Today’s anatomy lesson is a word — ruff — that means a ruffled collar like those worn in the 16th and 17th centuries.

The ruff on a bird is the area around its neck where its collar would be.

Pennsylvania’s state bird, the ruffed grouse, raises its ruff during courtship display, hence its name. 

But the real champion of ruff raising is the bird whose name is simply “ruff.”  Two of them are pictured above trying to win the affections of a female (not in the photo). She is not called a “ruff,” she’s a “reeve.”   (Go figure!)

Ruffs (Calidris pugnax) are shorebirds native to Eurasia that rarely visit North America. Occasionally a single ruff will appear on the East Coast in the non-breeding season and spawn a Rare Bird Alert.

Because they don’t breed here we never see them displaying. 

Alas.  They are quite boring for most of the year.

(photos from Wikimedia Commons; click the captions to see the originals)