The Sooty Grouse is a large forest-dwelling grouse that occurs in the coastal forests of British Columbia. Until 2006, the Sooty Grouse and the similar Dusky Grouse were considered subspecies of Blue Grouse (D. obscurus). Breeding Bird Survey results suggest that the Sooty Grouse population in Canada has decreased by some 49% relative to about 1970. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.
The Sooty Grouse is hunted in most areas with road access. The species lives in forests but often shows temporary, local increases in density following clear-cut logging (Niederleitner 1987). Density decreases as the canopy closes and remains low until the forest matures and natural canopy openings are created (Zwickel and Bendell 1985). The long-term effect of these fluctuations remains unknown (Zwickel and Bendell 2005). Reasons for the species decline remain unclear. However, disturbances associated with increasing energy development, along with habitat loss, may have a negative effect on grouse survival (Hovick et al. 2014).
Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:
Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.
