Ruffed Grouse - Photos by Bruce Dayton - Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus)

ORDER: Galliformes
FAMILY: Phasianidae (Pheasants and Grouse - 15 Species)
SUB-FAMILY: Tetraoninae
SPECIES: Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus)

Ruffed Grouse
Ruffed Grouse are the most widely distributed game bird in North America. The male Ruffed Grouse in a spring ritual sits on a log and beats the air with his wings, creating a drumming sound. They can hover and make complete turns in the air when flying through thick bush.
SIZE	The Ruffed Grouse is medium-sized (16-19”) stocky, round-winged, chicken-like game bird.
DESCRIPTION	They have a slight head crest with blackish ruffs on sides of neck and a fan-shaped tail with mottled markings of brown and gray with narrow black and pale bars. Sexes are similar in appearance, but male is slightly larger.
NESTING	Clutch size ranges from 8-12 eggs, which are incubated in 22 to 26 days. They typically nest on the ground in a shallow depression of leaves. They rely on camouflage for protection, so you'll often find their nest near a fallen log, tree stump, or under a dense bush.
RANGE	They range the deciduous forests from Alaska across Canada and south to many of the lower 48 states.
HABITAT	They habitat the deciduous or mixed forests with some dense underbrush; overgrown shrubby fields, old orchards, and field edges.
DIET	Their summer diet consists mainly of seeds, leaves, buds, catkins, and other vegetation; wild fruits, berries, and nuts with some insects and spiders.

INTERESTING FACTS

Coniferous Forests

Coniferous forests are made up mainly of cone-bearing trees, such as pines, spruces, hemlocks and firs. Coniferous forests are found mainly in the northern hemisphere (Boreal Forests), where summers are short and cool and winters long and harsh, with heavy snowfall that can last many months. Coniferous trees such as cypresses, cedars and redwoods are found in warmer regions. Needles fall to the forest floor and form a thick mat. Because little light penetrates the thick canopy of trees to reach the forest floor, only ferns, mosses, liverworts and lichens grow there.

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The images on this web page are copyrighted © 2003 - 2007 by Bruce Dayton. I want to share my photos to promote conservation and to help people identify and learn about the birds and other creatures that live with us on the North American continent. Please do not use any of my work in any non-profit or for-profit project without first getting written permission from me. You can ask for permission by emailing me at webmaster@wildlifeofnorthamerica.info. All reproductions must bear an appropriate credit.




Ruffed Grouse

Groton Township Tompkins County, New York


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Scipio Township Cayuga County, New York


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Ruffed Grouse Drawing by Louis Agassiz Fuertes