It was dusk. I was in the car. Pretend this was a 1999 trip. It
was a Blue Grouse. :-)

Carol Riddell
Edmonds

On Jun 3, 2009, at 11:56 AM, Kevin Purcell wrote:

> In Wenas in an area where the ranges do overlap. So I don't think
> you can say either from range.
>
> http://www.wenasaudubon.org/Directions.htm
>
> Dusky
>
> http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird_details.aspx?id=122
>
>> The ranges of Dusky Grouse and Sooty Grouse meet and overlap on
>> the east slope of the Cascades, creating a zone of confusion
>> between the two species.
>>
>
>
> Sooty
>
> http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird_details.aspx?id=489
>
> They also hybridize to annoy listers :-)
>
> So it's down to the field marks ... and a belief you are not
> looking at a hybrid.
>
>> The most useful field mark for the male Sooty is the broad gray
>> terminal band on the dark tail; the male Dusky?s tail is all-dark
>> with no more than a touch of gray at the very tips of the tail
>> feathers. The air sacs on the male?s neck, visible when expanded
>> in display, are yellow in Sooty and purplish-red in Dusky. Females
>> of the two species are nearly impossible to separate in the field,
>> although Sooty females are slightly darker and more uniformly
>> brown (less gray) on average.
>
>
> "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition"
>
> On Jun 3, 2009, at 9:52 AM, Ian Paulsen wrote:
>
>> HI:
>> Shouldn't that be Sooty Grouse?
>
> --
> Kevin Purcell
> kevinpurcell at pobox.com
>
>