The story of the bird
The Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) is heard before it is seen. In spring the male stands on a drumming log and beats his wings in an accelerating series that begins as a thumping and builds to a blur - not against the log, but against the air. The sound carries through mixed forest at several hundred metres and is felt as much as heard: a deep thudding acceleration that naturalists who grew up in the eastern woods remember as the definitive sound of April.
The grouse itself is a patterned brown bird, cryptic in leaf-litter, with a small crest and a long banded tail. In the ruffed display the neck feathers erect into the collar that gives the species its name. When flushed from underfoot it launches with an explosive wing-beat that has startled hunters and field birders in equal measure, regardless of how many times they have flushed one before.
The Audubon plate shows the male in full display: ruff raised to full spread, tail fanned, crest up. This is a posture the bird holds for seconds at a time on the log in spring. The patterned brown and grey-black of the plumage resolves into individual feathers on the larger print sizes.
Paper and finish
Unframed prints come on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308gsm, a heavyweight cotton rag with a soft matte surface and true archival life. The surface holds fine lines and subtle colour gradients without glare, which matters for Audubon-tradition work where the cream ground needs to read as paper, not as a white field. The framed option is set in a classic moulding, glazed and ready to hang, in black, white or natural.
Sizes
Three sizes: 8x10, 16x20 and 24x30 inches, or an instant digital download at $9. Prints from $39. Framed from $99.
