blue grouse

American  

noun

1. a dull gray grouse, Dendragapus obscurus, of western North America, the male of which has a yellow or orange comb.

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blue grouse British  

noun

1. a grouse, Dendragapus obscurus , of W North America, having a bluish-grey plumage with a black tail

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Etymology

Origin of blue grouse

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60

Example Sentences

Fish & Wildlife Service will help you quickly find out if you found the feather of a dusky grouse, a blue grouse or a ruffed grouse.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 26, 2018

Snowshoe hares also made frequent imprints in the snow along with the occasional squirrel and blue grouse.

From Washington Times • May 1, 2015

My close encounter was with a rooster-sized blue grouse that seemed unconcerned when I skidded to a stop to watch it bob slowly into the brush.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 14, 2014

And at the point I should have been tendering job applications to Hawaiian dive shops, I was hunting blue grouse in the Boulder Mountains.

From Time Magazine Archive

The blue grouse and mountain quail are plentiful in the woods and the sage-hen on the plains about the northern base of the mountain, while innumerable smaller birds enliven and sweeten every thicket and grove.

From Steep Trails California, Utah, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, the Grand Canyon by Muir, John