Ruffed Grouse
Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Galliformes
Family:	Phasianidae
Subfamily:	Tetraoninae
Genus:	Bonasa Stephens, 1819
Species:	B. umbellus
Binomial name
Bonasa umbellus (Linnaeus, 1766)

The Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is non-migratory.

The Ruffed Grouse is frequently referred to as a "partridge". This is technically wrong—partridges are unrelated phasianids, and in hunting may lead to confusion with the Grey Partridge, it is a bird of woodlands, not open areas.^[1]

The Ruffed Grouse is also the state bird of Pennsylvania.

Description[link]

Grey morph

These chunky, medium-sized birds weigh from 450–750 g (0.99–1.7 lb), measure from 40 to 50 cm (16 to 20 in) in length and span 50–64 cm (20–25 in) across their short, strong wings.^[2] Ruffed Grouse have two distinct morphs, grey and brown. In the grey morph, the head, neck and back are grey-brown; the breast is light with barring. There is much white on the underside and flanks, and overall the birds have a variegated appearance; the throat is often distinctly lighter. The tail is essentially the same brownish grey, with regular barring and a broad black band near the end ("subterminal"). Brown-morph birds have tails of the same color and pattern, but the rest of the plumage is much more brown, giving the appearance of a more uniform bird with less light plumage below and a conspicuously grey tail. There are all sorts of intergrades between the most typical morphs; warmer and more humid conditions favor browner birds in general.

The ruffs are on the sides of the neck in both sexes. They also have a crest on top of their head, which sometimes lies flat. Both sexes are similarly marked and sized, making them difficult to tell apart, even in hand. The female often has a broken subterminal tail band, while males tend to have unbroken tail bands, though the opposite of either can occur. Females may also do a display similar to the male. Another fairly accurate sign is that rump feathers with a single white dot indicate a female; rump feathers with more than one white dot indicate a male.

Ecology[link]

Displaying male

Nest with large clutch

Like most grouse, they spend most of their time on the ground, and when surprised, may explode into flight, beating their wings very loudly. Mixed woodland rich in aspen seems to be particularly well-liked. These birds forage on the ground or in trees. They are omnivores, eating buds, leaves, berries, seeds, and insects. According to Johnson:

"More than any other characteristic, it is the ruffed grouse's ability to thrive on a wide range of foods that has allowed it to adapt to such a wide and varied range of habitat on this continent. A complete menu of grouse fare might itself fill a book. One grouse crop yielded a live salamander in a salad of watercress. Another contained a small snake."^[3]

Hunting[link]

A mounted Ruffed Grouse from 1905

"Hunting of the ruffed grouse is common in the northern and far western United States as well as Canada, Often done with shotguns. Dogs may also be used. Hunting of the ruffed grouse is usually very rigorous. This is because the grouse spends most of its time in thick brush, aspen stands, and second growth pines. It is also very hard to detect a foraging grouse bobbing about in the thicket. This is because their deceptive plumage hides them very well in a variety of conditions, though when snow is present it may become a lot easier. Like other forest creatures, the ruffed grouse will maintain trails through the underbrush and pines. These can often be found by looking for the feathers of the bird on the ground and on twigs at the edges of its trail. Hunting of the ruffed grouse requires a good ear and lots of stamina as you will be constantly walking and listening for them in the leaves." - Joseph B. Barney

Ruffed Grouse will frequently seek gravel and clover along road beds during early morning and late afteroon. These areas are good areas to walk during this time to flush birds. Also, grouse use sandy road beds to dust their feathers to rid themselves of skin pests. Dusting sites are visible as areas of disturbed soils with some signs of feathers. Birds will return to these spots during the late afternoon to dickbathe in dust and also socialize and mate. W. Macht

The Ruffed Grouse population has a cycle, and follows the cycle no matter how much or how little hunting there is. The cycle has puzzled scientists for years, and is simply referred to as the "grouse cycle."

Minnesota is the top Ruffed Grouse–producing state in the U.S.^[4]

See also[link]

• Grey Partridge
• Sage Grouse

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bonasa umbellus

• BirdLife International (2004). Bonasa umbellus. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
• Henninger, W. F. (1906): A preliminary list of the birds of Seneca County, Ohio. Wilson Bulletin 18(2): 47-60. DjVu fulltext PDF fulltext
• Johnson, Don L. (1995): Grouse & Woodcock: A Gunner's Guide. Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-346-6.
• Ohio Ornithological Society (OOS) (2004): Annotated Ohio state checklist. Version of April 2004. PDF fulltext
• State Symbols of Pennsylvania: State Bird, The Ruffed Grouse PDF fulltext

External links[link]

• Video and photo of Ruffed Grouse on the Internet Bird Collection
• Ruffed Grouse, Cornel Lab of Ornithology

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