Franklin's grouse

Franklin's grouse (F. franklinii) of British Columbia and the Rocky Mountains was recently split as a distinct species from Falcipennis canadensis and also consists of the subspecies isleibi in Prince of Wales Island and nearby Alexander Archipelago in southeast Alaska.[1]

Franklin's grouse
Franklin's grouse

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae
Genus: Falcipennis
Species:
F. franklinii
Binomial name
Falcipennis franklinii
(Douglas, 1829)
Synonyms
  • Dendragapus canadensis
  • Falcipennis canadensis franklinii

It closely resembles the Spruce Grouse but the male's tail is entirely black lacking the chestnut terminal tail band of the Spruce Grouse, and has white spots overlying it. Territorial males are notable for their wing-clap display. At the end of a short flight through the trees, the wings are brought together over the back so as to produce two sharp claps, about 0.5 s apart, loud enough to be heard by the human ear 150 m away. These territorial displays can sometimes be elicited by similar hand clapping, and can be used to detect male territories and estimate their density.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2014). "Falcipennis franklinii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2015.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)


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