5.5K views · 92 reactions | Ruffed Grouse mating dance! | Togwotee Mountain Lodge | Facebook

Sound on to hear the drumming 🔊 This is the breeding display of the ruffed grouse, the analogue to sage-grouse strutting or sharp-tailed grouse dancing. They are similar to dusky grouse in that they are not in a concentrated lek, but instead form territories. Ruffed grouse will generally find a downed log, their drumming log, and use it to drum on much like a stage. They are not actually hitting the log. But it can sound a little like it if you hear them in person. The sound is just from moving

Have you ever seen or heard the Ruffed Grouse's haunting air drumming? How the birds produce their unusual thrumming was a long-time mystery, until wildlife cinematography got involved: http://ow.ly/9As830kXLrn | National Audubon Society