Reliable information about population status, trends, and the current distribution of Spruce Grouse (Falcipennis canadensis) is needed, but questions remain concerning the best method to use to conduct surveys. We evaluated two methods to survey the eastern subspecies of Spruce Grouse (F. c. canace) for application in a large‐scale, long‐term population‐monitoring effort: response to playback of a cantus call and a survey based on fecal pellets conducted in late winter/early spring. Both methods have been used previously, but pellet‐based surveys have not been evaluated as a potential population‐monitoring metric. We conducted surveys in northern Minnesota in 2014 and 2015 using both methods to compare their relative performance in terms of number of detections, the detection process, and ease of implementation by a large number of observers surveying for a few days each year. We had 3–5 times more detections (presence‐only data) with the pellet‐based survey than the cantus‐call survey in both years. Furthermore, the pellet‐based survey was easier for novice observers to implement than the cantus‐call survey because training of new observers was impeded by few detections (75 birds in 1023 surveys) with the cantus call, likely due to the low bird density in our study area. In addition to more detections, pellet‐based surveys allowed more flexibility in application because they could be conducted throughout the day, with less restrictive weather conditions, and conflicted less with other spring surveys. Our results suggest that pellet‐based surveys have strong potential for application in large‐scale, long‐term monitoring applications at the southern limit of the range where Spruce Grouse are challenging to survey due to low bird densities. However, refinements to the cantus‐call survey may be possible to improve its performance as a monitoring metric.

中文翻译：

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评估南部范围内的云杉松鸡（Falcipennis canadensis canace）的cantus-call和pellet调查

需要有关种群状况，趋势和云杉松鸡（Falcipennis canadensis）当前分布的可靠信息，但仍然存在有关进行调查的最佳方法的疑问。我们评估了两种方法来调查云杉松鸡（F. c。canace）东部亚种），以用于大规模，长期的人口监测工作中：响应犬叫的回放以及基于冬末/初春粪便的调查。以前都使用过这两种方法，但是基于颗粒的调查尚未作为潜在的人口监测指标进行评估。我们在2014年和2015年对明尼苏达州北部进行了调查，使用这两种方法比较了每年在几天内进行调查的大量观察者在检测次数，检测过程和易于实施方面的相对性能。在这两年中，基于颗粒的调查所获得的检测结果（仅存在数据）是cantus-call调查的3-5倍。此外，对于初学者来说，基于小球的调查比对cantus-call的调查更容易实施，因为对新观察员的培训因很少受到cantus的侦查（1023次调查中有75只鸟类）而受到阻碍，这很可能是由于我们研究中的鸟类密度低区。除了进行更多的检测外，基于颗粒的调查还具有更大的应用灵活性，因为它们可以全天进行，天气条件较少，并且与其他春季调查的冲突也较少。我们的结果表明，基于小球的调查在云南松鸡由于低鸟密度而难以进行调查的范围的南端，具有大规模，长期监测应用的强大潜力。但是，可以完善cantus-call调查，以提高其作为监视指标的性能。