RUFFED GROUSE PLUMAGE: Male and female ruffed grouse are mottled brown and gray. From New York through Pennsylvania and the Appalachian Mountains, and in the Pacific Northwest, ruffed-grouse plumage tends to be rusty-reddish. The birds have large fan tails, which the males make good use of while displaying in the spring or when defending their territory. The males also have a dark or black ruff of feathers surrounding the neck. Both have a tuft or crest atop their heads.
Male and female ruffed grouse are very similar in appearance.
SIZE: Adult ruffed grouse are a bit larger than pigeons, weighing 20 to 25 ounces and measuring about 20 inches. HABITAT: Often found near their favored foods, including wild apples, hawthorn, beechnuts, many kinds of berries, catkins and buds. COMMON BEHAVIOR: These birds tend to be ground dwellers, but roost when threatened or in inclement weather. They are often seen along gravel roads in early morning or late evening “graveling” or picking small stones or grit. You’ll know ruffed grouse are near in late spring when males begin drumming to find a mate: They stand on a log or rock and beat their wings against their sides and chest to create an amplified, low-pitch drumming sound.
ILLUSTRATIONS: MIRANDA PELLICANO; MAP AND BIRD ICONS: GETTY IMAGES
YEAR-ROUND RANGE IN NORTH AMERICA
GROUSE SIZE RELATIVE TO OTHER BIRDS:
Sparrow
Cardinal Spruce grouse
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Pigeon
Pheasant
Goose
Ruffed grouse
Although spruce grouse hunting is not prohibited in Alaska and Minnesota, it is illegal to hunt them in most contiguous U.S. states, and shooting spruce grouse in any state where it’s prohibited is grounds for a hefty fine.
Spruce grouse
Ruffed grouse
SOURCE: ALLABOUTBIRDS.ORG
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