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Bonasa

(Genus)

Overview

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Bonasa is a genus of in the grouse subfamily. It contains three species:

All three live in forests with at least some conifers in cool regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The two Old World species, the Hazel Grouse of northern Eurasia and Severtzov's Grouse of mountains in central China, are particularly closely related and are sometimes separated as a genus Tetrastes1]. The Ruffed Grouse lives in the northern United States and southern Canada.

Bonasa is derived from bonasus, Latin for the European Bison, from Ancient Greek bonasos (ß??as??), apparently because the drumming sounds these birds make were thought to resemble the bellowing of bovines.[2]

Two fossil species have been described.[3] Though Ruffed Grouse relatives might theoretically at one time have crossed into Asia via Beringia, the comparatively recent age of the fossils suggests that they were close relatives – probably even direct ancestors – to the two Eurasian species of our time.

Photos

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Taxonomy

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The Genus Bonasa is further organized into finer groupings including:

References

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  1. ^ Peterson, Alan P.. "Birds of the World -- current valid scientific avian names.". http://www.zoonomen.net/avtax/frame.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-20. 
  2. ^ Holloway, Joel Ellis (2003). Dictionary of Birds of the United States: Scientific and Common Names. Timber Press. p. 39. ISBN 0-88192-600-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=O07_W9NF39MC&pg=PA39. Retrieved on 2009-02-19. 
  3. ^ Zlatozar, B (2001-09-11), "Tetraonidae V IGORS, 1825 (Galliformes – Aves) in the Neogene-Quaternary record of Bulgaria and the origin and evolution of the family", Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia (45): 263-282, http://www.isez.pan.krakow .pl/journals/azc_v/pdf/45/20.pdf 

Footnotes

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  1. ^ E.g. Peterson (1999)
  2. ^ Holloway (2003)

Sources

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Last Revised: January 24, 2010
2010/01/24 06:27:45