Minnesota Seasons - Ruffed Grouse

Conservation • Description • Habitat • Ecology • Distribution • Taxonomy

Conservation Status

Photo by Dan W. Andree

IUCN Red List

LC - Least Concern

NatureServe

N5 - Secure

SNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed


	Description


	Size
	15″ to 19″ in length 22″ wingspan

	Voice


	Similar Species



	Habitat
	Deciduous forests, mixed forests, riparian wiidlands


	Ecology
	Migration


	Nesting


	Food


	Distribution
	Occurrence
	Common year-round resident

	Maps
	The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union All Seasons Species Occurrence Map


	Taxonomy
	Class	Aves (birds)
	Order	Galliformes (landfowl)
	Family	Phasianidae (pheasants, grouse, and allies)
	Subfamily	Tetraoninae (grouse)
	Genus	Bonasa (Ruffed Grouse)

	Ruffed Grouse is the only species in the genus Bonasa.

	Subordinate Taxa
	Appalachian Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus monticola) Columbian Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus affinis) Eastern Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus umbellus) Gray Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus umbelloides) Hoary Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus incana) Idaho Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus phaia) Midwestern Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus mediana) Olympic Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus castanea) Pacific Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus sabini) Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus labradorensis) Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus thayeri) St. Lawrence Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus togata) Vancouver Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus brunnescens) Yukon Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus yukonensis)

	Synonyms
	Tetrastes umbellus


	Visitor Photos

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	Lane Keller

	Got an up-close encounter with this bird right next to the gravel road.


	Luciearl




	Scott Bemman




	Ramona Abrego








	Dan W. Andree

	Ruffed Grouse Nest and Eggs I didn’t stick around there long. It was kind of windy and chilly so took a couple quick photos and left so she would return to the nest.


	Ruffed Grouse on her nest... It was located on an incline so difficult angle to photograph from. At one point my foot slipped and she did leave the nest pretending to be wounded and making a sound like she was. That was when I noticed she had more eggs than the first time(5-7-20) I encountered the nesting grouse. Anyway I left right away and it was a milder day. She would have just stayed on her nest hadn’t I slipped. I was a distance away and zoomed all the way in on her.

	Now there are 12 eggs... Same nest, just more eggs.

	Ruffed Grouse 10-26-19... In the woods rural Norman County, Mn.

	Adult female Ruffed Grouse and... While out on a woodland trail near Twin Valley, Mn. I noticed a ruffed grouse that showed up suddenly near me acting kind of peculiar. She would make strange sounds wander into the brush then re-emerge sometimes ruffing up her feathers. As I looked a little closer I noticed she had some little baby ones. They were so small and when lying still extremely hard to notice or see. I noticed one walking off and then looked much closer to be sure I did not accidentally step on one. I spoke softly…Do not worry momma grouse I am not going to hurt your babies. She just kind of looked at me funny and seemed to calm down. I took a couple quick photos and quietly walk back in the other direction not to disturb their outing. Some of the little ones were resting right on the wide trail. Possibly even napping as small as they were.




	Bill Reynolds





	MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos

Camera


	Slideshows


	Ruffed Grouse Andree Reno Sanborn

	About Bonasa Umbellus



	Ruffed Grouse Allen Chartier




	Ruffed Grouse - Bonasa umbellus Jean-François Hic

slideshow


	Visitor Videos

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		This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link.


	Dan W. Andree

	"Ruffed Grouse" on her nest Nov 3, 2023

	About Back on a trail that I've been out on several times I came upon a ruffed grouse nesting. I had seen grouse in the area before, but this was the first nesting one I had come across. I filmed her briefly, then quietly left not to scare her off her nest.



	Other Videos


	Ruffed Grouse Basics DirksOutdoors

	About Uploaded on Feb 27, 2012 I met Dr. Linda Ordiway at the 2012 Eastern Outdoor Sports show in Harrisburg PA. She agreed to give us a few minutes in front of the camera to review Ruffed Grouse basic biology. www.ruffedgrousesociety.org www.dirksoutdoors.com



	Ruffed Grouse Drumming The Music of Nature

	About Uploaded on Feb 4, 2010 In the spring, male Ruffed Grouse perch on fallen logs and make a low-pitched drumming sound by opening and closing their wings in rapid succession. The thumping starts slow but quickly gains in speed, and the rapidly beating wings turn into a complete blur when the drumroll reaches its peak. One might think the thumps are produced by the beating of the wings against the chest, but in actuality the thumps are little sonic booms created as air suddenly fills a vacuum made when the wings are thrust outward from the breast. Check out our blog post about this subject at the musicofnature.org web site: http://www.musicofnature.org/home/ruffed_grouse_drumming/ video and sounds © 2010 Lang Elliott & Bob McGuire



	Voices: Ruffed Grouse LabofOrnithology

	About Uploaded on May 24, 2010 Listen as Macaulay Library Audio Archivist Martha Fischer describes listening to the drum of a male Ruffed Grouse. Learn more about Ruffed Grouse on All About Birds: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/ruffed_grouse/id Audio recordings by Jonathan R. Storm. Photographs by Marie Read. To explore more audio recordings visit the Macaulay Library: http://macaulaylibrary.org/index.do



	Two Ruffed Grouse Visit the Ontario FeederWatch Cam LabofOrnithology

	About Published on Feb 15, 2013 You can watch live between 7AM and 7PM EST at http://allaboutbirds.org/feederwatchcam Two Ruffed Grouse have a leisurely dinner on the feeder platform at the FeederWatch Cam. Keep up with all the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Bird Cams happenings by subscribing to our eNews: http://info.allaboutbirds.org/birdcam...



	Ruffed Grouse Society Lehigh Valley Chapter Habitat Project James10252010

	About Published on Aug 23, 2012 The Lehigh Valley Chapter of the RGS combined efforts with the Pennsylvania Game Commission to create early successional habitat growth in SE Pennsylvania to benefit the Ruffed Grouse.

Camcorder


Visitor Sightings

Report a sighting of this bird.
		This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Be sure to include a location.



Lane Keller 10/25/2021	Location: Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge Got an up-close encounter with this bird right next to the gravel road.



Luciearl 4/4/2021	Location: Cass County Trail cam



Scott Bemman 9/15/2020	Location: McCarthy Beach State Park



Ramona Abrego	Location: Cook County



Dan W. Andree 5/14/2020	Location: Woodlands in Norman County, Mn. It was located on an incline so difficult angle to photograph from. At one point my foot slipped and she did leave the nest pretending to be wounded and making a sound like she was. That was when I noticed she had more eggs than the first time(5-7-20) I encountered the nesting grouse. Anyway I left right away and it was a milder day. She would have just stayed on her nest hadn’t I slipped. I was a distance away and zoomed all the way in on her.



Dan W. Andree 5/7/2020	Location: Woodlands in Norman County, Mn. I didn’t stick around there long. It was kind of windy and chilly so took a couple quick photos and left so she would return to the nest.



Dan W. Andree 10/26/2019	Location: Rural Norman Co., Mn. In the woods



Ramona Abrego 10/28/2018	Location: Becker County



Ramona Abrego 10/24/2018	Location: Becker County



Dan W. Andree June 2018	Location: near Twin Valley, Mn While out on a woodland trail near Twin Valley, Mn. I noticed a ruffed grouse that showed up suddenly near me acting kind of peculiar. She would make strange sounds wander into the brush then re-emerge sometimes ruffing up her feathers. As I looked a little closer I noticed she had some little baby ones. They were so small and when lying still extremely hard to notice or see. I noticed one walking off and then looked much closer to be sure I did not accidentally step on one. I spoke softly…Do not worry momma grouse I am not going to hurt your babies. She just kind of looked at me funny and seemed to calm down. I took a couple quick photos and quietly walk back in the other direction not to disturb their outing. Some of the little ones were resting right on the wide trail. Possibly even napping as small as they were.



Bill Reynolds 5/16/2008	Location: Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge



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