In 1747, the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of a female spruce grouse in the second volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds.

Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a preserved specimen that had been sent to him in London from the Hudson Bay in Canada by a Mr Light.

Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Tetrao canadensis and cited Edwards' work.

[16] Races vary slightly in plumage, especially in the tail pattern and in the extent of white on the underparts, but in general adult males are mainly grey above and black below, with white spots along the side, and a red patch of bare skin over the eye called the "eyebrow comb[17]".

At the end of a short flight through the trees, the wings are brought together over the back so as to produce two sharp claps, about 0.5 s apart, loud enough to be heard by the human ear 150 m away.

Like other grouse, in the fall they grow "snow shoes" (short lateral extensions, or pectinations) on their toes.

Flights are usually over short distances, most commonly from the ground to a tree nearby, or vice versa.

Females are solely responsible for the rest of the reproductive effort though males have been known to stay with young chicks and seem to aid in keeping the brood together.

For a nest, they scratch a depression in the ground in a bush or under a low-lying coniferous branch or fallen tree, away from other females and from the males' territories.

Spruce needles are high in calcium and their increase in use by females in Spring may be related to egg production[24] In summer the birds can forage on the ground, eating berries, green plants such as blueberry leaves, fungi, and some insects.

[24] In winter, when only needles are consumed, the caeca (dead-end extensions of the intestines) and ventriculus (gizzard) increase in size to support digestion.

Like other birds, spruce grouse consume clay, grit or small stones to help their gizzard break down food.

Birds captured while on the winter diet have been maintained several months without loss of weight, on only pine needles and grit and clay taken from where they were seen consuming it.

[27] Spruce grouse eggs are taken by American red squirrels,[28][29] gray foxes, weasels, and possibly corvids.

Adults can fall prey to various hawks and owls, red foxes, American and Pacific martens, wolves, cougars, and coyotes.

Conversely, the spruce grouse is considered threatened in its southern range - being listed as Endangered in New York and Vermont, and Critically Imperiled in Wisconsin according to NatureServe.