General
Ruffed Grouse: Medium-sized grouse with crested head and scaled brown upperparts. White underparts have pale brown bars on breast and dark brown bars on belly and flanks. Sides of neck have black ruff. Tail is brown with fine, white bars and white-edged dark band at tip. Northern form is grayer. Sexes are similar.
Range and Habitat
Ruffed Grouse: Resident from the tree line in Alaska and northern Canada south to California, Wyoming, Minnesota, Missouri, and the Carolinas; also found in the Appalachians to Georgia. Preferred habitat includes overgrown pastures and deciduous and mixed forests, especially those with scattered clearings and dense undergrowth.
Breeding and Nesting
Ruffed Grouse: Eight to fourteen buff eggs, sometimes with brown spots, are laid in a shallow depression lined with leaves and concealed under a bush. Incubation period ranges from 21 to 28 days and is carried out by the female.
Foraging and Feeding
Ruffed Grouse: Feeds on forbs, fruits, and insects; eats mostly buds and catkins of aspens, birches, cherries, ironwood, and filberts when snow covers the ground.
Vocalization
Ruffed Grouse: Female gives soft hen-like clucks. In spring, displaying male sits on a log and beats the air with wings, creating a drumming sound that increases rapidly in tempo.
Similar Species
Ruffed Grouse: Sharp-tailed Grouse has more white and buff and a long, pointed tail with white outer feathers. Spruce and Blue grouse are darker and lack black subterminal tail bands.