Ruffed Grouse Cap
Ruffed Grouse Cap
Size & fit
One size fits most: about 22⅞ in around, with an adjustable fabric strap and metal slider. Unstructured six-panel, low-to-mid profile, curved bill (about 2¾ in).
A cock grouse with ruff raised and tail fanned, painted by J. L. Ridgway.
The cap
- The plate's chest mark, printed on the front as drawn, with LINNAEUS beneath. Printed rather than embroidered, so nothing is redrawn.
- Comfort Colors Sunwashed Cap: 100% cotton twill, brushed and washed for a broken-in feel.
- Spot clean; don't put it in the dryer.
Shipping & production
Each one is made for you after you order, usually within 2–5 business days. Shipping is shown at checkout before you pay; items from different makers may arrive in separate boxes.
Returns
If your cap arrives damaged, misprinted or defective, contact us within 30 days of delivery with a photo and we'll send a replacement or a refund. Because every cap is made to order, we can't accept returns for a change of mind.
Plate 010
From the book
- Species
- Bonasa umbellus
- As named in the book
- Ruffed Grouse or Partridge.
- Artist
- J. L. Ridgway
- Book
- Second Annual Report of the Commissioners of Fisheries, Game and Forests of the State of New York, 1897
“Popular synonyms: 'Partridge' (in New England); 'Pheasant' (in Southern and Western States); Drumming Grouse.”
Then and now
Whatever you called it growing up, it is the same bird.
Field notes
In winter it grows snowshoes on its toes and sleeps under the snow.
Ridgway painted the cock in full display, ruff flared and tail fanned: the pose of a bird about to drum. Drumming is a sound you feel as much as hear in a spring woods: a slow thump, thump, then faster into a roll. The male braces on a log and beats his wings so fast that air rushes into the vacuum they leave.
Winter is where the grouse gets clever. In fall it grows pectinations, comb-like fringes along each toe: snowshoes that spread its weight across soft snow and grip icy branches. When the snow is deep enough, it dives straight into a drift and roosts underneath, in a pocket warmer than the open air.
Partridge in New England, pheasant in the southern mountains, drummer to anyone who's heard one. The 1896 report listed them all.