Informal Ruffed Grouse tail color survey/Aesthetic appreciation

[Russell E. Cleary]

Keeping it simple, here are the four predominant Ruffed Grouse tail colors. (Rarities, such as bronze, do exist.)

What are the tail colors of Ruffed Grouse you are bringing to bag, and in what North American State or Province was the bird taken?


The photo is from an article written by Ron McGinty in the July/August 2017 issue of POINTING DOG JOURNAL

[Harold Lee Pickens]

I have taken all those varieties in the northern lake states. Maybe it is just the way the photo was taken/reflects light, but I wouldnt call that bottom tail "red". Here in the Appalachians we can get a red phase bird, sometimes referred to as a "cinnamon"phase. The tail band/ruffs are a light cinnamon red, and that one just looks black to me. There is also the chocolate phase bird--a dark reddish tail band and ruffs. May just be a regional difference, you say potato, I say potatoe. Here is what I call a cinnamon phase( Ohio bird)

[Harold Lee Pickens]

So, I imagine it is just the way the original reflects light--even this bird looks much redder in person

[Brett Hoop]

In northern Wisconsin, most of the grouse I get glimpses of look to be of the grey phase. And the few that get in hand proof that out.
Grey birds like wind blown smoke darting through grey trees. If one gets up quiet like on some days they can make you question if that was a grouse, even when you know it was.

Back when we had grouse in SW PA most all of them were brown with some more red than others.

[Gary Laudermilch]

Here in northern PA we get mostly brown phase birds. Rarely we get a silver but I bet it is no more than 1 in 50.

[Dean Romig]

In the NEK we see mostly gray and intermediate birds with the rarer brown phase once every few years. I have seen only one of the "red" phase to the best of my memory.





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[Harold Lee Pickens]

Yep Brett, gray birds thru the gray Aspen , on gray, gloomy days make tough shooting

[Rick Losey]

mostly - in the southern tier of NY - they are invisible :rolleyes:

seriously - usually brown - occasionally a red tint

the only grey phase birds I have taken were in Michigan's UP

[Daniel Carter]

The predominant color is missed. My loading room wall is papered with fans and a color count shows 7 red, 6 gray and the rest are intermediate.
If memory serves the red phase birds were all taken during years of abundance. Most if not all the gray phase during scarce years and they were not birds of the year. Only 2 brown now that i look again. The numbers are evenly split between Maine and Mass.

[George Lang]

My area of southern tier, NY shows shows greys, browns and cinammons(reds). Intermediates show up in all 3 phases.

[James L. Martin]

Here in New York's Catskill's mostly brown with maybe 25% greys.

[Ted Hicks]

For me hunting in New York's Adirondacks as well as foothills to the south over 40+ years, I've only ever seen gray phase birds. I have heard of the other phases, but never seen any of them.

[Dean Romig]

Here’s a nice cinnamon brown cock bird taken in Vermont’s NEK AT 11 a.m. today by my friend Ken Stowe with his 20 bore 101.

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