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Species authority page

Dusky grouse

Dendragapus obscurus · Grouse · Upland game birds

Dusky grouse (Dendragapus obscurus): Male: uniformly gray and dark, with reddish bare neck patches ringed in white feathers visible during courtship. Female: mottled brown and gray. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and dateOpen the dusky grouse map

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Dusky grouse among wildflowers
Adobe Stock · Standard License (asset 47963404)
Scientific name
Dendragapus obscurus
Family
Phasianidae
Range
Western North America: Rocky Mountains and interior West from Alaska, Yukon and western Canada south to the US Southwest.
Biology

How to identify it

Male: uniformly gray and dark, with reddish bare neck patches ringed in white feathers visible during courtship. [1]

Female: mottled brown and gray. [1]

Over most of the range, dark tail with a broad gray tip. [1]

Crow- to mallard-sized. [1]

Compared with the sooty grouse: Recently split from the dusky grouse; the two were formerly combined as 'blue grouse'. [1]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Do not identify Dusky grouse from colour alone. Compare structure, size, range and the listed similar species before making a field decision.[1]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Deciduous and mixed mountain forest in summer, especially where forest meets open country such as sagebrush flats; higher-elevation conifer forest in winter. [1]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Males give a series of deep hoots in the breeding season, increasing in tempo and volume. [1]

Slow-moving and inconspicuous but often surprisingly tame. [1]

Feeds on the ground in summer and in trees in winter, especially in deep snow. [1]

Unusual uphill altitudinal migration: moves up into dense conifer forest in autumn, up to about 30 miles. [1]

Regulatory handoff

Where it is listed for legal take

These authorities list this species for legal take in their own regulations.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Western North America: Rocky Mountains and interior West from Alaska, Yukon and western Canada south to the US Southwest.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. National Audubon Society · reviewed 2026-09-30

    National Audubon Society