What is "spruce grouse"

Spruce \Spruce\ (spr[udd]s), n. [OE. Spruce or Pruse, Prussia, Prussian. So named because it was first known as a native of Prussia, or because its sprouts were used for making, spruce beer. Cf. Spruce beer, below, Spruce, a.]

1. (Bot.) Any coniferous tree of the genus Picea, as the Norway spruce ( P. excelsa), and the white and black spruces of America ( P. alba and P. nigra), besides several others in the far Northwest. See Picea.

2. The wood or timber of the spruce tree.

3. Prussia leather; pruce. [Obs.]

   Spruce, a sort of leather corruptly so called for Prussia leather.
   --E. Phillips.

   Douglas spruce (Bot.), a valuable timber tree ( Pseudotsuga Douglasii) of Northwestern America.

   Essence of spruce, a thick, dark-colored, bitterish, and acidulous liquid made by evaporating a decoction of the young branches of spruce.

   Hemlock spruce (Bot.), a graceful coniferous tree ( Tsuga Canadensis) of North America. Its timber is valuable, and the bark is largely used in tanning leather.

   Spruce beer. [G. sprossenbier; sprosse sprout, shoot (akin to E. sprout, n.) + bier beer. The word was changed into spruce beer because the beer came from Prussia (OE. Spruce), or because it was made from the sprouts of the spruce. See Sprout, n., Beer, and cf. Spruce, n.] A kind of beer which is tinctured or flavored with spruce, either by means of the extract or by decoction.

   Spruce grouse. (Zo["o]l.) Same as Spruce partridge, below.

   Spruce leather. See Spruce, n., 3.

   Spruce partridge (Zo["o]l.), a handsome American grouse ( Dendragapus Canadensis) found in Canada and the Northern United States; -- called also Canada grouse.

n. North American grouse that feeds on evergreen buds and needles [syn: Canachites canadensis]

The spruce grouse or Canada grouse (Falcipennis canadensis) is a medium-sized grouse closely associated with the coniferous boreal forests or taiga of North America. It is one of the most arboreal grouse, fairly well adapted to perching and moving about in trees. When approached by a predator, it relies on camouflage and immobility to an amazing degree, for example letting people come to within a few feet before finally taking flight, a behavior that has earned it the nickname "fool's hen".