松鸡科科

松鸡主要为植食性，但有时也吃昆虫，尤其是幼鸟。

• 松鸡科一共包括七个属：
• 花尾榛鸡属 Bonasa
• 艾草松鸡属 Centrocercus
• 蓝松鸡属 Dendragapus
• .镰翅鸡属 Falcipennis
• 雷鸟属 Lagopus
• 松鸡属 Tetrao
• 草原松鸡属 Tympanuchus

松鸡是相当结实的鸡类。它们的身高范围从31厘米（12英寸）到95厘米（37英寸），体重范围从0.3公斤（11盎司），到6.5公斤（14磅）。公鸡较母鸡重两倍，鼻孔有羽毛。它们的脚到脚趾都生有羽毛，冬季时连脚趾都长了羽毛，不像其他的鸡类，他们脚上没有马刺。

Grouse are a group of birds from the order Galliformes, in the family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae or the family Tetraonidae), a classification supported by mitochondrial DNA sequence studies, and applied by the AviList, International Ornithological Congress, the American Ornithologists' Union, and others.

The turkeys are closely allied with grouse, but they have traditionally been excluded from Tetraonini, often placed in their own tribe, subfamily, or family; certain more modern treatments also exclude them. Later phylogenomic analyses demonstrated conclusively that they are sister to the traditionally defined grouse, and they, along with the somewhat earlier-diverging koklass pheasant, may be treated as grouse (i.e., as basal members of the Tetraonini). This is reflected in some more recent circumscriptions.

Grouse inhabit temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, from arctic tundra to pine forests to moorland and mountainsides, from 83°N (the rock ptarmigan in northern Greenland) to 28°N (Attwater's prairie-chicken in Texas), or to 16°30'N when the turkeys (ocellated turkey in Belize) are included.

Etymology

The name 'grouse', first attested as 'grows' in 1531 and 'grewes' in 1547, is thought to derive from a postulated singular "grow" or "grew", in turn derived from the Late Latin plural grutas recorded by Gerald of Wales in 1185. It is probably ultimately of imitative origin, from the calls of the black grouse.

In culture

Grouse are considered game, and hunters kill millions each year for food, sport, and other uses. In the United Kingdom, this takes the form of driven grouse shooting. The male black grouse's tail feathers are a traditional ornament for hats in areas such as Scotland and the Alps. Folk dances from the Alps to the North American prairies imitate the displays of lekking males.

Species

Extinct genera

• Genus †Proagriocharis
• Proagriocharis kimballensis
• Genus †Rhegminornis
• Rhegminornis calobates