tags: Sharp-tailed Grouse, Tympanuchus phasianellus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Sharp-tailed Grouse, Tympanuchus phasianellus, photographed at roughly 9am in the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana. [I will identify these birds for you tomorrow]
Image: Bardiac, 7 June 2009 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Ruffed Grouse.
I'm calling those sharp-tailed grouse, based on Sibley's "slightly crested", "white-spotted wing coverts", and "pale below with dark chevrons".
Sharp-tailed grouse is my guess based on the light-colored and relatively unmarked flanks and light undertail.
I beleive that these are female sharp tailed grouse. The small crest on the head and the light underparts are the field marks I would use to identify these birds. While ruffed grouse have a crest as well, they are more likely to be found in woodlands.
Ian Kinman
I beleive that these are female sharp tailed grouse. The small crest on the head and the light underparts are the field marks I would use to identify these birds. While ruffed grouse have a crest as well, they are more likely to be found in woodlands.
Ian Kinman
I'm thinking they're a pair of Rock Ptarmigan in summer. The male definitely sports a marking between the eye and the bill.