Hudsonian Spruce Partridge

Other names:

Canada Grouse
Black Grouse
Wood Grouse
Wood Partridge
Spotted Grouse
Cedar Partridge
Swamp Partridge

There is no such bird as the Spruce Partridge. It is the Spruce Grouse; but it is called Spruce Partridge in common parlance to distinguish it from the Birch Partridge (Ruffed Grouse) and ornithologists have adopted the popular misnomer, well knowing it to be incorrect.

In its native wilds this bird exhibits the most charming confidence in mankind. The hunters know it as the champion fool among birds. The Indian boy shoots it with a blunt-headed arrow or even knocks it down with a stick as it walks by unconcernedly or sits on a limb regarding the intruder with happy curiosity. Full-grown birds have been caught in the hand or beheaded with a switch. The hunter meets a brood in the trail and they merely step aside and watch the passer with a sort of affectionate regard.

T. Gilbert Pearson, ed., Birds of America, 1936