Grouse vs. Pheasant Tracks

Birds may not be the first animals that come to mind when you think winter wildlife tracks, but some of our avian neighbours spend more time walking than flying. Two good examples are Ruffed Grouse and Ring-necked Pheasant.

When identifying bird tracks, toe arrangement is a helpful place to start. Here we see three long toes pointing forward and one short toe pointing back in what’s called the Game Bird arrangement. Only four PEI bird species sport feet like these, and so right away the suspect pool is narrowed down from hundreds to just a handful.

Size is the next thing to look for. Ruffed Grouse are mostly solitary birds that leave tracks between 1.5 and 2.25 inches long (about 3.8 to 5.7 centimetres, left photo). Ring-necked Pheasants will sometimes hang out in small groups, and they leave bigger tracks – typically 2.25 to 3.25 inches long (about 5.7 to 8.3 centimetres, right photo courtesy of Garry Gregory).

In addition to size, Pheasant tracks differ from Grouse in being a bit more graceful, with pointed rather than stubby toes, and clean rather than blurry edges. Grouse grow fringes, called pectination, along the sides of their feet in winter to help them walk on snow; this makes their tracks look a bit fuzzy or blurry in comparison to sharp-edged Pheasant tracks.

Ruffed Grouse are forest birds and native to PEI. By the early 1900s, forest loss due to agriculture and settlement had led to declines in many wildlife species including Ruffed Grouse. It was a different time, and concerns about the scarcity of game led not to habitat conservation but to the introduction of at least six new game birds, starting with Ring-necked Pheasants in 1917.

The story of that introduction includes family connections between PEI and British Columbia, the Department of Agriculture buying Hungarian Partridge from Islanders to trade for Ontario Pheasants, and lots of time, money, and controversy. You can read more about it here: https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/the-ring-necked-pheasant-introduction.

There’s no Pheasants where I am in Central PEI, but I’m seeing lots of grouse sign. Keep your eyes open for both as you explore PEI Untamed!