Little Drummer Boy: The Ruffed Grouse

Ruffed grouse have a unique (and loud!) display that involves beating their wings back and forth.

You’re alone one morning walking through the forest. Dew clings to the blades of grass at your feet and you’re enshrouded by an eerie fog. Some leaves rustle to your left behind the trees and a chill runs down your spine. Just as you begin looking for the animal that darted by, BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM. You jump in fright as a loud drumming sound resonates throughout the forest, making your eyes dart around and your heart race. You locate the sound of the drumming and see…a chicken? 

That’s no chicken, that’s one of the coolest bird species in the Appalachian mountains, the ruffed grouse! The ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) is a medium sized bird belonging to the family phasianidae, which is the family consisting of pheasants, turkeys, partridges, and grouse. Like other members of this family, the ruffed grouse is a heavy bird that spends more of its time on the ground rather than flying, which the grouse is capable of for short distances. They range across Canada, along the coast of the Pacific Northwest, and through the Appalachian mountains down to Georgia. Some isolated populations are found in North and South Dakota as well. This makes them the most widely distributed game bird in North America. 

The ruffed grouse has two color morphs, grey and brown. Grey morphs have grey-brown feathers covering their head, backs, and tails and have a much lighter and white breast with dappling. Brown morphs have similar coloration on their tails, however the rest of their body is more on the brown side with a darker breast. Atop the head of the grouse is a crest that can be raised high or laid flat on their head. On both sides of their neck, there is a black ruff, hence the name. Males and females are hard to distinguish as there is little sexual dimorphism. Males on average are larger with taller crests, bigger ruffs, and longer tails. There is also a small difference in the rump feathers, with females having one white spot on each feather and males having multiple spots. Their feet are also unique, as there are small fringes surrounding the toes. These fringes give the grouse extra stability when walking across snow, which means they have built in snowshoes!

Ruffed grouse have unique feeding habits in response to winter weather. When there isn’t any snow on the ground, the ruffed grouse will eat a large assortment of plant material and other animals. Their diet can consist of leaves, flowers, fruits, insects, and some larger vertebrates like lizards and salamanders. However, when the ground is covered with snow, the ruffed grouse changes its diet to consist almost entirely of flowers. It will peck around in the snow for dormant flower buds or climb up trees to feast upon the catkins of aspens or birches. There was a period of time when ruffed grouse ate so many apple buds from local orchards that they were listed as a nuisance animal. In addition to being a nuisance animal, the ruffed grouse seems to have some incidences of public intoxication. There have been stories about grouse that will eat berries and store them in their crop, fermenting them. By fermenting these berries, the grouse can accidentally get itself drunk and end up flying very erratically. There is no scientific proof that this really happens, however there are a multitude of stories that claim it to be true. 

The behavior of the ruffed grouse that gives it its famous nicknames of “drummer” and “thunder chicken” is the most interesting thing about this species. A male grouse will select a territory of about 10 acres and claim it for itself. Around the middle of this territory, the grouse will look for a “stage,” usually a log about a foot off the ground. It is on this stage that the grouse will host his performance, a loud, thunderous drum solo. Male ruffed grouse have the unique ability to beat their wings with enough strength to create a vacuum, which creates the booming drum sound. This is similar to the way lightning creates a vacuum to create the sound of thunder, hence the nickname “thunder chicken.” This drumming performance is done year-round to ward off other males, however it becomes more frequent in the spring as the males also drum to attract the attention of females. 

So when you decide to take a walk through the mountains of southwest Virginia this spring, don’t be alarmed when you hear the sound of drums. That’s just Appalachia’s favorite game bird performing his heart out.

Ruffed grouse blend in very well to the forest floor—you often hear these birds but seldom see them!