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A Beginners Guide to North American Grouse


Grouse is the common name for 17 species of birds of the pheasant
family.

The largest North American grouse is the white tailed ptarmigan
about 12 1/2 inches.

In most species the sexes differ in color, but none have truly bright
plumage. Bright colors are limited to red or yellow comb like
structures over the eyes, expanded during the breeding season,
or sacs of naked skin that inflate like balloons during courtship
displays.


The Ruffed Grouse is also known as partridge or pat, it is the most
widely distributed game bird in North America.

Picture Partridge




Both sexes are brownish with ragged head crests, dark neck ruffs and
fan shaped tails with a broad black band near the tip. The band
on the female is usually broken on the central feathers,
unbroken on the male.

Grouse with rusty red tails are more common in the south and gray
tailed birds more common in the north.

Ruffed grouse lay 9 to 12 eggs, buff colored with brown spots.

Incubation is by the female, about 24 days. If a nest is accidentally
discovered, the female will usually re-nest elsewhere.


Mating systems are elaborate in most grouse, and in many the
males are polygamous, meeting in the spring at certain arenas
where they compete for mates.

The feathers are larger in males than in females, and are spread
widely during courtship displays, when the male struts on a
moss-covered log.

Ruffed grouse are famous for the springtime drumming of the males, a
sound produced by the beating of the wings against the air
as the male stands erect.



Picture Ruffed Grouse during Courting




Grouse belong to the family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes.

Types of North American Grouse Include:

Blue Grouse
Greater Prairie Chicken
Lesser Prairie Chicken
Rock Ptarmigon
Ruffed Grouse
Sage Grouse
Sharp Tailed Grouse
Spruce Grouse
White Tailed Ptarmigan
Willow Ptarmigan


See Also:

Index of North American Birds


Index of All Bird Care & Birdie Fun Stuff

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