Ruffed Grouse

The Ruffed Grouse is a medium-sized, chunky forest grouse found across a broad swath of North American woodlands. Plumage is intricately patterned in mottled browns, grays, and buffs that provide excellent camouflage against leaf litter and bark, and the species occurs in two color morphs, red and gray, that vary geographically. Both sexes have a fan-shaped tail with a bold dark subterminal band and tufts of dark neck feathers (the "ruff") that males erect during courtship display, along with a small crest.

Key field marks

• Mottled brown or gray plumage, cryptically patterned overall
• Fan-shaped tail with a broad, dark, near-complete subterminal band
• Small crest and dark neck ruff, most conspicuous when displaying
• Explosive, startling flush from forest understory

Similar species

Spruce Grouse and Dusky/Sooty Grouse overlap in range in parts of the north and west but are darker overall and lack the Ruffed Grouse's strongly banded fan tail and mottled, bark-like camouflage pattern.

Habitat and Range

Ruffed Grouse favor deciduous and mixed forests, particularly successional stands of aspen, birch, and alder that provide both dense brushy cover and abundant buds for winter food.

Range

The species is widespread across Canada, the northern and Appalachian United States, and the Pacific Northwest, generally following the boreal and northern hardwood forest belt.

Migration

Ruffed Grouse are non-migratory and typically spend their entire life within a small home range of a few dozen acres.

Behavior

Males perform a distinctive drumming display, standing on a log and beating their wings in an accelerating series of thumps to create a low, muffled sound that carries through the forest, used to attract mates and declare territory rather than a true vocalization.

Voice

Besides drumming, Ruffed Grouse give soft clucks and hisses; the drumming itself is often mistaken for a distant motor starting up.

Feeding

They feed on tree buds and catkins (especially aspen) in winter, switching to leaves, berries, and insects in the warmer months; chicks rely heavily on insects for protein.

Nesting and breeding

Males are non-territorial beyond their drumming logs and take no part in raising young. The hen nests on the ground at the base of a tree or under brush, laying 9-14 eggs.