The spruce grouse is widely distributed and secure through much of its range but declining or rare along the southern fringe, particularly in the east. The species is a resident of northern conifer forests ranging from Alaska to Labrador and south into the Upper Great Lakes states, New England and the northern states of the western United States. One subspecies is recognized over most of its range (F. c. canadensis); a second (F.c. franklinii) inhabits the cordilleran ranges mostly in BCR 10, and a third is tentatively identified as F.c. isleibi (Prince of Wales spruce grouse) in the Alexander Archipelago in southeast Alaska. The vast distribution of spruce grouse is misleading—within conifer forest spruce grouse select discontinuous microhabitats that meet specific vital needs. Spruce grouse are sedentary with some restricted movements between individual summer and winter ranges.

Spruce Grouse
Falcipennis canadensis

The spruce grouse is a medium-bodied, dark-colored bird. Sexes are dimorphic in color and size, and there is a clear female sex bias in dispersal, across different populations in their range (Keppie and Towers 1992). Males are dark, slightly larger than females, with a black throat and breast, red comb over the eye; tails are black in franklinii birds or are mottled with a broad rufous terminal band in canadensis. Females are generally a mottled gray-brown or red-brown plumage, and have white barring on the underparts, with dark brown tails.