Actually, Evans, Bump, and others claim that the broken tail band is not definitive of a female. Gonads will tell for certain and there are other feathers and color variations particular to one sex or the other that are more dependable than the broken, or unbroken, tail band. I also used the tail band method to determine the sex of ruffed grouse, but I've changed my thinking lately.
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"I'm a Setter man.
Not because I think they're better than the other breeds,
but because I'm a romantic - stuck on tradition - and to me, a Setter just "belongs" in the grouse picture."
George King, "That's Ruff", 2010 - a timeless classic.
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