(Galliformes)
Walking out in the forests of Vancouver Island, you get to see the Large Land Birds. The ravens, crows, quails, grouse, and pheasants. These are the largest birds that live on or visit Vancouver Island.
California Quail
The California Quail was brought to Vancouver Island sometime between 1880 and 1890, and their numbers began to increase right away. For the next 70 years, their numbers increased until you could see them everywhere. But then during the ’50s, their numbers began to decrease. I would assume that this would be a direct result of habitat loss. Read More….
Peafowl
A peafowl’s feathers on its body are quite beautiful, both in the front and back. The males exhibit incredible green feathers in their beautiful, elongated tail trains. Both males and females possess green plumage, which has tan mottling right from their crests to their tails. The peahen has no fantail, though. For being such a beautiful bird, their call is quite unpleasant. These are large land birds. Read More….
Ring-necked Pheasant
With its beautiful plumage and long, streaming tail, there is no denying the aesthetic appeal of the Ring-Necked Pheasant. It is also highly regarded on the table, so it is no surprise that humans should attempt to keep them close to hand. Read More….
Ruffed Grouse
The Ruffed Grouse can be found in all areas of Canada, and they are quite abundant on the Pacific Northwest Coast. The male-ruffed grouse is about the size of a farmyard chicken. The females are a bit smaller. The ruffed grouse has a broad, flat tail that is usually held down, but that may be erected and spread into a half circle when they display during mating season. Read More….
Sooty Grouse
The Sooty Grouse is up to 55 cm in length. The male is gray to bluish-gray with a red-to-yellow-orange comb over his eyes. It has a yellow neck sac surrounded by white. The female is spotted brown with a dark tail. Male sooty grouse in the Rocky Mountains have a red neck sac instead of a yellow one. Read More….
The sooty grouse is found from British Columbia south to California. The sooty grouse was called the blue grouse until 2006, when the blue grouse was split into two species, the sooty grouse and the dusky grouse. The dusky grouse is found in the Rocky Mountains, from the Southern Yukon and Northern British Columbia, south into northern Arizona and western New Mexico.
The sooty grouse is found in bush areas in coastal rainforests, burned areas, mountain forests, and sub-alpine forest clearings, including all of Vancouver Island. In warm months, the sooty grouse eats seeds, berries, and insects. In the winter, the sooty grouse eats conifer needles. Some sooty grouse are short-distance migratory and, depending on where the food is, travel to either higher or lower elevations. This is one of the Large Land Birds.
The California quail was first introduced to Vancouver Island in the 1880s, and they increased in numbers for the next 70 years and were quite prevalent by the 50s, but then the numbers started to decrease. I would assume this is due to loss of habitat. They can still be found in open tracts of land surrounded by forests.
With its exotic plumage and long streamer tail, there is no denying the aesthetic appeal of the ring-necked pheasant. It is also highly regarded on the table, so it is no surprise that humans should attempt to keep them closer to hand. A native of Asia, the pheasant was first introduced to British Columbia in 1882.
There have been many introductions in various parts of the province, with birds coming from England and China. Many of the introductions have failed, and today viable populations are found mainly in the Fraser Valley, Southeastern Vancouver Island up to the Campbell River area, the Okanagan Valley, and the Creston and Salmon Arm areas. In some cases, the populations are augmented regularly.