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The Ruffed Grouse (Family Tetraonidae) 
By Anna C. Ames 
THE RUFFED GROUSE, state bird of Pennsylvania, has a short, strong 
bill with the upper mandible closing over the lower. As with others of its 
family, the grouse has stout legs and feet, and a small hind toe raised above 
the others—a typical terrestrial foot, adapted to walking. 
The short, arched wings move rapidly in flight, often producing a surpris- 
ingly loud whirring sound. The male Ruffed Grouse has a fan-shaped tail 
with a broad black band near the tip. The female is similar but smaller, 
and has rather ia pointed tail. She flushes with less whir, generally croak- 
ing instead. There are two color phases: “red” birds with rufous on the 
tail, and “gray” birds with gray tails—and there are many variations be- 
tween the two. 
The male has tufts of broad black feathers on each side of his neck. The 
drumming of the male grouse is one of the most distinctive sounds in the 
woods, often audible half a mile away on still days. The sound consists of 
a series of muffled thumps, at first slow and measured, then quickening to 
a drum roll that slows up somewhat just before it stops. 
In the spring the male seeks a log and drums to attract a mate. The 
sound is thought to be produced by the wings, beating so rapidly that they 
appear to be a blur. The cock also struts before the female, displaying his 
beautiful tail and striking neck ruffs. Birds of America, edited by T. Gil- 
bert Pearson, states in Part 2, p. 18, that the Ruffed Grouse is polygamous. 
Oliver L. Austin, Jr., in Birds of the World, p. 90, says, “the Ruffed Grouse 
is monogamous.” 
After mating, the female goes off alone and, it is said, conceals the loca- 
tion of the nest from the male. She lays her eggs in a mere depression in 
the ground, sometimes sheltered by a log or stump. sometimes not hidden 
except by natural camouflage. The female incubates the eggs—8 to 12 or 
more—for 24 days and cares for the chicks until they can fly well. They 
are able to run soon after hatching. Only one brood is produced each year. 
In summer the young are largely insectivorous, feeding on grasshoppers 
locusts, crickets, ants, caterpillars, and bugs, including leaf and tree hop- 
pers. By August the young begin to eat leaves and berries, as their parents 
do all summer. Later the diet includes fruit, and in the autumn, mast, 
grain, seeds, and haws. The birds also feed in the buckwheat uel Through 
the winter they feed on buds, foliage, twigs, and old leaves. 
The Ruffed Grouse ranges across lower Canada and southwest to the 
edge of the Sierras in California. The ma‘n population, however, is in 
northeastern United “tates. The grouse is non-migratory and a permanent 
resident wherever found. In autumn it grows “snowshoes”—each toe de- 
velops a fringe of flexible horny points which spread under the bird’s 
weight and provide support. 
The species is hardy; it can withstand extreme cold and privation, liv- 
ing for long periods if necessary on twigs and dead leaves. Sometimes the 
grouse dives into a snowbank for protection or a night’s rest. 
Quite unaccountably in autumn (September and October), some Ruffed 
Grouse go through 1a period of erratic behavior. This occurs whether or 
not the: birds are being hunted. Some will rush wildly from place to place 
by day and night. At this time they are so careless of obstructions that 
occasionally one is killed by dashing into a house, barn, or fence. A grouse 
has even been known to fly through an office window. 
