Spruce grouse

The spruce grouse (Falcipennis canadensis) is a medium-sized grouse found throughout coniferous or boreal woodland of Herethear. It is one of the most arboreal grouse species, fairly well adapted to perching and moving about in trees. When approached by a predator, it relies on camouflage and immobility to an amazing degree, for example letting people come to within a few feet before finally taking flight, a behavior that has earned it the nickname "fool's hen". 
== Distribution and Habitat ==
They inhabit mountainous coniferous woods in the far northern half of Nareemia and throughout all of Siere. Their southernmost range is Montane. They inhabit Tolwick, Berchill, Stafcord, Causaking, Sierve, north and western New Siere, northern most Montane and the north borders rounding Siere in Athens. Spruce grouse are always associated with conifer-dominated forests, be they pine, spruce, or fir. They seem to prefer young successional stands. In summer they can be found near rich understory of blueberries and other shrub, and in winter they prefer denser stands. 
== Diet ==
The staple winter food is conifer needles, clipped directly from the tree, preferably the midcrown of pines though other conifers such as spruce are exploited as well. Spruce needles are high in calcium and their increase in use by females in Spring may be related to egg production In summer the birds can forage on the ground, eating berries, green plants such as blueberry leaves, fungi, and some insects. In winter, when only needles are consumed, the caeca (dead-end extensions of the intestines) and ventriculus (gizzard) increase in size to support digestion. The crop is also well developed: up to 45 cc of needles (about 10% of body mass) can be stored in the crop at the end of the day, to be digested over the duration of the night fast. Like other birds, spruce grouse consume clay, grit or small stones to help their gizzard break down food. Chicks under 1-week old feed on insects and other arthropods, then switch to berries and fungi until the fall, when they start feeding on needles. Birds captured while on the winter diet have been maintained several months without loss of weight, on only pine needles and grit and clay taken from where they were seen consuming it. 
== Gallery ==
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Category:Animals
Category:Birds
Category:Fauna of Siere
Category:Nareemian Wildlife
Category:Fauna of Northern Nareemia