The Sooty Grouse has had a name change. Until relatively recently, the Sooty Grouse and the Dusky Grouse of eastern Oregon and the Rocky Mountains, were both named Blue Grouse, but the two species were determined to be unique so the Blue Grouse in the eastern portion of its range became the Dusky Grouse, while the Blue Grouse in the western portion of its range became the Sooty Grouse. They still look as they did before the split, of course, and the two species do look very much the same. The male Sooty Grouse has a colored eyebrow and a mating display of a bare yellow sack. The pictures below show a male and female Sooty Grouse.

There are few things more exciting than to have a family of grouse explode from the under story as you hike along one of the trails in the Doug. Here is hoping that you can experience this wonderful part of nature.