New bird

I got a nice photo of a female ring-necked pheasant the other day.

They're not nearly as skittish this time of year as they are during breeding season, and she posed very prettily for me.

But I also got a photo of a new bird I couldn't immediately identify. She was crouched by the side of the car in the driveway as Don and I got back from walking Darcy one evening. It was dusky and the light was fading, so the photo isn't the clearest. The bird didn't seem overly alarmed by our presence, though of course we kept Darcy well away from her.

Clearly she's in the Galliformes order of birds, and at first I thought she might be a chukar. But now I think she's a spruce grouse. Here's a photo from Cornell's "All About Birds" website:

Both my bird books (Golden Guide and Roger Tory Peterson Guide) mention these birds are fairly tame, as indeed she was.

If I'm wrong about her identity, let me know. But it always gives me a minor thrill to spot a new species of bird.