JACKSON, Wyo. — A female dusky grouse sits on a stump overlooking the late summer foliage on Wednesday, Aug. 13, possibly contemplating her move to higher ground as temperatures begin to cool.
Buckrail photographer Nick Sulzer spotted the grouse on top of Signal Mountain, a 7,727 foot peak in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP).
According to GTNP, the dusky grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) will travel to higher elevations in the mountains in the fall, a behavior known as “reverse migration.” When their summer food source of berries (huckleberries, hawthorn and serviceberries), seeds and insects become scarce, the large birds enter denser Douglas fir and lodgepole pine forests to forage on conifer needles and buds.
This particular female grouse blends in well with her brown and white surroundings.
“Males are steely gray-blue with purplish air sacs in the neck and red eye combs that they show off for brownish, highly camouflaged females,” All About Birds wrote on its website.
GTNP is home to three species of grouse: ruffed grouse, dusky (or blue) grouse and greater sage-grouse.
“Grouse and other Western birds use the park as a safe space to breed, feed and rest,” GTNP wrote via Facebook.
Ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) look similar to the region’s dusky grouse, but are distinguished by the crown or ruff of feathers on the top of their head. Ruffed grouse also like the forested habitat in and around GTNP.
GTNP wrote, “If you’ve hiked in the woods, you may have heard them ‘drumming’ to signal the females and warn off male competitors from their territory!”
