Habitat
This species inhabits woodland habitats, preferring second-growth deciduous and mixed deciduous-coniferous forests, usually with moderate slopes and water nearby. Prospers in brushy areas along streams, in alder thickets, shrubby forest edges, brushy areas of logged and burned areas, trembling aspen corpses, and occasionally in dense woodlands. Conifer forests are frequented more often in the winter, more open mixed woodlands in the spring, and open brushy areas in late summer and early autumn. In B.C., ruffed grouse are found from sea level to 2,225m, but prefer lower elevations, especially river bottoms (Campbell et al. 1990).
References
Campbell, R. W., N. K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, J. M. Cooper, G. W. Kaiser, and M. C. E. McNall. 1990. The Birds of British Columbia. Vol. 1 and 2, Nonpasserines. UBC Press, Vancouver, B.C.
