spruce grouse


noun
  1. a grouse, Canachites canadensis, of coniferous forests of northern North America, that feeds on evergreen buds and needles.

Origin of spruce grouse

1
An Americanism dating back to 1835–45

Words Nearby spruce grouse

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use spruce grouse in a sentence

  • They also may have been gag-inducing—the spruce grouse, a chicken-like bird, spends its winters munching almost exclusively on conifer needles.

    What would a dinosaur taste like? | John Kennedy | September 16, 2021 | Popular-Science
  • In previous years ptarmigans and spruce grouse had been so plentiful that they were easily killed when needed.

    The Gaunt Gray Wolf | Dillon Wallace
  • It was easy enough to roast a spruce grouse on the end of a stick.

    Troop One of the Labrador | Dillon Wallace
  • Presently he flushed a covey of spruce grouse, which rose from the ground and settled in a tree.

    Troop One of the Labrador | Dillon Wallace
  • There are a fair number of ruffed grouse in the south, and more spruce grouse in the north.

  • We came upon two or three broods of spruce grouse in the road, so tame that one could have knocked them over with poles.

    Locusts and Wild Honey | John Burroughs

British Dictionary definitions for spruce grouse

spruce grouse

noun
  1. a game bird, Dendragapus canadensis, occurring in Canadian coniferous forests

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012