How to Identify aRuffed Grouse
Bonasa umbellus · 15.8–19.7 in (40–50 cm)
Male vs. female
Male
Intricately mottled brown or gray with a short crest, black ruff on the sides of the neck, and a broad black band near the tail tip. Sexes look alike.
Female
Like the male but with a smaller ruff and often a broken tail band.
Male photo: Noah Poropat / Wikimedia, CC BY 4.0 · Second photo: Mdf Original uploader at en.wikipedia was Mad Tinman at en.wikipedia / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Field marks
- Fan-shaped tail with a broad dark band near the tip
- Small pointed crest raised when alert
- Black ruff on the sides of the neck
- Occurs in both gray and rufous colour forms
Similar species
What it sounds like
Largely silent; the male makes a deep accelerating drumming sound felt more than heard.
Behaviour that gives it away
The male drums by beating his wings against the air on a log, producing a low thumping that accelerates like a distant engine starting.
Habitat & range
Young deciduous and mixed forest with dense saplings, especially aspen.
When you'll see it
Present all year in northern, eastern and western North America.
What it eats
Buds, catkins, leaves and berries; aspen buds are a winter staple.
Did you know?
Its drumming is made purely by wingbeats compressing the air, not by striking anything, and carries a quarter mile through the woods.
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