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Ruffed Grouse were observed in 355 atlas squares in areas where suitable deciduous and mixed forest stands exist. South of the Boreal Transition ecoregion, Ruffed Grouse were found in aspen bluffs, river valleys, and the forests and coulees of the Cypress Uplands. They were absent entirely from the Mixed Grasslands as well as much of the Moist Mixed Grassland. To the north, the mapping analysis revealed the Mid-Boreal Upland and Lowland as the heart of the Ruffed Grouse's distribution in Saskatchewan, becoming less common north of the Churchill River, except in the hardwood stands around Fond du Lac.

Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:

The Ruffed Grouse is noted for its unusual drumming display. It is equipped for explosive flights which provide a quick escape, but cannot be sustained for more than a few hundred metres. The Ruffed Grouse is well adapted to winter snow and cold equipped with "snowshoes,? tooth-like projections that grow from lateral scales on its toes in fall and are shed the following spring (Rusch et al. 2000). Permanent resident from central Alaska to Labrador and south to Utah in the west and south to Georgia in the east.

Ruffed Grouse depend upon and are never found far from aspen woodlands (Gullion and Marshall 1968). In the biological studies preparatory to construction of the Nipawin dam, there were 38.7 males/km2 in young deciduous forest on alluvial flats, 16.8 in mixed-age deciduous forest on an island, 5.5 in mature mixed and deciduous forest on the river valley slope, and 3.8 in mature spruce aspen forest (Blood 1977).

The Ruffed Grouse is a common permanent resident of mixedwood and deciduous forests of the southern boreal region and the aspen woodland and aspen-bur oak subregions. To the south, in the aspen grove subregion, it is uncommon and local, its distribution limited to large forest stands in river valleys and dune complexes. In the conifer dominated northern boreal region it is uncommon and often local, limited by the scarcity of deciduous or mixedwood forests (Smith 1996).

Original text by C. Stuart Houston. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky

Read more about the Ruffed Grouse in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.

LeeAnn M. Latremouille

Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Ruffed Grouse in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=RUGR&lang=en [14 Nov 2025]