Franklin's grouse

Franklin's grouse
Franklin's grouse
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Galliformes
Family: Phasianidae
Genus: Canachites
Species:
Subspecies:
C. c. franklinii
Trinomial name
Canachites canadensis franklinii
(Douglas, 1829)
Synonyms
  • Dendragapus canadensis franklinii
  • Falcipennis franklinii
  • Canachites franklinii

Franklin's grouse (Canachites canadensis franklinii) is a subspecies of the spruce grouse found in the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, and Alberta.

Taxonomy[edit]

In 2014, it was split by the IUCN as a distinct species from the spruce grouse Canachites canadensis after being considered a subspecies. However, as of early 2021 the International Ornithological Congress (IOC)[2], the American Ornithological Society[3], and the Clements taxonomy[4] retain C. f. franklinii and C. f. isleibi as subspecies of spruce grouse.

An isolated population, now treated as a distinct subspecies C. c. isleibi (or C. f. isleibi when franklinii is considered a distinct species), is found on Prince of Wales Island and the nearby Alexander Archipelago in southeast Alaska.[1]

Description[edit]

It closely resembles other subspecies of 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.

Behaviour[edit]

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[edit]

  1. ^ a b BirdLife International (2016). "Falcipennis franklinii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T61204155A95167109. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T61204155A95167109.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P. (January 2021). "IOC World Bird List (v 11.1)". Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  3. ^ "Check-list of North and Middle American Birds". American Ornithological Society. June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  4. ^ Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ March 5, 2021