State Bird Of Pennsylvania
Ruffed Grouse Is The Official State Bird Of Pennsylvania. The ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) was Adopted as the official Pennsylvania State Bird in 1931. The campaign to adopt the ruffed grouse as the state bird was spearheaded by the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC). The ruffed grouse served as the official game bird of Pennsylvania before it was adopted as the National Bird Of Pennsylvania.
Physical Description
The State Bird Of Pennsylvania ruffed grouse is a medium-sized bird that weighs between 0.99 and 1.65 lb, measures between 16 and 20 inches from head to tail, and has a wingspan of about 25 inches. There are two forms or morphs of the ruffed grouse: grey and brown. The grey morph has a grey-brown head, neck, and back, with white flanks and underside. Its tail is brownish grey with a broad black band at the end. The brown morph has a uniform brown plumage with white patches on its flanks. Males and females National Bird Of Pennsylvania are similar in appearance and size, making it difficult to tell them apart. The distinguishing feature is a subterminal tail band in females and unbroken tail bands in males.
BEHAVIOR
Pennsylvania State Bird Grouse are fairly solitary birds except during mating season when males will perch on fallen logs and “drum” to attract females. Males puff out their chests, flare their ruffed neck feathers, fan out their tail feathers, and make a deep thumping sound by beating their wings against the air at an increasingly rapid tempo.
HABITAT
Mixed deciduous (aspen, poplar, oak, birch, maple) and mixed pine and deciduous forests with dense undergrowth. Typically Pennsylvania State Bird is found on hillsides rather than lowland areas.
Range: Subarctic Canada and the northeastern United States from Maine to northern Georgia west to Minnesota; the Rocky Mountains south to Utah; Pacific Coast to southern Oregon. Isolated populations exist in the Central U.S. from the Dakotas to Arkansas, and the bird has been introduced in Newfoundland and Nevada.
NESTING
Nesting Period: April-June
Size of Clutch: 11
Incubation Period: 23-25 days
Egg Description: Creamy white to light brown, occasionally with reddish spots.
Egg Size: 1.5 in x 1 in (38 mm-25 mm)