Critters of North Idaho: Ruffed Grouse
Though relatively unknown to the average person, the ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) is a familiar sight to birders and hunters in North Idaho’s mixed deciduous and coniferous forests. In fact, they’re quite common throughout much of the northern half of North America, ranging from the Appalachian mountains and Rocky Mountains in the southernmost parts of its range to virtually all of Canada and much of Alaska.
Ruffed grouse are rather small as birds go, measuring 15.8-19.7 inches from beak to tail and weighing 15.9-26.5 ounces; it’s about the size of an American crow. They aren’t particularly colorful either, usually donning a brown or gray-brown feathered body, a small head crest, black bands on the tail, barred flanks, and the black ruffs decorating the sides of its neck, which give it its name. As we’ll discuss later, this dull coloration plays a large role in the birds’ survival. Another feature that sets the ruffed grouse apart are its toes, which have comb-like ridges on them to keep them from sinking in the snow during the winter months.
If this bird looks a little like a domestic chicken to you, then you’re not too far off! Grouse are wild cousins of other ground-dwelling birds belonging to the family phasianidae, which includes not only chickens, but also turkeys, pheasants, old world quails, partridges and even peacocks. If you know anything about this family of birds, you’ll know they love to show off, especially during the mating season.
The ruffed grouse is no exception, and if you’re watching the males of this species in the spring months, you are likely to see them strutting and bobbing with their namesake ruffs fluffed out for extra flair. Another technique male ruffed grouse also employ is standing atop a log, tree root or boulder (ruffs extended, of course) and successively beat their wings very quickly to produce a “drumming” sound.
If he’s fortunate, the male will successfully mate with a female, who then produces a clutch of between nine and 12 pinkish-colored eggs, a female often has dull brown spots.
Males play no role in caring for the eggs or chicks. Next summer, be on the lookout for ruffed grouse mothers traversing through the woods with her brood of chicks following in her footsteps. These cute, little families do not last long; chicks are on their own and fully-matured within just 16 weeks, by late September.
When not trying to impress females, ruffed grouse like to remain hidden and quiet, and they rarely form flocks like other grouse species do. There is good reason for this, because foxes, fishers, bobcats, great-horned owls, goshawks and humans find these birds tasty. This is where their dull coloration and solitary nature comes in. They blend in perfectly with the dull colors of the leaf litter on the forest floor and often go unnoticed by hungry predators. If they are spotted, however, they are capable of flying as a last resort.
Another similarity between ruffed grouse and chickens that many are bound to notice is the way they feed. Ruffed grouse spend most of their time on the ground, gobbling up any small insects and seeds they find on the forest floor.
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