Selina Luger, age 12, of Chamedey, Laval, Quebec, Canada, for her question:
Is there a bird called the ruffed grouse?
Yes indeed there is a ruffed grouse and he belongs to North America. He has a collar, or ruff, of feathers which he can make stand up from his neck. The ruffed grouse ruffles his feathers, struts around and drums his wings to attract his lady love. When this fellow goes courting, all the wild creatures for quite a distance around know about it.
The various grouse are plump, chicken sized birds who nest and spend most of their time on the ground. All of them wear beautifully speckled outfits that blend in with the earthy scenery but the males wear a few extra embellishments. The sage grouse of the central prairies wears a large white weskit that looks like sheepskin. When he spreads his fan shaped tail, you see that the feathers are pointed.
The ruffed grouse lives from Alaska throughout most of North America. His speckled plumage blends in with his favorite woodlands. There is a droopy pencil of feathers on top of his little round head and a ruffle of freckled brown feathers around his plump little neck. His ladylove is somewhat smaller and less ornate.
Throughout most of the year, the grouse family tries to keep out of sight. Few people notice them, foraging around for fruits and berries and young leaves. But when spring comes around, all of this caution is thrown to the winds. Mr. Ruffed Grouse goes a courting and proudly he announces this exciting event to every creature who has ears to hear.
No, he is not a great opera singer like, for example, the mocking¬bird. Nor does he warble like a song sparrow. In fact, the ruffed grouse has very little to say. He utters his love songs by whirring his wings so fast that they make a thumping noise like the beating of mighty drums. Some people call him the drumming grouse.
He drums up his throbbing love song while standing quite still, usually on a fallen log right out there in plain sight. If his ladylove happens to be within a mile or so, she comes strolling casually towards him. When he catches a glimpse of her in the thickets, he changes his tactics and goes into stage two of his courtship.
The blurred, whirring wings stop their drumming. The tail spreads out in a feathery fan, all speckled with browns and neatly banded with black stripes. The ruffled collar puffs up and tufted crown stands erect. Mr. Ruffed Grouse is ready to perform his courtship dance, strutting proudly on his log.
The nest of the ruffed grouse is no more than a leaf lined hollow in the ground, often partly concealed under low hanging boughs. The mother incubates her dozen or so eggs for almost a month. The proud, handsome father is right there to help feed and educate the fluffy chicks. The whole family stays close together until the youngsters are able to cope with life on their own.