State Bird of Pennsylvania - Ruffed Grouse

Ruffed Grouse, with the binomial name 'Bonasa umbellus' was ordained by the General Assembly of Pennsylvania, as a state bird on 22nd June, 1931. Ruffed Grouse, also known as the 'partridge', is identified by its plump torso, botched mahogany-red color and feathery legs. This protective color makes it hard to find it in the wilds. Mostly seen in the Northern America and eastern Canada region, the Ruffed Grouse is found in open areas and not in the deepest of forests.

Description of the Ruffed Grouse
The Ruffed Grouse has a motleyed appearance. Gray and brown are its two distinguishable morphs. The gray morph has a gray-brown trunk with slightly barred breasts. The bottom and the wings are a lot more white in comparison to the whole body. The tail is brownish-gray like the whole body, but near the end it has a black stripe. The brown morph has almost the same but a more prominent gray tail. The color of its body is uniform brownish and it has a darker plumage. The humid and warmer conditions always suit the brown morphs more. Both male and female have ruffs around the neck and a crest that mostly lies flat. It is difficult to distinguish between the male Ruffed Grouse and the female Ruffed Grouse. They both are formed and marked in similar ways. Often the black stripe near the terminal of the tail is slightly broken in females. If the rump feathers have a single white dot, the bird is a female and more than one means it is a male Ruffed Grouse.

Ecology and Habits of the Ruffed Grouse
The basic nature of a Grouse is to stick around on the ground and fly only as a last attempt to cheat its predators. While flying they make a loud clatter of their wings. Timberlands with willow (aspen), fir or spruce trees are the most favored hiding spots of the bird. The male maintains and defends his territory of approximately 10 to 15 acres, and defends it wholeheartedly. The female roams around an area of hundred acres. A Ruffed Grouse has no distinct food pattern and it intakes a variety of food; a distinctive characteristic of this bird that makes it comfortable in its huge habitat, ranging from the rock hills, icy crusts and rivers, all the way to the plains. Omnivorous, it can eat almost anything; watercress, small snakes, berries, insects, seeds, buds, etc. Spring is the breeding time of the bird. The male attracts females by thrumming its flanks loudly on a fallen log. The females build the nests mostly on the ground itself and lay around 6 to 8 eggs in it.

In winters, the extended scales on the toes of the Ruffed Grouses act as their snowshoes and enable them to walk easily on the ice. At the time of rest, the birds plump up their feathers in a spherical shape that allows them to conserve some heat. At times the Ruffed Grouse also plunges under the deep snow to get away from the cold. They are active during the daytime and at night they roost on the tree branches, safely covered with other branches and leaves.

Conservation of the Ruffed Grouse
A habitat loss is the main problem the Ruffed Grouse is facing. The increasing human population has resulted in a rapid fall of population density of this bird in many regions. This is a game bird, so in the hunting season in America, which is from September to January, the conservation of the bird becomes necessary. Hunting is not the main cause but somehow some of the species have disappeared from the Seneca County, Ohio. The number falls and increases; it may even be due to the typical population cycle of a Grouse that is of 10 to 12 years.

The bird is reproductively sound and so the conservation is easily possible. The Ruffed Grouse is almost similar in habits with its other Grouse family members, like Hazel Grouse (Bonasa bonasia) and Severtzov's Grouse (Bonasa sewerzowi).