Pennsylvania State Bird
Ruffed Grouse (common name)  Bonasa umbellus (scientific name) Overview The ruffed grouse, a stout, reddish-brown upland game bird about the size of a small chicken, is a familiar sight in Pennsylvania's forests and was an important food for many of the state's original settlers. It was designated the state bird of Pennsylvania in 1931. It has a small crest on its head and a tail with 18 brown-and-black striped feathers; males and females look similar, although the female has a shorter tail and smaller head crest.  Grouse are primarily ground-foraging fruit eaters (grapes, apples, pears, thorn apples, blueberries, strawberries, cherries), but they will also eat acorns, hickory nuts, insects, and the buds of birch, poplar, ferns, and willow trees. The grouse's coloration, dense habitat, and slow, deliberate walk along the forest floor make it virtually invisible to predators, while its thick downy feathers enable it to survive harsh winters.  The female grouse's calls are a series of clucks. Males often mate with more than one female. After copulation, the male has nothing more to do with the incubation or feeding of their young. Females feed their young a diet of insects and take care of them until they can roost on their own in trees. Nests are piles of leaves on the ground protected by rocks or tree trunks. Close-up STATUS Official ALSO KNOWN AS Shoulder-knot grouse, drumming grouse, birch partridge, drumming pheasant, mountain pheasant PHYSICAL DETAILS  Male Female  Size Length to end of tail: 15.7-19.7 in (40-50 cm) Wing from flexure: 19.7-25.2 in (50-64 cm) Length of tail: 3.7 in (9.3 cm) Length to end of tail: 15.7-19.7 in (40-50 cm) Wing from flexure: 19.7-25.2 in (50-64 cm) Length of tail: 3.5 in (8.9 cm)  Weight 15.9-26.5 oz (450-751 g) 15.9-26.5 oz (450-751 g) BEHAVIOR Grouse are fairly solitary birds except during mating season, when males will perch on fallen logs and "drum" to attract females. Males puff out their chests, flare their ruffed neck feathers, fan out their tail feathers, and make a deep thumping sound by beating their wings against the air at an increasingly rapid tempo. HABITAT Mixed deciduous (aspen, poplar, oak, birch, maple) and mixed pine and deciduous forests with dense undergrowth. Typically found on hillsides rather than lowland areas. Range: Subarctic Canada and northeastern United States from Maine to northern Georgia west to Minnesota; Rocky Mountains south to Utah; Pacific Coast to southern Oregon. Isolated populations exist in the Central U.S. from the Dakotas to Arkansas, and the bird has been introduced in Newfoundland and Nevada. Migration: Does not migrate. Conservation Status: Least Concern (LC) NESTING Nesting Period: April-June Size of Clutch: 11 Incubation Period: 23-25 days Egg Description: Creamy white to light brown, occasionally with reddish spots. Egg Size: 1.5 in x 1 in (38 mm-25 mm) SIMILAR SPECIES Spruce grouse TRIVIA The toes of the ruffed grouse grow comb-like projections in winter, which help the grouse walk across the snow. Grouse have been known to bury themselves in the snow to protect against predators.  The grouse has long been hunted for sport and is prized for both the nutty flavor of its meat and for the skill it takes to shoot one.
	Click to enlarge an image Ruffed Grouse Ruffed Grouse with Thick, Downy Feathers Ruffed Grouse Coloration Blends into Landscape Ruffed Grouse Eggs Ruffed Grouse Distribution Map (pdf) CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Galliformes Family: Phasianidae Genus: Bonasa Species: B. umbellus
	Author: World Trade Press