Is the New England Subspecies of Ruffed Grouse the King of Game Birds?

There are a few ways to fuel a fury-filled debate in any subculture. For uplanders, simply state that your favorite game bird is King of the Uplands and watch the chaos ensue. But what does it take to claim the title of king? Is it the bird’s behavior or environment? Are external factors involved, or is it just in our heads? Perhaps it’s a combination of many things. 

William Harnden Foster, the father of modern ruffed grouse hunting, wrote:

“There are champions eager to rise and contest this claim in behalf of Bob White, princely little bird of the rag-weed and sedge. None will discount the thrill of the covey rise, his speed of wing, nor yet his charm for the bird dog. There are those who say that the sweetest chords of music are but hollow sounds compared to the magical whistle of the woodcock, that round, long-billed, squat-bodied bird of mystery and the dark soil under the alders. Then, too, a newer generation of upland gunners has adopted with enthusiasm the Ring-necked Pheasant, the gaudy immigrant, leggy, raucous, a handy bird for field trials and excellent either roasted or fried. But after all has been said and done, when it comes to native wariness, individual daring and resourcefulness, power, cunning and all those things that place one creature above another, physically and mentally, then we must turn to our native pa’tridge, I should say our native grouse, is known to those who have seen him at his best. He is the king of American game birds and so those who have hunted them all will attest.”