Customizing Chef

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The animal on the cover of Customizing Chef is a ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus). The ruffed grouse is a non-migratory bird that ranges from the northeastern United States to northern Alaska and Canada. It is also the state bird of Pennsylvania.

Although the bird is sometimes identified incorrectly as a grey partridge, it does have a variety of nicknames, including the “prairie chicken,” “drummer,” or “thunder-chicken.” Ruffed grouses can be either grey or brown, and both sexes have the ruff on the side of the head for which the species is named. In fact, the sexes have similar markings and are the same size, which makes them difficult to tell apart, even at close range. Females and males alike display their fanned tail feathers when courting or frightened, which is often accompanied by the rapid beating of their wings that creates a low-frequency sound that travels for a quarter mile or more.

The ruffed grouse spends most of its time on the ground, and seems to have a particular affinity for thick brush, aspen stands, and the clover bushes along road beds. Grouse hunting is still common over much of the northern and western United States and in Canada, and is often done with shotguns or dogs. Despite this, the population remains healthy and follows a pattern of prosperity and decline that is still a mystery to scientists, who refer to it simply as “the grouse cycle.”

Many of the animals on O’Reilly covers are endangered; all of them are important to the world. To learn more ...