All About Ruffed Grouse Behavior

Ruffed grouse are truly a bird of the forested regions of North America. The range of this large, camouflaged bird extends from Alaska, through Canada and the Rockies, the Upper Midwest and Northeast, all the way down into the Appalachian states. Ruffed grouse populations vary widely across their range, as populations are highly dependent upon quality habitat. Quality grouse habitat includes early successional forest and young forests recovering from disturbance. Great grouse habitat sustains disturbance every 15-20 years. These types of habitat provide optimal food and cover conditions for ruffed grouse, as well as many other species. 

Ruffed grouse are primarily solitary, and actually highly territorial. Male ruffed grouse can become so aggressive to territorial interlopers that they have been known to chase vehicles and people who dare to pass through their little birdy kingdom. 

Male grouse use drumming behavior as their primary way of communicating their territory to other grouse. Drumming occurs when a grouse locates a log or elevated mound with enough of a clear radius to see about 60 feet in each direction. Once a drumming log or mound is established, the grouse beats its wings rapidly to create a “drumming” sound. While drumming is much more common during the spring breeding season, grouse will drum year-round. Listening for drumming is one of the primary survey techniques for biologists to model populations after.

In fact, the drumming location is very important to an individual male grouse’s life history. Since this bird is non-migratory, after dispersing from its natal range as a chick, a male grouse locates a new territory and then will spend the rest of its life defending this 6- to 10-acre territory. 

There are a couple of exceptions to the grouse’s solitary life history, however. During the winter, grouse will group up near quality forage locations to feed. And in the spring, the hen grouse raises her brood of precocial chicks. After breeding, a hen grouse makes a nest on the ground near a log or rock and lays 9 to 14 eggs. She incubates the clutch for around 23 days, staying camouflaged from predators. Young grouse chicks are highly mobile after they hatch, and can fly at only 10 days old! Until they are old enough to fly, the hen will make distress calls and attempt to lead potential predators (including humans) away from her chicks. 

Despite these defense tactics, high grouse mortality is a fact of life in an environment with plenty of predators that supplement their nutrition with grouse. Grouse are great at holding tight and then bursting out of hiding in a rush. This is part of what makes them an exciting and challenging bird to hunt!

If you have ruffed grouse in your neck of the woods, it’s probably partly due to the hard work of state agencies and NGO’s that manage for quality grouse habitat. Consider joining, because protecting grouse habitat protects habitat and a food base for a much wider variety of species!

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