Cowled Grouse
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| Click images to enlarge. Male display (above), male/female comparison (below). |
Cowled
Grouse, Cucullotetrus aurufuscus
L 40-50 cm, WS 50-65 cm, Family:
Phasianidae
IUCN Status: Least
Concern (LC)
Description:
Small,
chicken-like bird with long neck, short legs, and a small head. Extremely
well-camouflaged. Upperparts brown overall with extensive and intricate light
and dark markings, underparts lighter with heavy white and dark barring. Tail
brown with dark barring, undertail coverts white with black tips. Males have throats
marked with orange, reddish-brown upper flanks, yellow combs over the eyes, and
a “cowl” composed of long brown feathers covering the nape and stiff yellowish
feathers on the sides of the neck. In display, males erect their tails, puff
their necks, and erect the long nape feathers and yellow neck feathers. Females
are similar, but slightly smaller, with duller coloration, and lacking the
display combs and cowl. Juveniles are like other fowl chicks and heavily
camouflaged.
Voice:
Males
emit a high-pitched crow to attract mates and defend territories. Females cluck
softly to communicate with chicks. Both sexes when alarmed emit high-pitched pit-pit-pit-pit
calls, and wingbeats make loud whistling noises as air rushes through the
feathers, like some doves.
Range and Habitat:
Found
throughout Novasola, but most commonly in the south and east, far less common
in the western range, Chidkayook basin, Paramounts, and prairie. They are
absent from Kosatka Island and extirpated from the Francis Islands. Cowled
Grouse prefer early-successional forests, mixed conifer-deciduous forests, aspen,
birch or alder forests, and oak woodlands. Also found in logged forests,
riparian areas, agricultural areas like orchards and plantations, and developed
rural-suburban areas.
Discussion:
The
Cowled Grouse is the most common species of grouse on Novasola. A medium-small sized
grouse, it is the second-smallest endemic grouse, outweighing only the Novasola
Ptarmigan. Its cryptic plumage, slow movements, proclivity for silence, use of
cover, and solitary nature make Cowled Grouse quite difficult to spot. Like
other grouse they tend to hunker down and sit motionless when predators are
near, relying on their exceptional camouflage to avoid detection until the last
moment when they explode into the air in a flurry of noise and motion. This can
result in quite a shock to unwary outdoor recreationalists.
Forest
generalists, Cowled Grouse can be found in nearly all forest types on the
island, but they show strong preference for broadleaf-dominated
early-successional forests. They spend almost all their time on the ground and
prefer to be hidden under dense understory cover. They are heavily associated
with aspen forests or birch-alder forests and are also especially common in oak
woodlands. Mixed deciduous-conifer forests, especially with dense understories,
are another common type. Cowled Grouse are rarely found in expansive conifer
and mature old-growth forests or in open grassland and shrubland but can still
occasionally be found there in lower densities. They do well in areas of
disturbance and young growth, so may be found in post-burn forests, logged
areas, and rural development including agriculture and residential sprawl. As a
result, populations are growing in the northwest as more areas are logged and
developed and Cowled Grouse are numerous in the Twin River basin and
Fairweather Sound regions.
Cowled
Grouse diet is composed mostly of plant matter, but they will supplement with
invertebrates on occasion. During fruiting season they will eat many berries,
acorns, madrone, and other nuts, and leaves. During the winter and spring they mostly eat
buds, twigs, and catkins, especially of aspen, birch, and alder. They also eat
ferns and fiddleheads, and juveniles eat many insects including ants, beetles,
grasshoppers, spiders, caterpillars, and millipedes.
Generally
solitary, Cowled Grouse are most often seen alone, except hens with broods.
Males are especially solitary and defend territories year-round. Males
establish home territories, usually after their first year, and defend them
from other males through intimidation and occasional fights which can become
quite violent. Males will advertise, both to neighboring males and to potential
mates, with loud, high-pitched crowing. When a female approaches, the male with
puff its neck feathers, erect its tail and cowl, and sway its neck side-to-side.
The cowl is a series of long feathers draped over the male’s nape that when
erected splay out to either side of the neck, and it’s this feature that gives
the Cowled Grouse its common name. Females judge this display and decide
whether to mate. Afterwards the female will leave to find a suitable nest
location to lay, incubate, and raise the brood. Nests are scrapes placed on the
ground, almost always at the base of trees. Males have no part in reproduction
beyond the mating. A typical clutch size is 10-12 eggs, three or four of which
are likely to survive beyond 50 days after hatching. Younger birds, especially
females, are more likely to occasionally be found in groups or small flocks. This
is especially true outside the breeding season, and groups of birds may also be
found at productive food sources.
Cowled
Grouse are a popular gamebird across Novasola and their populations are managed
by state and tribal agencies with fairly liberal hunting allowances. Though not
the most popular among hunters, Cowled Grouse are the second-most frequently
hunted bird on Novasola, behind only the Turkey-pheasant. They were and are also
heavily hunted by indigenous peoples as a staple food source. Cowled Grouse are
also the only native grouse that show adaptability in the face of development
and human-caused ecosystem changes. They can often be found in agricultural fields
and orchards and even densely wooded parks and yards.
Also
called Hooded Grouse, Cobra Grouse, and Cowled Partridge, the Cowled Grouse is
a familiar, if difficult to spot, bird of Novasolan woodlands. It was also a
commonly observed, and commonly hunted, bird during the NRC expeditions.
Indeed, some members even remarked how they started to tire of Cowled Grouse
meat by the end of each expedition.
“The
Cowled Partridge, like many of his brethren, is most at home among the leaf
litter and detritus of the forest floor wherein the bird wholly disappears.
Many a time I have scattered birds I would have no indication were at roost
within a swinging leg’s distance of my path. The partridge swallows grit and
may thus be seen often along the gravel paths of the Pollux farmlands in great
numbers.
…
The
Cowled Partridge is less cold-hearty than the rest of its Novasolan cohort, but
even it faces winter with ingenuity. Come the snows the partridge grows
pectinaceous scales extending from its toes which afford the bird built-in
snowshoes. These winter growths prevent the partridge from sinking into deep
snow. The winter partridge subsists on buds and twigs. Let no man confuse the
partridge for a summer softie.” – Native Birds of Novasola, 1912
“I
can suffer no more the brown partridge. Tonight I would trade my portion of
fowl for even the leanest of swine.” – Patrick Jackson, NRC Ichthyologist,
Expedition logs, September 22, 1902
“In
the spring, listen for the cock’s crow in stands of oak, birch, aspen, or alder,
especially those of the Eastern Range. The call pierces the morning air just as
it pierces the spine. Without a directing chorus, a sportsman may find the
birds most reliably in young forest stands with heavy undergrowth and brush,
but locating any bird before it flees will require a generous portion of luck.”
– Manual of Novasolan Birds, 1914