Dusky Grouse

The dusky grouse and sooty grouse used to be part of the same species known as the blue grouse. The dusky grouse is found in the mountainous regions of interior western North America from central Yukon south to northern Arizona and New Mexico.  The sooty grouse is found further west, in the mountainous regions of south-coastal Alaska and northwestern British Columbia south to the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California and westernmost Nevada. Nominate ssp. obscurus is found in central Utah, including on Mount Nebo, where I saw one when I was climbing 11,933 foot tall Mt. Nebo on August 1, 1992 with my brother-in-law, Dave Kenison, although it was not anywhere near close to the peak. It has two positive identifications on iNaturalist. 

It is also found throughout central Colorado, including on Mount Elbert. I saw three or four while climbing 14,440 foot Mt. Elbert with Judy on September 12, 2009, the second highest mountain in the contiguous U.S. and the tallest in the Rocky Mountains. They were not near the summit, but were above tree line. It has three positive identifications on iNaturalist, including from calebstroh and scottdwilson, the number 1 and number 2 identifiers of it on iNaturalist with 2001 and 1374 identifications, respectively. 

Obscurus has a distinct gray band at the end of its tail, which differentiates it from the northern ssp. richardsonii. 

Illustration of a female ssp. obscurus from Birds of the World.

Illustration of ssp. obscurus male from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of male ssp. obscurus in display mode from Birds of the World. 

Range from Birds of the World.