Ruffed Grouse

Ruffed Grouse aka. Patridgde, aka. Pheasant, aka. Prairie Chicken (all colloq., inaccurate) aka. Thunder-chicken

East Glacier Park, Montana, USA
August 2023
Member of the Turkey, Grouse, and Partridge Family
§A Pack of Grouse§
★The State Game Bird of Pennsylvania★ (Ranked the worst state bird by this website, due to not being a state bird (Pennsylvania does not have one)
★The most widely distributed game bird in North America★

~True Bird Fact~ They are described as an "immensely popular game bird" by allaboutbirds.org, and I see no reason to argue with that characterization, given that they appear to have an enormous organization named after them. Yes, you heard me, The Roughed Grouse Society exists, and appears to have an extremely slick website, and a history of working with state governments to improve forest management to create more appropriate grouse habitats. 

Yes, these are hunters, which is not really my thing, but I think the lesson to take here is that a bird species thrives when attention and care is paid to it, although maybe not for ideal reasons in this case. Anyway, this aforementioned website is filled with great quotes. Like this one, about the birds comfort with humans "they can still be killed with a canoe paddle or thrown stones in Minnesota wilderness forests, and are not considered much of a sporting bird in western mountains and north into Canada due to their confiding “fool-hen” nature."

And this one about Ruffed Grouse chicks "The chicks are precocial, which means that as soon as they have dried following hatching they are ready to leave the nest and start feeding themselves. Grouse chicks are not much larger than a man’s thumb when they leave the nest. They are surprisingly mobile and may be moving farther than 1/4 mile a day by the time they are 3 or 4 days old. They begin flying when about 5 days old, and resemble giant bumble bees in flight."

I also learned that "Ruffed Grouse are almost exclusively “flower-eaters,” living on the dormant flower buds or catkins of trees such as the aspens, birches, cherries, ironwood and filberts. Extensive feeding upon flower-buds in apple orchards caused Ruffed Grouse to be placed on the list of bountied animals in some New England states at one time."

Man, what a great website.

So anyway, I went to Montana, to Glacier National Park specifically, to continue my bucket list dream of visiting all the National Parks. Didn't actually get that many birds there, due to not really taking a birds-first approach, but I did get some, that I'll be posting in the coming (months? years?). I did also capture some strange non-bird animals, that maybe you'd have a passing interest in. Like this one

Moose (Shiras subspecies)

Fishercap Lake, Glacier National Park, Swiftcurrent, Montana, USA
August 2023
Member of the Deer Family
§A Herd of Moose§
★Largest and Heaviest Member of the Deer Family★

{Etymology Corner} from the Algonquin "Moosh" from the Innu people. Meaning "stripper and eater of bark"

Sooty Grouse

Sooty Grouse
Gem Lake Trail, June Lake, California, USA
July 2020
Member of the Turkey, Grouse, and Partridge Family
§A Covey of Grouse§

~True Bird Fact~ The species split recently (2006) from the Dusky Grouse, this bird used to be called the Blue Grouse. Just terrific naming all around.

You know, shockingly, there's not a lot of interesting facts about this grouse. I found it kind of interesting that they largely eat pine needles in winter, and that the kind of pine tree available is basically what determines their range. Is that interesting to anyone? There was one 'fun fact' available online about how many feathers their tail has (15-22, when usually in grouse the number is not variable. Amusing!), one fact about how many eggs they have in a clutch (up to 15, which is, I guess, more than you'd think), one of the facts was that they are the 3rd largest grouse in North America (incredible. impressive). Oh well, I still like them.

 

 All right, let's get to the ~fake bird facts~ then 

Often ridden into war by smaller birds
Very fastidious about her feathers, what with the whole 'sooty' thing, you know?
Prefers a home with many roommates
Truly does not mind that she doesn't have any super interesting ~true bird facts~ about her

Ring-necked Pheasant

Ring-necked Pheasant aka. Common Pheasant aka. Pheasant
Wetlands Edge Park, American Canyon, California, USA
December 2016
Member of the Turkey, Grouse, and Partridge Family
§A Brace of Pheasant§
★The State Bird of South Dakota★

~true bird fact~ Like many other popular game birds, pheasants have unusually developed breast muscles (the 'white meat). What this meat is actually there for is to allow these predominantly ground-based bird to have short bursts of extremely quick flight. They can travel (briefly) almost straight up and reach nearly 40 miles per hour.


Pleasant
Loves to give and receive presents
Member of the 99 percent (a peasant)
Discontent when his time is misspent at a government event

Revisiting the Turkey

My first portrait of a Turkey is from very early on in this blog's lifetime, 2012 to be exact. Back then I described the Turkey as a haughty blowhard and an awful dinner guest. I still sort of feel this way, and get the sense that I'm not alone in my interpretation of the bird. Why is the Turkey a disliked bird? Maybe it's that many people have had personal negative experiences with Turkeys (being attacked by them is not uncommon in some parts of America). Maybe we need to malign them to separate ourselves from the guilt we feel (subliminally or consciously) for farming them and eating them. Maybe we resent them for encroaching on human territory in an unapologetic and successful way (we also treat pigeons with scorn for doing the same). Today I'm going to focus on a different, more positive interpretation of the Turkey- with some Turkey quotes from my favorite website and yours, backyardchickens.com

"i have a tom who just follows me around like a puppy and he is the nicest turkey ever."

"i got a red bourbon hen about a month ago at auction and she is so sweet she doesnt exactly run up to you she just kind of stays out of your way but she will sit there and talk to you."

"Pros: sweet, docile, and good looking

Cons: none"

"never actually flogged me"

"We named all of our turkeys this year for dragons, so his name, due to respiratory issues, is Puff the Magic"

"In the video is my Royal Palm tom, Gerald, walking in his harness and leash. I have taken him to the pet store, to 4-H meetings and just down the road. Very friendly and easily trained to do about anything." 

And if that's not enough to convince you to take a second look at your Turkey bias, maybe a quote from one of our nation's founders will. Benjamin Franklin's  antipathy toward the Bald Eagle is well documented on this blog, as is his preference for the Turkey. Here is his justification from a letter to his daughter.

There you have it bird fans, if Ben Franklin can love the Turkey for its positive qualities, maybe we can learn to as well. With a perspective, The Amateurnithologist. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Common Peafowl

Common Peafowl aka. Blue Peafowl
Jupiter, Florida, USA
Member of the Turkey/Grouse Family
*true bird fact*~ Although he is native to and the national bird of India, there are pockets of wild peafowl in Southern Florida and California, where the hospitable climate has allowed zoo-escapees to establish themselves.

Hides a tragic past behind his beauty and prideful attitude
Liberal social values, but doesn't vote
Feels he has to spend ostentatiously to keep friends
A fan of obsolete art (e.g. silent films)

Bird Portraiture, Wild Turkey

Wild Turkey
Oakland, California, USA
Member of the Turkey/Grouse Family
*true bird fact*~ A strong second-place contender for the USA's national bird. Benjamin Franklin advocated for him over the Bald Eagle.

Strong convictions, a bit of a blowhard
Makes an unpleasant dinner guest, messy
Not in good shape
A good person to ask for financial advice, knows his stuff
Haughty