November 4, 2018
Read MoreRuffed Grouse 001
Driving down our driveway I saw what I thought was a pile of rusty colored leaves on the side of the road. After driving by I realized that it was perfectly round on top and could not be a pile of leaves. I put the car in reverse and found a gorgeous male copper colored ruffed grouse in full display.
Ruffed Grouse 002
I have photographed hundreds of grouse in my life but have never seen one with this coloration before. After e-mailing local wildlife officials I found out that the copper band on the tail and ruff is uncommon and rarely seen. It is also referred to as bronze, chocolate or cinnamon. 95% of the grouse population have a black tail band and ruff.
Ruffed Grouse 003
Studies on ruffed grouse have found 58 different tail color variations but are generally divided into five different color phases – gray, red, brown, intermediate or split. In this photo I focused the lens on the fully fanned tail to show the beautiful patterns. This one is probably a gray phase, but any phase grouse can have the gene that produces the copper or cinnamon colored ruff and tail band.