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Bird

Ruffed Grouse

Bonasa umbellus

Lives in North Carolina all year and nests here. Found in 28 of 100 counties, across 12 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
28 of 100 counties
Habitats
12

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
28 of 100 counties
Habitats
12
Habitat models
Year-round

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in North Carolina 12

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 12

Floodplain and bottomland forests

fallen (uprooted) tree
Year-roundSouth-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems; Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian; South-Central Interior Large FloodplainNamed place / source context. Shown: Congaree Swamp National Monument floodplain forest, South Carolina; representative illustration, no exact viewpoint, a neighboring state.fallen (uprooted) tree, John Dawson, by1988. Public domain. Source record.

Forests and woodlands

Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain.
Year-roundSouthern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine ModifierNamed place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Rich cove forests

Cove hardwood forest
Year-roundSouthern and Central Appalachian Cove ForestRegional / representative. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee; representative habitat composite, not a documented exact viewpointCove hardwood forest, Hynes, Robert 'Bob', by 2012. Public domain. Source record.

Spruce-fir forests

Spruce-fir forest
Year-roundRegional / representative. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee; representative habitat composite, not a documented exact viewpointSpruce-fir forest, Hynes, Robert 'Bob', by 2012. Public domain. Source record.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Drawing, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina, 1865–70
Year-roundCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; South-Central Interior Small Stream and RiparianFrederic Edwin Church, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina (1865-70): a boulder-strewn mountain river under autumn-coloured ridges. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. North Carolina mountains (Frederic Edwin Church, oil sketch 1865-70; Cooper Hewitt)Drawing, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina, 1865–70, Frederic Edwin Church, 1865-1870. Public domain. Source record.

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

Year-roundSouthern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric; Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier; Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest; Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland; Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

Year-roundSouthern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

Year-roundSouthern Piedmont Mesic Forest; Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest

Mountain bogs and fens

Wet, open, peaty mountain wetlands fed by seepage, often with sphagnum moss.

Year-round

Northern hardwood forests

High mountain forests of beech, yellow birch and sugar maple, including boulderfield forests.

Year-round

Tree plantations and managed pine

Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.

Year-roundDeciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Black Mountainlabel QS:Len,"Black Mountain"
Year-roundBeside its main habitat.Pasture/Hay; Utility Swath - HerbaceousLyell Carr, Black Mountain: a pasture and hayfield with a log barn, rail fence and grazing cow below the Black Mountains. Black Mountain, North Carolina (Lyell E. Carr)Black Mountainlabel QS:Len,"Black Mountain", Lyell Carr, c. 1890-1912. Public domain. Source record.
Other habitats in its models (38)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in North Carolina. Those recorded in North Carolina first, the rest by region.

In North Carolina 1

  • Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Year-round.
Elsewhere in the South (14)
  • Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Year-round.
  • Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Year-round.
  • Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Year-round.
  • Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland Year-round.
  • South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest Year-round.
Northeast (8)
  • Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Year-round.
  • Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Year-round.
  • Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Year-round.
Midwest (4)
  • North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Year-round.
  • North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Year-round.
Land cover and other classes (11)
  • Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood Year-round.
  • Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Year-round.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Year-round.
  • Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Year-round, beside its main habitat.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Year-round.

All habitats

Seasons in North Carolina

  • Year-round: nests here, in 28 of 100 counties.

Food plants

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.

Native plants in these genera 504

Plant genera in its diet records (73)
  • Rosa Fruit and leaves. 52 diet records. 1 native plant in North Carolina
  • Rhus Fruit. 46 diet records. 5 native plants in North Carolina
  • Cornus Fruit. 36 diet records. 0 native plants in North Carolina
  • Populus Buds and leaves. 34 diet records. 3 native plants in North Carolina
  • Quercus Seeds and fruit. 34 diet records. 31 native plants in North Carolina
  • Corylus Flowers and fruit. 30 diet records. 2 native plants in North Carolina
  • Amelanchier Fruit. 26 diet records. 7 native plants in North Carolina
  • Ostrya 26 diet records. 1 native plant in North Carolina
  • Acer Fruit and buds. 25 diet records. 9 native plants in North Carolina
  • Carex Seeds and fruit. 25 diet records. 148 native plants in North Carolina
  • Geum Fruit. 24 diet records. 7 native plants in North Carolina
  • Desmodium 23 diet records. 18 native plants in North Carolina
  • Trifolium Leaves. 22 diet records. 2 native plants in North Carolina
  • Polystichum Leaves. 21 diet records. 1 native plant in North Carolina
  • Salix Buds and leaves. 20 diet records. 5 native plants in North Carolina
  • Cuscuta 18 diet records. 6 native plants in North Carolina
  • Vitis Fruit and leaves. 18 diet records. 2 native plants in North Carolina
  • Antennaria 17 diet records. 4 native plants in North Carolina
  • Symphoricarpos Fruit. 17 diet records. 1 native plant in North Carolina
  • Betula Buds and fruit. 15 diet records. 4 native plants in North Carolina
  • Toxicodendron 15 diet records. 3 native plants in North Carolina
  • Vaccinium Fruit and leaves. 14 diet records. 16 native plants in North Carolina
  • Viburnum Fruit. 13 diet records. 8 native plants in North Carolina
  • Viola Fruit and leaves. 13 diet records. 24 native plants in North Carolina
  • Gaultheria Fruit and leaves. 12 diet records. 1 native plant in North Carolina
  • Zea 11 diet records. 0 native plants in North Carolina
  • Prunus Seeds and buds. 10 diet records. 10 native plants in North Carolina
  • Shepherdia Buds. 10 diet records. 0 native plants in North Carolina
  • Kummerowia 9 diet records. 0 native plants in North Carolina
  • Rubus Fruit. 9 diet records. 11 native plants in North Carolina
  • Fragaria Leaves. 8 diet records. 2 native plants in North Carolina
  • Crataegus Fruit and buds. 7 diet records. 23 native plants in North Carolina
  • Malus Fruit and leaves. 7 diet records. 2 native plants in North Carolina
  • Potentilla Leaves. 7 diet records. 3 native plants in North Carolina
  • Smilax Fruit and leaves. 7 diet records. 14 native plants in North Carolina
  • Hieracium 6 diet records. 5 native plants in North Carolina
  • Kalmia Leaves and buds. 6 diet records. 5 native plants in North Carolina
  • Aster Leaves. 5 diet records. 0 native plants in North Carolina
  • Carpinus 5 diet records. 1 native plant in North Carolina
  • Fagus Buds and fruit. 5 diet records. 1 native plant in North Carolina
  • Lonicera Leaves and fruit. 5 diet records. 4 native plants in North Carolina
  • Thalictrum 5 diet records. 8 native plants in North Carolina
  • Ulmus 5 diet records. 4 native plants in North Carolina
  • Arctostaphylos Fruit. 4 diet records. 0 native plants in North Carolina
  • Celastrus Fruit. 4 diet records. 1 native plant in North Carolina
  • Heuchera Leaves. 4 diet records. 8 native plants in North Carolina
  • Ilex Fruit. 4 diet records. 14 native plants in North Carolina
  • Rumex 4 diet records. 3 native plants in North Carolina
  • Alnus Buds and flowers. 3 diet records. 2 native plants in North Carolina
  • Botrychium Leaves. 3 diet records. 3 native plants in North Carolina
  • Impatiens 3 diet records. 2 native plants in North Carolina
  • Maianthemum Fruit. 3 diet records. 2 native plants in North Carolina
  • Pyrola Leaves. 3 diet records. 2 native plants in North Carolina
  • Ranunculus 3 diet records. 13 native plants in North Carolina
  • Sambucus 3 diet records. 2 native plants in North Carolina
  • Arceuthobium Buds. 2 diet records. 0 native plants in North Carolina
  • Arctous Fruit. 2 diet records. 0 native plants in North Carolina
  • Berberis Fruit. 2 diet records. 1 native plant in North Carolina
  • Coptis 2 diet records. 1 native plant in North Carolina
  • Epigaea Leaves and fruit. 2 diet records. 1 native plant in North Carolina
  • Equisetum Leaves. 2 diet records. 2 native plants in North Carolina
  • Mitella Leaves. 2 diet records. 1 native plant in North Carolina
  • Oxalis 2 diet records. 8 native plants in North Carolina
  • Rhododendron Buds and fruit. 2 diet records. 15 native plants in North Carolina
  • Taraxacum Leaves. 2 diet records. 0 native plants in North Carolina
  • Tiarella Leaves. 2 diet records. 1 native plant in North Carolina
  • Dryopteris Leaves. 1 diet record. 9 native plants in North Carolina
  • Hamamelis Fruit. 1 diet record. 1 native plant in North Carolina
  • Nyssa Fruit. 1 diet record. 3 native plants in North Carolina
  • Polygala 1 diet record. 0 native plants in North Carolina
  • Polygonum 1 diet record. 5 native plants in North Carolina
  • Thelypteris 1 diet record. 1 native plant in North Carolina
  • Vicia Seeds. 1 diet record. 1 native plant in North Carolina

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in North Carolina, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Dry forests and woodlands

Birds 53

Plants 217

All of dry forests and woodlands in North Carolina

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Birds 70

Plants 367

All of floodplain and bottomland forests in North Carolina

Tree plantations and managed pine

Birds 31

Plants 2

All of tree plantations and managed pine in North Carolina

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources