Name Change for Blue Grouse
For those of you curious about how the blue grouse in Idaho got it's "new" name, read the message below from Mike Munts at Craters of the Moon.
"The short answer is not a new species but revival of an old name.
In 1805 and 1806 Meriwether Lewis collected two different forms of blue-gray forest grouse. The interior form he called Dusky Grouse and the coastal form he called Sooty Grouse. Lewis' descriptions were published in the "History of the Lewis and Clark Expedition" by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and originally published in 1816. Dover books published a reprint of this work a few years ago by the way. In the 1950s the American Ornithologist Union combined these into a single species and called it Blue Grouse (the name most of you know). Toward the end of 2005 the AOU resplit the species based on the plumage characteristics originally published by Lewis as well as recent biochemical research on the genetics of the 2 birds. In doing so they returned to the names given the birds by Lewis and Clark. Sibley's field guide has had plates for the 2 forms all along so you can check out descriptions there. There are a lot of questions about range of overlap in the Cascades but all the birds in Idaho should be Dusky Grouse. However if you have Blue Grouse from the west of the Cascades you may have a new bird. In my case life bird #532 was added last month even though the date is from 1990."
We no longer have Blue Grouse in Idaho; they're now called Dusky Grouse but retain the same scientific name (Dendragapus obscurus).
You may already be aware of this, but the American Ornithologist's Union (AOU) recently officially split Blue Grouse into two separate species. The interior species (found in
Colorado
) will retain the same scientific name (Dendragapus obscurus) but the common name has been changed to Dusky Grouse. The Pacific species has been split to Sooty Grouse (D. fuliginosus). The complete description of the change can be found here:
As with all of these changes, I'm sure there will continue to be much confusion. But in the scientific literature, our old 'Blue Grouse' will now be referred to as Dusky Grouse.
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Idaho Fish and Game
Sage-Grouse Conservation Plan
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Sage
Grouse Information Links
USGS
SageMap - http://sagemap.wr.usgs.gov/
USGS
species information - http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i3090id.html
USFWS
- http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/species/birds/sagegrouse/
RangeNet
- http://www.rangenet.org/projects/grouse/
BLM
(Colorado, Gunnison) - http://www.co.blm.gov/gra/sagegrouse.htm
Natureworks
- http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/sagegrouse.htm
Nevada
Dept. of Wildlife - http://www.ndow.org/wild/sg/index.shtm
National
Wildlife Federation - http://www.nwf.org/wildlife/sagegrouse/
Uplandidaho.com
will continue to provide this opportunity for other species of concern
found in Idaho, the western U.S., the rest of the country,
and the world. We hope to target sharp-tailed grouse as our next
species of interest. By giving you the opportunity to ask questions
of biologists, and those involved in the management decisions concerning
upland game birds, we at Uplandidaho.com hope to promote the
conservation of all upland game
bird species and improve public awareness.
