CreatureData

Ruffed grouse

Bonasa umbellus (Linnaeus, 1766)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) is a species in the family Phasianidae, order Galliformes. Recorded adults weigh 498 g to 585 g and live up to 8.5 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus)
Photo: Mdf Original uploader at en.wikipedia was Mad Tinman at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the ruffed grouse

Weight
498 g – 585 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
8.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Herbivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
11 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
shrublandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
23.8 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
11src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
3.94 months – 10.9 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the ruffed grouse live?

Not recorded

What is the ruffed grouse?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is the most widely distributed game bird in North America. It is not migratory. It is the only species in the genus Bonasa. The ruffed grouse is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a "partridge", an unrelated phasianid, and occasionally confused with the grey partridge, a bird of open areas rather than woodlands.

The ruffed grouse is the state game bird of Pennsylvania, United States.

From the Wikipedia article “Ruffed grouse” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ruffed_grouse&oldid=1383027545), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

What does the ruffed grouse sound like?

NPS & MSU Acoustic Atlas / Jennifer Jerrett · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Is the ruffed grouse endangered?

The ruffed grouse is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the ruffed grouse classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderGalliformes
  5. familyPhasianidae
  6. genusBonasa
  7. SpeciesBonasa umbellus (Linnaeus, 1766)

Synonyms Tetrao umbellatus, Tetrastes umbellus

Other names and names in other languages (39)
  • Birch partridgeEnglish
  • طيهوج مطوقArabic
  • apaskau-kits-sitsumSiksiká
  • Koadyar frezennekBreton
  • grèvol crestatCatalan
  • ᏛᏗᏍᏗCherokee
  • jeřábek kanadskýCzech
  • cochiad crychWelsh
  • KravehjerpeDanish
  • KragenhuhnGerman
  • tufa tetraonoEsperanto
  • Grévol engoladoSpanish
  • kraepüüEstonian
  • röyhelöpyyFinnish
  • perdrixFrench
  • Bonasie huppéeFrench
  • gélinotte huppéeFrench
  • Cearc rufachIrish
  • kukmasta lještarkaCroatian
  • galléros császármadárHungarian
  • tetraone dal collareItalian
  • Francolino di monte americanoItalian
  • エリマキライチョウJapanese
  • apykaklėtoji jerubėLithuanian
  • apkakles mežirbeLatvian
  • KraaghoenDutch
  • kragejerpeNorwegian
  • BineOjibwa
  • cieciornikPolish
  • tetraz-de-colarPortuguese
  • tetraz-enrufadoPortuguese
  • Воротничковый рябчикRussian
  • jariabok hrivnatýSlovak
  • Američka leštarkaSerbian
  • kragjärpeSwedish
  • Yakalı Orman TavuğuTurkish
  • орябок американськийUkrainian
  • 披肩榛雞Chinese
  • 披肩榛鸡Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the ruffed grouse

Other species in the same family Phasianidae.

CompareRuffed grouse vs Common quailRuffed grouse vs Indian peafowlRuffed grouse vs Western capercaillieRuffed grouse vs Common pheasant

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the ruffed grouse?

An adult ruffed grouse weighs 498 g – 585 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the ruffed grouse endangered?

The ruffed grouse is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the ruffed grouse live?

The ruffed grouse has a recorded lifespan of 8.5 years.

What kind of animal is the ruffed grouse?

The ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) belongs to the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/ruffed-grouse

MLA

“Ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/ruffed-grouse.

BibTeX
@misc{ruffed_grouse_2026,
  title = {Ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/ruffed-grouse},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}