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Species authority page

Sooty grouse

Dendragapus fuliginosus · Grouse · Upland game birds

Sooty grouse (Dendragapus fuliginosus): Male dark slaty gray with a yellow comb and a long blackish tail tipped with a broad pale gray band. In spring display the male shows yellow neck air sacs ringed by white feathers. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and dateOpen the sooty grouse map

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

Sooty grouse walking on the ground
Adobe Stock · Standard License (asset 2197862755)
Scientific name
Dendragapus fuliginosus
Family
Phasianidae
Range
Resident from coastal southeastern Alaska and coastal British Columbia (including Haida Gwaii and Vancouver Island) south through the coast ranges and Cascades to northwestern California and the Sierra Nevada.
Biology

How to identify it

Male dark slaty gray with a yellow comb and a long blackish tail tipped with a broad pale gray band. [1][2][3]

In spring display the male shows yellow neck air sacs ringed by white feathers. [1][2][3]

Female mottled brown and gray. [1][2][3]

Large: Alaska's largest upland game bird. [1][2][3]

Compared with the dusky grouse: Very similar and separated mainly by range; dusky grouse lives in the interior West. [1][2][3]

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 Sooty grouse from colour alone. Compare structure, size, range and the listed similar species before making a field decision.[1][2][3]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Coastal and mountain coniferous forest; many birds move in autumn from open breeding areas into dense conifers; coastal birds may use semi-open old-growth or logged forest year-round. [1][2][3]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Displaying males give deep, owl-like hoots, often from high in a dense conifer, sometimes audible over a mile away [1][2][3]

Slow-moving and often surprisingly tame [1][2][3]

Forages on the ground in summer and in trees in winter, eating conifer needles [1][2][3]

Hens with broods use muskeg edges, logged areas and roadsides from late June [1][2][3]

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

Resident from coastal southeastern Alaska and coastal British Columbia (including Haida Gwaii and Vancouver Island) south through the coast ranges and Cascades to northwestern California and the Sierra Nevada.

Biology

Sources

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

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

    National Audubon Society

  2. Alaska Department of Fish and Game · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Alaska Department of Fish and Game

  3. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe