What kind of bird is this????

[amstony]

While SteveHiker and I were on Old Speck in Maine Saturday, this bird came out on the summit and was not afraid of us. It walked all around for a good 15 minutes and eventually went into the brush.

The question is, which hopefully someone on the board can answer is:

What kind of Bird is this?

 

[Tramper Al]

What kind of Bird is this?

That is a spruce grouse hen.

Also known as a "fool's hen" this bird is nortoriously "tame" in behavior towards hikers and other woodland travelers. They have been known to stand their ground, and even defend summit area territories, preventing peakbaggers from full access to canisters, cairns, spur trails, etc.

 

[amstony]

THANKS AL!!

The responses on this board continues to amaze me! That was fast.

Tony

 

[Gris]

Yes, here's another hen

 

[Waumbek]

They're called "fool hens" or "fool's hens" because sometimes they don't seem too bright, but don't be fooled. They have a very clever way of decoying threats away from their broods. They pretend to have a broken or damaged wing, unable to fly, and run limping down the trail in the opposite direction of their brood. When the threat has been decoyed away from the danger zone, the fool hen flies up in the tree.

 

[Sara]

These birds continue to make me laugh...Once while mountain biking in Speculator, NY a spruce grouse charged at me and chased me down the trail! It had its head down and I think there was steam coming from its nose!

 

[Jim lombard]

Unfortunately some uneducated hikers kick them like this unfortunate guy
The person thought it was a hawk

 

[Trekkin]

Unfortunately some uneducated hikers kick them like this unfortunate guy
The person thought it was a hawk

That pic's a bummer. Why kick a hawk even?

 

[jbrown]

That pic's a bummer. Why kick a hawk even?

I've given up trying to figure out why people do rotten, hurtful things...
Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

 

[Puck]

Unfortunately some uneducated hikers kick them like this unfortunate guy
The person thought it was a hawk

I help a wildlife rehabilitator, she works with raptors mainly. So much time and effort to nurse these birds back to health so they can be released back into the wild at the expense of her time and money. She gets a lot of help from a vet who works pro bono. And to think there are some out there that would kick a bird for the hell of it!?!?