Searching for grit

Not a very well composed image, but I tried to get the closest possible shot of this bird who was in a hurry : ) I did take a few photos that have the whole bird in them, but thought I'd show the detail as closely as I could. I saw this beautiful, female Ruffed Grouse NW of Calgary on 28 March 2013. At least, I'm assuming it is a female, though apparently both genders are similarly marked and sized, making them difficult to tell apart, even in hand. It was the icing on the cake after seeing four Great Gray Owls, an American Robin, and my first Mountain Bluebird of the year (no photos). As always, it's all about timing - you can drive this road many times and there's no sign of any Grouse.

"The ruffs are on the sides of the neck in both genders. They also have a crest on top of their head, which sometimes lies flat. Both genders are similarly marked and sized, making them difficult to tell apart, even in hand. The female often has a broken subterminal tail band, while males tend to have unbroken tail bands, though the opposite of either can occur. Females may also do a display similar to the male. Another fairly accurate sign is that rump feathers with a single white dot indicate a female; rump feathers with more than one white dot indicate a male." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruffed_Grouse

"The toes of Ruffed Grouse grow projections off their sides in winter, making them look like combs. The projections are believed to act as snowshoes to help the grouse walk across snow." From AllAboutBirds.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/ruffed_grouse/id