Medium-sized game bird with short crest. A well-camouflaged bird with intricately barred and spotted plumage. Individuals can be grayish brown overall, reddish brown, or an intermediate tawny brown.
Medium-sized game bird with extravagant display, including erecting long neck feathers to create a black "ruff" and fanning the tail, exposing a dark band near the tip.
Males typically perform a "drum display" atop a raised surface such as a log or stump. Ruffed Grouse do not produce the drumming sound by hitting their wings against their body, but rather by creating miniature sonic booms while pumping their wings back and forth.
When not displaying, sexes are difficult to tell apart. Often forages among tree branches during winter, especially when snow covers the ground.
Often bathes in dust or lies on anthills ("anting"), fluffing feathers to clean them.
Click on an image to compare
Ruffed Grouse are fairly small grouse with a short, triangular crest and a long, fan-shaped tail. They have short legs and often look slimmer than other grouse species.
About the size of an American Crow; distinctly smaller than a Wild Turkey.
crow-sizedPheasants, Grouse, and Allies(Order: Galliformes, Family: Phasianidae)
Need Bird ID Help? Try Merlin
The Cornell Lab will send you updates about birds,
birding, and opportunities to help bird conservation.
