Blue Grouse at Snowbird

["M. H. Wallace" <pooder at xmission dot com>]

On Monday I was skiing in the blizzard at Snowbird.  (Oh, it was some 
fine snow, nice and deep, and light.  Very nice...)  While riding up 
Wilbur chairlift I saw a single grouse in an evergreen tree adjacent to 
the chair-lift.  I noticed it due to its distinctive "woomphing" sound 
when it flapped its wings.  I've seen one or two of them on rare 
occasions over the years up Little Cottonwood Canyon.  From looking at 
Sibley I would say the Blue Grouse most closely resembles what I saw.  
It was definitely a grouse, due to size and general coloring.  Looking 
at the illustrations in Sibley, on page 143 (first edition, second 
printing), it most closely resembled the upper right adult "grey-brown 
and speckled overall."  The one I saw was not as dark as the Pacific or 
Interior variety.  Can anyone give me some feedback on if Blue Grouse is 
indeed the most likely identification of grouse common to the Wasatch 
Mountains?

(By the way, I've seen a single Ermin a couple of times this Winter, 
also at Snowbird.)

Matthew Wallace

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