're curious, go to the Cornell Library of Natural Sounds website
(given below) and type in 'ruffed grouse' into the search box, and listen to
the ruffed grouse drums that are available on line.
http://www.animalbehaviorarchive.org/assetSearchQuickPublic.do;jsessionid=327C921D34A849C8C64879389BB2616E

Listen to the British Columbia recording (LNS catalog # 59280); that's how
your grouse should sound. And then listen to how different that grouse is
from the recordings from the rest of the continent (e.g., 2384, 48906,
48906, 49058, 2379, 2378, 59274, 59277, 2383). Hear how the BC grouse begins
drumming slowly and then RUSHES up to the high point, then comes down,
whereas grouse elsewhere gradually rise to the high point and then gradually
come down. It is quite striking when you graph out what they are doing. It
is possible that the one British Columbia recording is an odd grouse, but I
bet not. It wouldn't surprise me if your grouse are sufficiently different
to warrant species status. Pretty brash statement, though, based on
listening to just one grouse online!
Best regards . . . Don Kroodsma

--
Ian Paulsen
Bainbridge Island, WA USA
A.K.A.:Birdbooker
\"Rallidae all the way!\"