This note was posted to an online public birding venue, but I did not ask the authors if they cared to have their names revealed to the wider internet, so I am posting this in a modified form with their personal identifiers removed.
Subject: Grouse attack
Date: Sun, 6 Apr 2008 11:19:44 -0400
Yesterday [name deleted] and I were walking in a wooded area off a quiet back road when we spotted a Ruffed Grouse about ten yards from us. We froze and watched as it walked in a semi-circle keeping about the same ten-yard distance. It did this back and forth a couple of times and then approached closer, still in semi-circles.
We though it was unaware of our presence but as it got within a few feet of us it was obvious that it knew we were there. It continued to about two feet from our feet. It would walk back and forth, tossing leaves, making soft guttural sounds. And occasionally looking up at us with the feathers on the top of its head crested and its ruff partially “ruffed”. I thought as soon as I moved it would flush so I took one step back. But instead, it approached right up to my boot.
Figuring we bothered it enough we started walking away. It followed. I turned toward the grouse and it jumped at my leg, grabbed my jeans with its beak, put both feet on my leg and beat its wings a couple of times. (WOW)
When it dropped off we continued to walk to the road and it continued to follow occasionally pecking at my jeans. When we got to about ten yards from the road it held back and walked back and forth as we continued to the road.
Arthur Cleveland Bent, in his volume on gallinaceous birds, describes similar behavior. “They follow their human friends about like pet dogs, can be coaxed to eat out of human hands, will often peck at them in a possibly playful manner, and will eventually allow themselves to be handled.” I have no idea what was going on in the mind of this bird but I doubt it was looking at me as a “human friend”. It was a heck of an experience.
[name deleted]
Stumble It!