Grouse
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[Photo] White-tailed Ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura), Highwood, Alberta. Date 1971. Author John Hill (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:John_Hill).

Copyright (C) 1971 John Hill Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".

Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes. Grouse inhabit temperate and subarctic regions of the northern hemisphere. They are game and are sometimes hunted for food.

In all but one species (the Willow Grouse), males are polygamous, and many species have elaborate courtship displays. These heavily built birds have legs feathered to the toes. Most species are year-round residents, and do not migrate.

These birds feed mainly on vegetables, but also on insects, especially when feeding young.

The American Ornithologists' Union includes grouse (Tetraonidae) as a subfamily of Phasianidae. Based on mtDNA sequences, some systematists believe that certain species belong in new genera.

Species

Genus Falcipennis
Siberian Grouse, Falcipennis falcipennis
Spruce Grouse, Falcipennis canadensis

Genus Dendragapus (Blue Grouse; now split into two species)
Dusky Grouse, Dendragapus obscurus
Sooty Grouse, Dendragapus fuliginosus

Genus Lagopus
Willow Grouse (Willow Ptarmigan in North America), Lagopus lagopus
Red Grouse Lagopus lagopus scoticus - Possibly a distinct species.
Ptarmigan (Rock Ptarmigan in North America), Lagopus mutus
White-tailed Ptarmigan, Lagopus leucura

Genus Tetrao
Eurasian Black Grouse, Tetrao tetrix
Caucasian Black Grouse, Tetrao mlokosiewiczi
Capercaillie, Tetrao urogallus
Black-billed Capercaillie, Tetrao parvirostris

Genus Bonasa
Hazel Grouse, Bonasa bonasia
Severtzov's Grouse, Bonasa sewerzowi
Ruffed Grouse, Bonasa umbellus

Genus Centrocercus
Greater Sage-Grouse, Centrocercus urophasianus
Gunnison Sage-Grouse, Centrocercus minimus

Genus Tympanuchus
Sharp-tailed Grouse, Tympanuchus phasianellus
Greater Prairie-Chicken, Tympanuchus cupido
Heath Hen, T. c. cupido (extinct, 1932) - possibly a distinct species
Lesser Prairie-Chicken Tympanuchus pallidicinctus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grouse

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