y. v^f ^ >^. ■.if. ■^'^-x-f" Tl^OKll^^ ,tr ST ST ATlOit , lull. 24, Biological Survey U S Dept of Agriculture Plate I. JULIUS eiEN aCO.LITM.N.Y. Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) U. S. I)l^:PARTMKNr OV A(;RIClII/rURK BIOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN No. 24 (;. IIAKT MKKKIAM, C/tu/ THE GROUSE AND WILD TURKEYS OF THE UNITED STATES, AND THEIR ECONOMIC VALUE BY SYLVESTER 11. .TTTDD ASSISTANT, lUOLOGKAL SUKVEV WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1905 LKTTKR OF TRANSMirTAL. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Biological, Survey, W ashimjton^ D. G.^ July 7-7, 1005. Sir: I have the honor to transmit for publication as Bulletin 24 of the Biological Survey a report on the Grouse and Wild Turkeys of the United States, by Sylvester D. Judd. From the earliest set- tlement of the country to the present time these game birds have l:)een of great economic consequence. Their value as food was early rec- ognized, and they played an important role by furnishing the pio- neers with no small part of their fare. When found by the Span- iards domesticated among the Indians of Mexico, the importance of the turkey was at once perceived, and the bird was soon carried all over the world. It is only in comparatively recent times, how- ever, that the economic value of grouse and turkeys as insect de- stroyers has been recognized. The results of the present investi- gations should lead to a wider knoAvledge of the essential part these birds play in checking the increase of noxious weeds and insects and the importance of preserving them and of increasing their numbers. Respectfully, C. Hart Merriam, Chief., Biological Survey. Hon. James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture. CO XT I". NTS Page. Intnxlnction .. 7 The i)rHirie hen ( Tympanuch tts ainericanus) 10 Preservation and propagation 11 Food habits . V.\ Insect food 14 Vegetable food ... 15 Food of the young 18 The heath hen ( Tjimpan iicJt us cupido) ' . . 18 The lesser prairie hen ( Tyuipan iichus paUidieinctus) . . 19 The sharp-tailed grouse {Pedicecetes phasianellus) 20 Food habits 21 Insect food 21 Vegetable food ^ 22 The sage grouse ( Centrocercus iirophasian us) 23 Food habits . 24 The ruffed grouse ( Bonasa umbellus) . 25 Preservation and propagation . 28 Food habits 29 Insect food 29 Vegetable food . . 31 Food of the young 38 The spruce grouse (Canachites canadensis) 38 Food habits 39 The Franklin grouse ( Canachites franklini) 40 The dusky grouse {Dendragapus obscuj^is) 41 Food habits 42 Vegetable food : 42 The willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) 44 Food habits _ 45 The rock ptarmigan {Lagopus rupestris) 4G Food habits ... _ . . 46 The white-tailed ptarmigan ( Lagopus leucurns) 47 Food habits 47 The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) 48 Food habits . _ . 49 ILLUSTRATIONS, PLATES. Pa«e. Plate I. Ruffed grouse {Bonasa umbellus) Frontispiece. II. Sage grouse ( Centrocercus urophasian us) 24 6 GROUSE AND WILD TURKEYS OF THE UNITED STATES, AND THEIR ECONOMH' VALUE. INTRODUCTION. From the early settlement of America until the present day the size, toothsome qualities, and handsome appearance of the grouse and wild turkeys have given them a place among the most widely known and appreciated of our native birds. Throughout the conquest of the continent they served to eke out the scanty larder of the pioneer, and under the changed conditions of more recent times have taken an established place among the most prized luxuries of the table. Their habits are interesting alike to the country boy and the city sportsman, and both share in the keen pleasure of their pursuit. Their presence on the farm or in woodland is directly beneficial, owing to their destruction of harmful insects. Twelve species of grouse occur within the limits of the United States, including Alaska. They inhabit the most varied country, from the rich prairies of the Mississippi Valley, through the heavily forested areas of the Eastern and Northern States, to above timber line on the desolate summits of mountain ranges and over dreary wastes of arctic tundra. While less beautifully marked than some of the quails, all the grouse are adorned with pleasing colors, and the males of the two species, the prairie hen and ruffed grouse, wear curiously shaj^ed ornamental tufts of feathers on the sides of the neck. Some species have sacs on the neck, which they inflate to make the love notes more sonorous. The males of several species have over the eyes fleshy combs that are concealed by the feathers except in the mating season, when they become brightly colored and are erected to form conspicuous and attractive ornaments. These combs are espe- cially noticeable in both the dusky grouse and the ptarmigans. The grouse may be arranged in three groups according to the kind of country they occupy. The group of the open plains or of regions covered with a growth of scrubby bushes includes the prairie hens of the western prairies, from Manitoba south to Texas and Louisiana ; the lesser prairie hen of the Southwest; the heath hen, once of the Eastern States, from Massachusetts to Virginia, now limited to Mar- thas Vineyard; the sharp-tailed grouse of the Northwest; and the 7 I 8 GROUSE AND WILD TURKEYS OF UNITED STATES. sage cock of tlic sa rarely near neighbors of man, and hence are of less consequence to agriculture than those of the open country. The last group of grouse comprises the ptarmigans, which live I above timber line on the high sunmiits of the Rocky Mountains and thence north over suitable country to the arctic tundras of Alaska. The ptarmigans are remarkable for the way in which they meet the I seasonal conditions of their arctic home by changing the grays and browns of their summer dress for the snowy-white of their winter one. The willow grouse, or common white ptarmigan, a circumpolar bird, is connnon on the tundras of Alaska and British America. With it occurs the rock ptarmigan, which is rather more of a hill bird, and which is represented on the Aleutian chain by four island forms that differ slightly in color from it and from one another. The white-tailed ptarmigan occurs above timber line in the Rocky Moun- tains from the northern part of New Mexico to British Columbia and Alaska. Owing to their- arctic or subarctic homes the ptar- migans have i:)racticall3^ no relations with agriculture. They are resi- dent throughout the year and abound in many parts of Alaska, where they have long been j)rized as food by the natives, and now are a welcome addition to the fare of the more recent ])()])ulati()n, though, as a rule, their flesh is dry and without much flavor. The common tame turkey is a descendant of birds taken to Euroj^e from Mexico by the Sj^aniards early in the sixteenth century. The wild turkeys of the United States originally occu})ied a large area extending from ihe coast of Massachusetts west to Colorado and south to Florida and the Mexican border. While they are of the same species as the Mexican bird, they have been modified by the varying conditions of their en viromnent into four forms, distinguished INTRODUCTION. 9 l)y differences in color. The best known of these is the common wihl turkey of the Mississippi Valley and the Eastern States. The others are the Florida wild turkey, the Kio (Jrande turkey, and the Merriam turkey of the southern Kocky Mountains from Colorado south through New Mexico and Arizona. These birds differ in color to a certain extent, but have a close general resemblance. Owing to their size and the value set on their flesh, wild turkeys have l:)een hunted so persistently that they have been exterminated over much of their former range and have become the shyest of our game birds. There are remarkable exceptions to this rule, however, as their per- >istence up to the present day in parts of Virginia and Maryland, within a few miles of Washington City. This ability to maintain a foothold in long-settled parts of their old territory suggests the feas- il)ility of restocking parts of their former range. In pioneer days they were often destructive to cornfields, and in remote places they still raid grainfields, but the damage is insignificant. Unfortunately a number of our game birds are now gone or are fast disappearing from their former haunts. An awakening appre- ciation of the real value of some of the species and of the evident danger of their extermination is evinced by protective laws that have been enacted in recent years throughout the country. These laws are mainly the outcome of a realization of the value of the birds from the sportsman's point of view. The investigations upon which the j^resent report is based show that the farmer has a vastly greater interest at stake in the increase and protection of some of these birds, notably the bobwhite, than has the sportsman. In view of the decrease of both bobwhites and prairie hens it is important to know- that there is every probability that proper efforts to rear these birds for restocking purposes will be successful. The numbers of bobwhite may be readily increased by careful protection, but the heath hen is already extinct in the Eastern States, and the prairie hen is nearly or quite gone from large areas in the West where it was numerous a few years ago. The restocking of suitable places in the former range of the prairie hen and even in the former range of the heath hen in the coast region of Virginia and Maryland ai)pears to l)e quite practicable. The significance of an experiment made by Audubon many years ago at Henderson, Ky., is of special interest in this connection. In the fall he secured (JO prairie hens and, clip- ping their wings, turned them loose in his garden and orchard which contained about 4 acres. The birds quickly became tame and ** walked about the garden like so many tame fowls, mingling occasionally with the domestic poultry." The importance of the prairie hen as a destroyer of weeds and insects has been demonstrated, and its value as a food and game bird is well known. As the bird possesses such G5G8— No. 24—05 m 2 , 10 GROUSE AND WILD TURKEYS OF UNITED STATES. good (iualitit's and as j)r()por efforts for its re introduction into parts of its former range will ahiiost certainly be successful, it is hoped that the undertakinof will not long be delayed. It is unquestionable that the presence of this bird will add appreciably to the value of any farm. THE PRAIRIE HEN. (TunipaitiicJius atncricaiiiis.) The prairie hen, or " prairie chicken,' inhabits the western prairies from Manitoba to southern Texas and Louisiana and from Ohio to Nebraska. The birds of southern Texas and Louisiana " are smaller and darker than the common bird. This big grouse, resembling a brownish-gray hen, adds animation to the western prairies and is as characteristic of them as the mockingbird is of the South. In the nuptial season the birds assemble every morning at daybreak on little hillocks on the plains, and the cocks strut about with wings drooping, tail spread, and the large orange-colored sacs on the sides of the neck fully inflated. At intervals they lower their heads and emit a singu- lar booming love note that can be heard more than a mile, and is one of the most striking bird notes in the general spring chorus. The rivalry of the males at these gatherings often leads to fierce fights. Finally all find partners, separate into pairs, and make nests in grass-lined depressions among standing grass or similar shelter, where about a dozen eggs are laid to a clutch. Generally only one brood is raised in a season. The young, like those of other gallina- ceous birds, leave the nest as soon as they are hatched and run about with the hen in search of food. In summer prairie hens roost on the ground in a family covey, as does the bobwhite, but in winter, in many sections, they roost in trees. In the fall several coveys congre- gate in a pack, after the fashion of ptarmigans and crested quail. Prof. F. p]. L. Beal informs the writer that at Ames, Iowa, during the early eighties, he frecpiently found, packs numbering as many as a thousand birds, and that they habitually roosted in the long grass l)eside sloughs. The prairie hen is migratory in the northern i)art of its range, and to a certain extent farther south also. The well-known authority on migration. Prof. W. W. Cooke, says:'^ In XovciiiIxT jiiHl Dcconiher Inr^'o tiocks of i»rairio c-hu-k»>ns come from nortli- (M-n lowji Mild soutlHM-n Minnesota to settle for the winter in northern Missouri and sontlicrn Io\v;i. This mi^'ration vari<'s in hnllc witli th(^ severity of the winter. From a gjistiononiic point of view the prairie hen deserves high ])raise; it is larger than the ruffed grouse, sometimes weighing 3 l)()un(ls, and has a delicious flavor. The flesh of young birds is light- colored, of old ones dark. The estimation in which the bird is held <' TinniKunichusi awrricoints nttiratrri (Rendire). & Rul. 2, Div, EcQii, Orntth., Dept. Agri., p. 105. 1888, I I'I{AIHIK II KN. 11 may be realized from the fact that in 1!H)-J the supply at from pi to $5 a brace nowhere met the demand. Years ago prairie chickens were shipi)ed east by carloads, but to-day scarcity of birds and a com- mendable stringency of laws practically preclude shipments. Many sportsmen declare that there is no better sport than ' chicken ' shooting. The bird uncpiestionably is one of the noblest of game birds. Though in speed of flight it by no means equals the ruffed grouse or the bobwhite, it furnishes fine sport when hunted with dogs. Early in the season, in suitable cover, it lies to a dog like a stone. So reluctant occasionally is it to fly that it can hardly be put up, and Professor Cooke informs the writer that several times while hunting in northern Minnesota he saw a pointing dog jump and catch a three- fourths grown prairie hen. Late in the fall, however, when gathered in large packs, they do not lie well. Early in the season — that is, during the last two weeks of August and the first part of September — the prairie hen afi'ords a better test of a dog's ability to hunt fast and to range out a mile or more from the gun than does the bobwhite. It is for this reason that field trials on ' chickens ' are always well patronized, and the dogs that win are highly valued. So highly esteemed is the prairie chicken as the quarry of ' racing ' dogs that abundant means for the restocking of suitable places with the species is likely to be forthcoming from field- trial patrons. The ideal conditions for ' chicken ' shooting are real- ized in a fenceless country, where it is possible for the hunter to drive, while the dogs range from a quarter of a mile to a mile away from the wagon. As soon as they point game the sportsman hurries up and shoots. The driver ' marks down ' the birds that escape and perhaps fly half a mile before alighting. Then the Avagon advances to where they dropped, and shooting is again in order. In some parts of the country the sport stops at 10 or 11 o'clock in the morning, because of the intense heat during the middle of the day, when the birds are resting in places difficult of access, and is not resumed before 3 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon. PRESERVATION AND PROPAGATION. The prairie hen deserves well of man. It is beneficial to agricul- ture, is one of the best table delicacies, and its booming call is the dominant spring note of the plains, as the bird is their most character- istic resident. Furthermore, the number of entries to the yearly field trials on ' chickens ' speak for it as an object of sport. In view of all the good qualities of the bird, the causes of its diminished numbers should be sought, and ade(|uate means ai)pli.e(l to preserve it fi'om extinction. At the beginning of the nineteenth century the prairie hen was 12 GROUSE AND WILD TURKEYS OF UNITED STATES. extremely abundant tlirou^diout Ohio and Kentucky. It is now rare in both States. A part of the ground it has lost in the East it has gained by a westward and northward movement. It has followed the grain fields of the pioneers of the plains, and with the extension of grain culture into Minnesota and Manitoba it has become plentiful there. According to Doctor Hatch, it was by no means common when the white man first came to Minnesota, and he says that in Illinois as late as 1836 a hunter was extremely lucky if he could bag a dozen in a day. Some years later, with much less effort, one could have shot 50 in a day, and there were records of 100 to a single gun." The former status of the bird in the East is well indicated by Audubon's classic observations at Henderson, Ky., in 1810. Audubon says : f' 111 those days during the winter the Grous would enter the farm-yard and feed with the poultry, alight on the houses, or walk in the very streets of the villages. I recollect having caught several in a stable at Henderson, where they had followed some Wild Turkeys. In the course of the same winter, a friend of mine, who was fond of practicing rifle shooting, killed upwards of forty in one morning, but picked none of them up, so satiated with (irons was he. as well as every member of his family. My own servants preferred the fattest flitch of bacon to their flesh, and not unfrequently laid them aside as unfit for cook- ing. * * * They could not have been sold at more than one cent apiece. * * * So rare have they become in the markets of Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, that they sell at from five to ten dollars the pair. So far as the sportsman is concerned, the prairie hen is now extinct in Kentucky, and nowhere is the royal game bird even approximately so abundant as it formerly was in that State. There is little good chicken shooting east of the Mississippi. The best now to be had is in Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Manitoba. For- tunately many people are actively interested in (lie protection and preservation of the prairie hen and excellent laws in its behalf already exi.st. There is a constantly growing sentiment in favor of nonresi- dent hunting licenses and a legal limit to the day's bag. while some States afford the bird absolute j)rotection for a period of years,'" and their example should be followed wherever it is growing scarce. The passage of nonexport laws in most of the States has been pro- ductive of much good. These State laws have been made effective by a recent Federal hiw — the Lacey Act — which })r()hil)its interstate commerce in game killed in violation of local laws. Through its operation the sale of the j^rairie hen was virtually stopped in 1002 and VM):\ in all the large cities of (he Fast. Absolute enforcement of this law and successful prohibition of local sales must be effected befoi-el a Birds of Minnesota, p. 16:5, 1892. ftOrnith. Biog. II, p. 4!)1, IKif). f Illinois. Louisiana, and Oregon protect i>rairie hens until 1901), and Michigan] and the Province of Ontario until 1910. PRAIRIE IIEN. 13 tlie safety of the l)inl is assured. The laws wlatin^ to the close >easoii have been greatly improved, hut in some States the o|)en st»a- ^on (four mouths in Oklahonui and South Dakota) is still ter l)eetle {Diahroticd IJ-punctdtd). The stomach of a bird collected by II. P. Attwater, Novenilx'r 7, 18J)8, in Aransas County, Tex., contained 16 of these latter insects. Among other leaf-eating beetles eaten may be mentioned Chn/somela pulrhra^ Chrysoniela suturaUff, Difionycha (/Kuiqiier'ittdtd^ Monoxid puncticollix^ and Ginphop^ pnhescens. The injurious May beetles {Lachnostema sp.) also are destroyed, as well as weevils (Therestcnn/s humerdlix and other species). Like many other birds, the prairie hen is partial to ground beetles. It has been known to take such kinds as Anisodactylus r^nsticus^ Agonoderus pdUlpes^ Anidi'd sp., and Chlanius sp. It probal)ly feeds also cm the different abundant species of Ihiipdlux. Ladybirds are at times de- btroyed, as was attested by remains of Ilippodamia convergens con- tained in one stomach. Miscellaneous insects are eaten in small numbers, but are inter- esting because they include a number of the worst insect foes, such as the cotton worm {Alahdmd drgillacea) .'^ the army worm {IleJiophUd unipunctd), several species of cutworms, the yellow bear caterpillar (Diacrisia virginica), cankerworms {Geometridce) ^ the Angoumois grain moth {Sitotroga cerealella). and the chinch bug {Blissus lencopferus) . The bird's habits of eating chinch bugs has been re- ported by B. F. Gault, of Chicago, and Prof. F. M. Webster, of the Bureau of Entomology. Other bugs, including stink bugs {Ed.s- chistuti sp.) and the tree hoppers {Stictocephalus sp.) make part of the food. In addition to ants, such as Formica exsectoides^ the prairie hen occasionally eats other Hymenoptera, including Tiphid inonuitd and gall insects contained in the galls of Cynipidae. In its liking for galls and their contents the bird resembles the ruffed grouse and the British pheasant. Further study of the food habits of the prairie hen will unquestion- ably add largely to the foregoing enumeration of insects, but our pres- ent knowledge, incomplete as it is, shows the general character of its insect food, and establishes the value of the species as a destroyer of insect pests. Vegetable Food. From October to April, inclusive, the prairie hen takes little but vegetable food. This element amounts to 85.89 percent for the year. Fruit constitutes 11.79 percent; leaves, flowers, and shoots, 25.09 per- cent; seeds, 14.87 percent; grain, 31. 0() percent, and miscellaneous vegetable material, 3.08 percent. Like the bobwhite and the ruffed grouse, the prairie hen is fond of rose hips, and the abundant roses of the prairie yield 11.01 percent a Fourth Rep. U. S. Eut. Commission, p. 88, 1885. 10 GROUSE AM) WILD TURKEYS OF UNITED STATES. of its food. This fact perhaps may be a useful hint to anyone who attempts to introduce the bird or to improve its environment. The other fruit found was of little imi)ortance — merely 0.78 percent. It was made up of domestic cherries, woodbine lu'rries, sumac, poison ivy, huckleberries, strawberries, j)artri(lniict// (/ .s- id ii cUus. ) « The sharp-tailed grouse is about the same size and has the general appearance of the i)rairie hen. Its range is wide, extending from Lake ^Michigan to northeastern California, and from northeastern New Mexico to Alaska. In the northern part of the Mississippi Valley its range overlaps that of the prairie hen. and mixed flocks are sometimes seen, but the ' spike tail ' is seldom found in such large num- bers as that species. It shows also nnu'h less ada})t ability to changed conditions and disappears more rapidly after the subjection of its range to agriculture. In regard to its curious courtship, Professor Macoun writes of the Columbian sharp-tailed grouse: ^ The males collect in large nuinbers on some hill about the end of Ajn-il or beginning of May to have their annual dance, which they keep up for a month or six weeks. It is almost impossible to drive them away from one of their hills when they are dancing. One day about the middle of May, I shot into a dancing party, killing two, and w(mnding another, which flew a short distance. I went to get it, and before I got back to pick up the dead birds, the others were bacl^ dancing. a round them. About a dozen eggs generally make n clutch, and but one brood is reared in a season. The eggs vary from buff to olive-brown and arc usually lightly spotted with brown. From two to three months after hatching, the young are full grown and afford quite as good if not better sport than the prairie hen. They lie well to the dog and usually rise with a noisy, clucking cry; after a short distance the flight changes to an alternation of ra})id \ibi-ati()ns of the wings and gliding or sailing on stillly outspread pinions. The flesh of the young, like that of yoiuig prairie hens, is "The shari)-tMiIed grouse varies in different i)arts of its range, and has been divided into two geographic forms in addition to the typical bird. These are the Columbian sharp-tailed grouse (I'cdiaccfcs itltdsiancllus ro//n;/?>m>/»/.s'). occupying the western part of the bird's range in the United States, and tlie prairi(^ shari)- tailed grouse (PeUicccctcs phasiancllus c(nn]K'.sfiiK) which covers the plains east of the liocky Mountains. J* Cat. Can. Birds, pt. 1, p. LM2, 10(X). I SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. 21 light colored and dclicMoiisly llinorcd. Al'lcr the l)irds hcirin to pack they aft'ord little sport to the hunter. The sharp-tailed grouse are i)artly migratory. In winter they take refuge in the highest trees, walking among the l)ran('hes almost as nimbly as the ruti'ed grouse. Like the latter, the present species has a habit of plunging into the snow to spend the wintry night. It has many natural enemies in the winter, and in sunnner the golden eagle has been known to feed its young very largely upon its flesh. Its struggle for existence is unusually severe. Wherever it abounds, in accessible districts, it is pursued relentlessly by the sportsman; but where diminished to a certain point, as on its western and northern ranges, hunting it is largely abandoned. Probably some decades will pass, therefore, before it will be in danger of total extinction. As it does not readily accept civilization, it is not likely to become a popular bird in our growing game preserves, which each year becoine of greater economic importance. FOOD iiAiirrs. The food habits of the sharp-tailed grouse have been studied in connection with the present paper by the examination of 48 stomachs. These were collected in every month of the 3'ear except January and March; most of them in Nebraska and the Northwest Territories, but some in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Manitoba. The investigations showed that animal matter (insects) formed only 10.19 per cent of the food, while vegetable matter (seeds, fruit, and ' browse ') made 89.81 percent. If subsequent study proves that these figures apply generally to the species, the sharp-tailed grouse is to be classed among the birds most largely vegetarian. INSECT FOOD. The insect matter consists of bugs, 0.50 percent; grasshoppers, 4.G'2 percent; beetles, '2.8() percent, and miscellaneous insects, 2.*21 percent in a total of 10.19 percent of the food. Vernon Bailey, of the Biological Survey, found that three birds shot by him in Idaho August 29 had eaten chiefly insects, including grassh()pi)ers, small l>ugs, and small caterpillars. Baird, Brewer, and Kidgway state that the Columbian sharp-tailed grouse has been known to feed on cateri)illars and other insects that have been scorched by prairie fires." The young of the sharp-tailed grouse, like those of other gallina- ceous species, are highly insectivorous. A downy chick from 1 to 8 days old, collected on June 27, in Manitoba, by Ernest Thompson Seton, had eaten 95 percent of insects and 5 percent of wild straw- ollist. N. A. Birds, Land Birds. III. p. 4:iO, 1874. 22 GROUSE AND WILD TURKEYS OF UNITED STATES. IxTrii's. Tlu' instH't material consistcHl of a lepidopterous chrvsalis and the remains of beetles and black ants {Camponotii^ pennsyl- nntictis). Another younof l)ird. about S days old, taken by the same collector, had been exclusively insectivorous. It had eaten such beetles as weevils, ground beetles {Ilarpalus herhivagus)^ the lady- bird (Anisosflrtd so'idfd). and the click beetle (Dolopius latcmlis)^ also 2 cutworms, 9 sawfly larvie, such leaf hoppers as Tettegon'ui sp. and Ilelochara communis^ and 1 leaf spider. The sharp-tailed grouse is fond of grasshoppers. Vernon Bailey shot 3 birds at Elk River. Minn., September IT, 1894, which had eaten, respectively, 7, 23. and 81 grasshoppers. The species is a destroyer also of the Rocky Moun- tain locust. Of 9 birds collected by Professor Aughey from May to October, inclusive. 0 had eaten 174 of these pests." The bird eats also a few crickets and. like othfer gallinaceous game birds, devours the Colorado potato beetle {Leptinotarm defemlineata). It has been known to feed on the bugs Oncometopia hfteralis and Oiwomeiopla costalis. The lack of sufficient material to determine exactly the bird's relation to insects is to be regretted, but enough is at hand to demonstrate the fact that its insect food is much like that of its relatives. VEGETAHLE FOOD. The vegetable food of the sharp-tailed grouse, so far as ascertained in the laboratory, comprises weed seeds, 7.89 percent ; grain, 20.50 percent ; fruit, 27.08 percent ; leaves, buds, and flowers, 31.07 percent, and miscellaneous vegetable food, 3.06 percent : making a total of 89.81 percent. The weed-seed element consists of the seeds of black bindweed {Polygonurn conrolndffs) and other polygonums, wild sunflower {Helianthus sp.), ragweed {Ambrosia artemisio'foria) ^ peppergrass {Le pi(linm) . blue-eyed grass, sedge, and catchfly (Silcne ((hfinhiiKi). The seeds of a number of leguminous })lants are eaten, including those of alfalfa. Like many other game birds, the species feeds on mast (largely acorns), including acorns of the scarlet oak {Querent rorri/icff). Corn is eaten, but wheat is the favorite grain. It formed 17.21 percent of the food. A thousand kernels of wheat were sometimes found in one stomach. The sharp-tailed grouse is a great browser. It makes 31.07 percent of its food of leaves, buds, and flowers. Ernest Thompson Seton found it eating the buds of willow and birch. It feeds on the leaves of Cottonwood, alder, blueberry, juniper, and larch: also leaves of ({uillwort (Isoetes), vetch, dandelion, grass, and rush (Jioicus). Ilearne says that in winter it eats the t()])s of the dwarf birch and the buds of poplars. Flowers form 19.90 percent of its diet, the species o First Rep. U. S. Entom. Coniin.. Append. II, p. 47, 1877 (1878). SAGE GROUSE. 23 leading all other birds in this respect. A half })inl of the showy, l)lnisli blossoms of the pasque flower {I*ul.s(itHla hirsutissima) which brightens the western prairie are often taken at a mexil, and those of ihe dandelion also are eaten. Inflorescence of grasses, alder, willow, maple, and canoe birch are phicked along with leaf bnds. Like the prairie hen and the ruli'ed grouse, the sharp-tailed grouse is frugivorous, and fruit forms 27. (JS percent of its diet. Ilips of wild rose alone form 17.38 percent. Ernest Thompson Seton, who examined hundreds of stomachs of the sharp-tailed grouse, says that he can not recollect an instance in which they did not contain the stony seeds of the wild rose {Rosa hlanda [ ?J)." The Biological Sur- \'ey has found rose seeds in many of the stomachs examined, but in numerous instances it has recorded their absence. The fruit of both prairie rose and the sweetbrier {Rosa nfhiginosa) are eaten. Mr. Seton states that in j)laces in Manitoba where he has collected dur- ing the winter, gravel to pulverize the food is not to be had, and the stony rose seeds act in its stead. Rose hips appear difficult to digest, and, furthermore, are sometimes thickly set with bristles that would irri- tate the human stomach, but appear to cause no inconvenience to the grouse. The persistent bright -colored hips are readily seen above the -now, and they are a boon to the birds in wintry northern regions, where the struggle for existence is Jjitter. Other plants of the rose family furnish food for the sharp-tailed grouse, such as the thorn apple {Ct'ataf/tfs sj).), the wild strawberry, and the wild black cherry {Prunus serotlna). It feeds on blueberries and cranberries and on the snowberry {Symphoricarpus racemosus), various species of manza- nita, bearberry {Arctostaphylos ura-vrsi)^ buffalo berry {Leparr/yrea aryoitea)^ juniper berries, huckleberries, and arbutus berries. It takes iilso the partridge berry {MiteJiella repens)^ a favorite with the ruffed grouse. Like many other species, it eats with relish the fruit of cornel {Corn us stolonifera) and poison ivy (both Rhus rad leans and Rhus dicersiloha). THE SAGE GROUSE. ( CrntroccrcKs iiroitJidsiiin kk. ) With the exception of the wild turkey, the sage grouse is our largest game fowl. It is a fine-looking bird, with gray back, black breast, and long tail, and attains a maxinnnn weight of 8 pounds. It breeds on the sagebrush plains of the Upper Sonoran and Transition zones, from the east slope of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountains in Nevada, California, and British Columbia, east to Assiniboia, Dakota, Nebraska, and Colorado. At mating time the cock inflates the sacs « rroc. U. S. Nat. Mus. XIII, p. .^)10. 181X) (1801). 24 GROUSE AND WILD TURKEYS OF UNITED STATES. on the sides of his neck until they hx)k like small oranges, and then goes through a droll performance, throwing himself forward on his breast and j^lowing along tlie gi'onnd until the breast feathers are almost (•onii)letely worn away. 'J'he hen is captivated by these grotesque antics, and in due time chooses a mate and nests in a small depression in the ground under the shelter of a bush, where she lays about ten olive-biitl' eggs with chocolate markings. The cock leaves hei- before incubation begins, and in about three weeks the chicks are out. A young covey roosts in a circle on the ground, bobwhite- fashion. In winter, coveys unite in packs which sometimes number ;i hundred or more. FOOD HABITS. The feeding habits of the sage grouse are peculiar, and its organs of digestion are unlike those of other grouse. The stomach is not differentiated into a powerful grinding gizzard, but is a thin, weak, membranous bag, resembling the stomach of a raptorial bird. Such an organ is evidentl}^ designed for the digestion of soft food, and we find that the bulk of the sage grouse's diet consists of leaves and tender shoots. A stomach collected September 7, 1890, in Idaho, by Dr. C. Hart Merriam, contained leaves of sage and other plants, seeds, and a ladybird beetle {C occinellid(v) . Four birds shot in Wyoming during May and September by Vernon Bailey had gorged themselves with the leaves of sagebrush {Artemisia tri(lentata). This and other sages, including A. cana and A. frigid a^ furnish the bulk of the food of the sage grouse. Other food is taken, but it is comparatively insignificant. B. H. Dutcher, formerly of the Bio- logical Survey, examined a stomach which, besides sagebrush leaves, contained seeds, flowers, buds of Rhus triloh((ta, and ants and grass- hoppers. Three birds collected by Vernon Bailey on September 5, in Wyoming, had varied their sagebrush fare with ladybird *l)eetles, ground beetles {Carahida^) . fly larva^, ants, moths, grasshoppers {Melanoplns sp.), and the leaves of asters and yarrow. Of two birds killed in May, one had fed wholly on the leaves of sagebrush {Arte- misia tridentata) , Avhile the other in addition had taken insect galls from sagebrush and the flowers and flower buds of a phlox {PJdox doti(/laKii)^ together with some undetermined seed capsules, pieces of moss, and several ants. A third bird, killed in July, had eaten a few ])lant stems and numei'ous grasshoppers. Major Bendire writes that the diet of the sage grouse includes grass spikes, the tops of leguminous plants, including blossoms and j)ods of vetch {Vieia) and astragalus; also, that the bird eats golden- rod, and will go far to get a morning feed of Avheat. He notes that also berries, grasshoppers, and crickets {Anahrus simplex) are eaten.** "Life Hist. X. A. Hinls, |I|. i))). 107-108, 1802 m Bull. 24, Biological Survey, U S Dcpt of Agricultu'o. Plate II. \ ■\^sL-Sc IS ^-.■'^' % ''^^^Bfc RUFFED GROUSE. 25 Sage grouse have Ihhmi known lo cat rose hips, greasewood leaves, and the buds and foliage of the i)ul])y-leaved thorn." The young, of course, are more highly insectivorous than their parents. A half-grown bird shot l)y Vernon Hailev had eaten, in addition to vegetable food, some 800 ants. Much remains to be learned about the diet of the sage gi-ouse, but enough is known to show that the bird lives princi})ally on sage- l)rush. and does no harm to agriculture. The value of the flesh as food has been much discussed, but the general opinion is that when the birds have not been feeding nmch upon sage the flesh is excellent. A long-continued diet of sagebrush imparts to it a bitter, sagy Havor. Hon. Theodore Roosevelt says:'^ However. I killed plenty of prairie chickens and saj^^e hens for the i)ot. and as the sage hens were still feeding largely iiix)n crickets and grasshoppers, and not exclusively on sage, they were just as good eating as the prairie chickens. Sage grouse should be drawn as soon as they are killed, to prevent the food in the stomach and intestines from tainting the flesh. The sage grouse is of very gentle disposition, and probably would thrive in captivity. Should it be domesticated, its size would make it a most valuable fowl. E. S. Cameron, of Terry, Mont., writes to the Biological Survey that he has made a beginning in this direction. He secured eggs of the sage grouse, hatched them under a domestic hen, and some of the chicks survived. THE RUFFED GROUSE. (Boiiasa ii)nhrlli(.s.)c The ruffed grouse is wideh' distributed over the wooded parts of the United States and Canada, and ranges from northern (leorgia. ^lississippi, and Arkansas north to Hudson Bay and central Alaska, and from Maine to the coast of Oregon. The different conditions of environment prevailing over this great range have had their effect in modifying the colors of the ruffed grouse so that several forms may be distinguished. The color differences between the bird of the south ern Rocky Mountains and the Oregon ruff'ed grouse of the humid west coast are especially marked. The latter is the most richly colored of the North American grouse, and is notable for its handsomely « Wilson and Bonaparte, Am. Ornith., IV, p. 214. 1881. ' t>Thv Wilderness Hunter, p. 01). ISiKi. f The ruffed grouse is sei)arable into four forms : The common bird of the Eastern States (Bonasa unihcllus) ; the Canadian rufftnl grouse (/?. u. tofjatu) of the spruce forests along the northern l>order, from Maine to British Colum- bia ; the gray ruffetl grouse {B. u. umhclloidcs) of the Rocky Mountains, north to Alaska; and the Oregon ruffetl grouse {B. ii. sabini) of the humid west coast, from northern California to British Columbia. G5G8— No. 24—05 m i 2d grouse and wild turkeys of united states. contrasted black and reddish brown colors, set oft' by innnaculate white. The ruft'ed grouse is one of the most hi/hfs hal- sainifcra, /^ tirinuloldcx, and P. (fvaniJUJentata are among the si)ecies on which they feed. Birch buds also are a staple; they are taken from the canoe birch (licfula papyrifera) , the gray birch {B. popnli- fol'ta), the yellow birch {B. Jufca), and the black birch {B. lenta). Everybody who is familiar with New P^ngland woods has seen the RUFFED GROUSE. 33 grouse at dusk balancing on the ends of birch l)ranchcs and snipping off buds. As with the pophir, both leaf buds and flowci- buds are taken. A grouse shot in Quebec December IH, LSDC), had filled its cro}) with 200 catkins of the canoe birch. As a rule birds a])pear to prefer the male to the female flowers. Haird, Brewer, and Kidgway are authority for the statement that in Maine the buds of black birch are so freely eaten that they impart to the bird's flesh a dis- tinctive and agreeable flavor. The ruffed grouse feeds also on the buds and leaves of different species of willow, as Major Bendire" and other authors have reported. A bird shot on Koseau River. Minnesota, October 20, 1896, had eaten 20 willow flowers. In bud- ding, the grouse often clips from a fourth to half an inch of a twig which bears two or three buds. In addition to the buds and leaves of willow, birch, and poplar, browse from miscellaneous plants i)rovides the bird with 27.91 per- cent of its food. Such relatives of the willow as the alder, hazel, beech, ironwood, and hornbeam furnish a part of the above. Apple trees on outlying parts of farms are favorite sources of supply. This fact, noted by many observers and confirmed by the present investiga- tion, has given rise to considerable discussion as to whether or not the trees are seriously injured by the budding. Dr. Clarence M. Weed says : ^ The ruffed grouse, liowever, is capable of inflicting real damage by a to(> close pruning of buds, and cases are known where apple orchards located near woods have been rendered useless by them. Mr. C. J. Maynard states that he took 180 apple buds from one ( rop, and says that in Massachusetts at one time a bounty of 25 cents was offered by certain towns for the birds' heads.^ Miss M. E. ]*aine, of Kovalston, Mass., in a letter to the writer describes her observations on the budding of apj)le trees V)y grouse as follows: The ruffed grouse eats the buds of apple trees, but it is a helj) rather than a damage. Last year a wild ai>i)le tree on top of a hill, between pasture and mowing, was almost entirely budded. I thought entirely at first, but the ter- i.iinal buds were almost always left uninjured, also many minute buds on each limb. The result was the terminal buds were pushed out and grew rapidly and strongly. The tree blossomed abundantly and the fruit hung in clusters toward the ends of the branches. The tree is of medium size and the branches droop to the ground. In the fall the golden ai>ples occu|)ied fully as nuich room as the green leaves, and as one l()()ke(h at the tree a few rods away — a perfect pic lure, barrels of apples on it, all nearly perfect and fair, just the result of a vigorous trinnning. This year it was not so badly budded^less snow in winter. Many small buds farther back in the branches have started again this a Life Hist. X. A. IVirds, [I], p. G(i, 1892. 6 Birds in Their Relation to Man. p. 40, 1003. c Birds of Eastern X. A., p. 35.**,, 1881. 34 GROUSE AND WILD TURKEYS OF UNITED STATES. year and ^rowii, and it is well fruited, owinj; to the buddinjj two years in succession. No tree could have been more entirely budded, but the grouse can not stand so as to reach the outmost terminal buds, as a rule : their weijxht is too great. 1 1 The present investigation of ^.tomachs revealed only an insignificant " l)ercentage of apple buds, probably because most of the grouse exam- ined were shot in places remote from orchards. The bird has been I known to eat also pear and peach buds, and probably would not refuse cherry buds. From one crop, leaves of blackl)err>^ or raspberry (Rubus sp.) were taken, and bud twigs of blueberry {Vacchmim pennsylvanicum) and other species were not at all uncommon. The twigs severed by the sharp-edged bill of the grouse are all about the same length, one-third of an inch. They appeared in the stomachs as little whitish sticks, from which digestion had removed the bark. The extent to which the ruffed grouse browses on leaves and twigs suggests an herbivorous mammal rather than a bird. The ruffed grouse feeds on leaves and buds of the mayflower {Epigcaa repens)^ and likes exceedingly the leaves of the partridge berry {Mitchella repens). It nips off also leaves of both red and white clover, to the extent of 1 percent of its food. It is partial to the leaves of sheep sorrel {Riimex acetosella) ^ which it cuts across as sharply as if by a pair of scissors, but it eats yellow sorrel (Oxalis stricta) with less relish. It appears to like dandelion greens, and has a queer taste for the fronds of ferns {DryopterlH spinidom^ Botrychium ohliquum^ and Polypodkim vulgare). In its relation to conifers it differs widely from the spruce grouse, for it derives therefrom only an insignificant percentage of its food, while the spruce grouse obtains nearly 50 percent. Spruce needles and foliage of arborvita^ (Thvja occidentalis) have been seen in several stomachs. Edward A. Samuels believes that the ruffed grouse will eat leaves of evergreens only when all other food is lacking." In Alaska, E. W. Nelson found the bird feeding exclusively on spruce buds. He states that the flesh becomes disagreeable from this pitchy diet.'^ The effect of highly flavored food on the flesh of game birds has already been referred to. The ruffed grouse buds the highly poisonous laurel {Kalniio lati- folia). On this subject Alexander Wilson writes:'" Durini; the deej) snows of the winter, they have recourse to the buds of alder, and the tender buds of the laurel. I have freciuently found their crops dis- tended with a large handful of thes(» latter alone: and it has been confidently asserted, that, after having fed for some time on the laurel buds, their flesh becomes highly (lang<>rous to eat, partaking of the poisonous (pialities of the plant. « Our Northern and Eastern Birds, p. .387, 1883. i-Nat. Hist. Coll. in Alaska, p. i:n, 1888. cAm. Ornith., vol. II, p. 319, 1831. RUFFED GROUSE. 85 Dr. John II. Brintoii, of JcilVrsoii Medical Collefro, has known sev- eral cases of <»:lossitis ( inflannnation of the t()n<>:ue) caused hy eatincrries, with scarlet skin and snowy pulp, are also relished. The bayberry (Myrica carolinensis) is a favorite food wherever accessible. Tn grouse stomachs one often finds nothing but the little round granules contained in the waxy drupes of this berry. l>lueberries also are eaten in large quantities. A bird killed at Chocorua, X. H., July 'Jij, 1892, had eaten a hundred l)luel)erries {Vaccinium pennsyJvani- (Hin)^ and one killed at Chateaugay, X. Y., in September, contained nbout three hundred. The high-bush blackberry and the huckle- berry also are eaten, as well as the cranberry. Dr. A. K. Fisher found 21 whole cranberries in a bird shot at Lake ^George, X. Y., November 2, 1901. The extent to which blackberries are sometimes eaten is shown by the fact that the stonuich of a grouse contained about 800 blackberry seeds. Another bird had eaten over a hundred ^arsaparilla berries. An explanation of the delicious flavor of the ruffed grouse appears in its varied and highly flavored diet of fruit, herbs, and seeds. In addition to the fruits already noted the follow- ing kinds found in the birds examined may be named, though the total number mentioned in this bulletin is probably not a fourth of the complete list of fruits eaten by this bird : (Jreeiibrier (Sniilax sp. ). Wild hlacU cherry {Primus sno- Ilairy Solomon's seal ( Polui/ona- tiiun. turn Wflonim). Wild red cherry (J'runiis juinisifl- Smooth Solouion's seal {Polyi/onti- runica). turn commutatitut). Elder (Sanihuciis canadcntfis). Blackberry (Ruhiis nif/rohacciiy). lied elder (SunihKciis pultnis). Black raspberry (h'uhio^ o-'i-ideii- Black haw {\'ihi(nii(iii /trunifo- tali.s). liuiii). Raspberry (Rithus .s/r///o.s'//.v). Xaniiyberry i Mhiiniuni Iciitdf/o). Domestic cherry {I'nnius arium). Withe nn} {Mhuriiinii cdssiiKtidrs). Cultivated plum (Pruiius domes- Maple-h'aved arrow wood {Mhiir- tica). mitH acvrifoliuni). a Auk, XVII, p. 351, 1900. 38 GROUSE AND WILD TURKEYS OF UNITED STATES. Iligb-bush cranberry {Vihurnum liiiiicbberry (Conius canadensis). ot)uliis). Cornel (Coruus ijanicuhita). Mountain cranberry {} (irciniiini Silky cornel (Cornus amonum). vitis-idwa). Pepperidjjce (Xt/ssa sylvatica). Snowberry (Sifniphoricarpus sp. ). Mulberry {iJorus rubra). Feverwort {Trinstciim pcrfolia- Bittersweet {Crlastrus scandcns). tuni). Manzanita (Arcio.staijhylos s\).). Black buckleberry ((rai/Ius.sacia Barberry {Bcrbcris nilparis). rcsinosa). Virjrinia creeper {Parthcnocissii.<< Black abler (Ilcj- rcrticillata). (juinfjurfolia). Flowering dogwood {Corn us f!or- ida ) . The seeds of most of these berries pass through the digestive tract unharmed and are capable of germinating. Thus the grouse assists in phuiting many fruiting trees and shrubs, the heavy seeds of wl-ich must be disseminated mainly through the agency of animals that feed on them. f Food of the Young. Tlie young of most birds are far more insectivorous tlian adults, a statement that applies to gallinaceous birds, though to a less extent than to passerines. More than 95 percent of the diet of eight grouse chicks examined, none of which was more than a fourth grown, was insects. Seven adults collected in the breeding season had consumed only 30 percent of insects. Newly hatched chicks eat the largest ]jroportion of insects. As they grow older they gradually become more frugivorous and granivorous. Three chicks, only a day or two old, collected by Prof. S. A. Forbes, at Waukegan, 111., June 9. 18TG, proved to have been exclusively insectivorous. They had eaten cutworms, grasshoppers, Lampyrid beetles, ants {Tetramorium ccespitfnn) ^ parasitic wasps, buifalo tree hoppers, and spiders {Atfidce and Ph(ilan(ji(l(t). A grouse about a week out of the shell, collected by F. II. King, had eaten a white grub, 7 spiders {Phalangida'). and 18 caterpillars." It should be noted, therefore, that the rulfed grouse, though only slightly insectivorous when adult, as a chick destroys great numbers of insects, and deserves much more credit from farmers than it usually receives. THE SPRUCE GROUSE. (Canachitcs canadensis. )b The spruce, or Canada, grouse inhabits the transcontinental conif- erous forests from the northern border of the United States, east of " Trans. Wis. Ag. Soc, vol. 24, pp. 472-473, 1880. &Tbe spruce grouse {Canachitcs canadensis) is separated into tbree geograpbic forms, of wbicb two occur witbin our territory : tbese are tbe connnon spruce grouse (C. c. canaco) of tbe nortbern border from Maine to Minnesota, and tbe .Alaska spruce grouse (('. c. osf/oodi) of Alaska and western Canadi^. SPRUCE GROUSE. 39 the Rocky Mountains, to Labrador and Alaska. The malt' i> one of the handsonu'st of the 'ise; it is from 0 to 1() butf-colored eggs, handsomely marked with rich chestnut and brown. FOOn IIAIUTS. Study of the food habits of the spruce grouse has been but meager, since only (S stomachs were available for examination. These were collected in January, May, August, September, October, and Novem- ber, G of them in Canada, 1 in Michigan, and 1 in Minnesota. The material in the stomachs consisted of 100 percent vegetable matter — 18.33 percent seeds, 19.73 jjercent fruit, G1.94 percent coniferous foliage. The seeds were of spruce, thistle, and several unidentifi- able plants. In its frugivorous habits the spruce grouse closely resembles its relative, the blue grouse. The proportion of bear- l>erries was IG.GT percent, and of other fruit 3.0() percent. Solomon's ^eal (PoIi/ff07iatf(77i), blueberries (V accinht ?7i) j bunchberries {Coimus ranadensiis), crowberries {Empetnim), and juniper berries are among the berries principally eaten. Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Chief of the Biological Survey, has informed the writer that the spruce grouse feeds largely on the bearberry {Arctostaphylos ura-ursi) and the wax currant {Rihes cere ion). AVhen cold weather comes the spruce grouse usually abandons a berry diet and eats nothing but its favorite food — the leaves, buds, and tender shoots of conifers. This kind of browse formed Gl.9-1 percent of the food of the eight l)irds examined in the laboratory. It is safe to assume that more than half the year's food of this grouse is obtained by browsing, and that nearly half consists of the foliage of conifers. AVilson and Bonaparte state that in winter this species feeds on the shoots of spruce," a habit so generally known that it has given to the bird its name. According to Major Bend ire, this grouse feeds also on the needles of tamarack (Larix lanchia). and in certain localities feeds upcm them exclusively.'' It has been known also to eat the needles of Pinu.s d'lvavirata and the fir balsam {Ahies hdlsdmca). As with the blue grouse, resinous food imparts to the flesh a decidedly pitchy flavor. AV. II. Osgood, of the Biological Survey, informs the wi'iter that he examined crops of the Alaska grouse which contained the leaves a Am. Ornith., vol. 4, p. 208, 1831. 6 Life Hist. N. A. Birds. [I], p. u2, ISOi*. of bluebc'iTV {Vdcchihnu) and horsetail {Equisetuni). The Ahiska sj)ru('(' o:rouse, according to Dr. W, II. Dall, was found at Xnhito in winter feedin<»: exclusively on the buds of willow." The flesh of the spruce rn(lruf/ainis olhsciiriis. )" The dusky, or bliii', . o. fulif/iiiosKs) of the northwest coast, from California to southern Alaska; liichardson grouse (/). o. rirlianl- sotii), from Montana to northwestern British America; and the Sierra dusky grouse (/>. o, sierra) of the Sierra Nevada in California .-md «'Mst slopo of Cas- cade Mountains in Oregon. f^ Birds of Wyoming, p. .54. 11)02. ''Auk, vol. C, p. .3.-^, 1881). dHist. N. A. Birds, vol. '.\, pp. 4L'4-42.'., 1874. e Forest and Stream, vol. 12, p. :*.(>.'), 1871). 42 GROUSE AND WILD TURKEYS OF UNITED STATES. The dusky grouse cock is quite uniformly dark in color, as the name implies. In the matinfsii(/1. 1;m>4. WILLOW PTARMIGAN. 45 l)orio(ls of famine aiv I'vcr recurring among the natives, and these l)ir(ls friMiiKMitly stand between them and starvation. It rears hut one brood in a season. nestin<]: on the ground early in rJune and hiyin<^ from T to 12 eggs. By the middle of August the young are nearly grown. In the northern part of its range the willow ptannigan is a summer resiiU'nt only, and at the approach of winter most of th<' l)ir(ls migrate in large flocks, sometimes numbering a thousand or more, southward or inland to a region of scattered trees or bushes. Ernest Thompson Seton, (pioting from llutchins' manu*»cript con- cerning observations at Hudson Bay in 1782, says that over 10,000 ptarmigans were caught with nets at Severn from November to April." The birds are so tame, especially in winter, that their cap- ture is easy. Like all other gallinaceous birds, ptarmigans require gravel for milling their food, and in winter deep snow makes this hard to procure. The natives, taking advantage of the birds' neces- sities, bait their nets with gravel, and sometimes catch as many as 800 at one spring of a net.^ E. W. Xelson writes of encountering flocks of several thousand white ptarmigans in Alaska in midwinter, and says that the whirring of their wings as they rose sounded like the roll of thunder and seemed to shake the ground. He reports that the birds are snared and shot in great numbers by both the Alaskan Eskimos and the Indians.^ The flesh is not so palatable as that of many other game birds, and is decidedly dry and often bitter when the bird feeds on willow buds. The flesh of old birds is dark colored, but that of the young is wdiite and delicately flavored. FOOD HABITS. Study of the food of the wallow ptarmigan unfortunately has been slight, for only five birds were available. Their food was entirely vegetable. Three shot in January in Labrador had eaten 10 percent of berries and 90 percent of buds, more than half the buds being willow. One stomach contained about 300 willow-flower buds. The two other birds were collected in December in Labrador and had eaten willow buds exclusively. Though the data are so scanty, the results agree with those of other students. Ludwig Kumlien, for instance, says : ^ They [willow ptarnilffansl arc quite common in the larger valleys, whore there is a ranker growth of willows. The stomachs of those I examined of this species contained willow huds and small twigs. a Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 13, p. 514, 1890. *Hearne, Journey to the Northern Ocean, pp. 41:^-41."). 170.'>. ^Nat. Hist. Coll. in Alaska, p. VV2, 1887 (1888). d Bull. 15, U. S. Nat. Mus., i)p. 82-83, 1871). 46 GROUSK AND WILD TURKEYS OF UNITED STATES. Baird, Brewer, and Ridoway have stated that the crops of ptar- inifraiis were often found to contain a double handful of willow buds." L. M. Turner writes thus of the bird in Alaska: ^ During tho winter these birds subsist on the past year's twigs of willow and nldor or other buslies. I have out open the crops of many of these winter-killed birds and found them to contain only pieces of twigs about one-third of an inch long, or just about tho width of the gape of the posterior horny part of the bill, as though this had been the means of measurement in cutting them off. The t'.esh at this time is dry and of a peculiar taste. In spring the ptarmigans con- gregate in great numbers on the willow bushes and eat the tender, swelling buds. The flesh then acquires a bitter but not unpleasant taste. As open weather advances they find berries that have remained frozen the entire winter, and tender grass shoots, and later, insects. The young are insectivorous to a great degree in their youngest days. They consume great numbers of spiders that are to be found on the warm hillsides. In writing of the food of the willow grouse, Major Bendire says that the buds and tender leaves of birch are eaten, and the berries of cranberry, whortleberry, and arbutus.^" Wilson and Bonaparte state that it feeds on berries, including the crowberry {Empetrum nigrum) and the mountain cranberry {Vaccinium vitis-idcea) .^ THE ROCK PTARMIGAN. (Lagopus rupestris.) c The rock ptarmigan inhabits arctic America from Labrador to Alaska (including the entire Aleutian chain, where the willow ptar- migan is unknown). It is similar to the latter bird, but smaller and has a black line from the bill to the eye by which it may readily be distinguished. This bird is less common than the willow ptarmigan and prefers more rocky and elevated situations. Owing to its smaller size and fewer numbers it is far less important to the people of the north as an article of food than the willow ptarmigan. FOOD HABITS. No stomachs of the rock ptarmigan have been available for exami- nation. In Alaska, during May, E. W. Nelson found it feeding on berries of the preceding season, f Major Bendire says that the sub- a Hist. N. A. Birds, Land Birds, III, p. 461, 1874. &Nat. Hist. Alaska, p. irwi, 1880. <^ Life Hist. N. A. Birds, | IJ. p. 74, 1892. dAm. Ornith.. IV. p. :V2S, 18:n. '^ Besides the tyi)ical La(/o])us niprntris of arctic America, the rock ptarmi- Rans of North America include the Ueiidiardt ptarmigan (L. r. rcinhardi), of Greenland and northern Labrador; the Welch ptarmigan (/>. wcJchi), of New- fcmndlaiKJ; and four forms found in the Ah»utian Islands — L. r. nclsoni, L. r. atkhcnsis, L. r. toicusoHli. and L. crriHKUun. f Nat. Hist. Coll. Alaska, p. 130, 1887 (1888). WMITK-TAILEI) PTARMIGAN. 47 species Layopus rupestris rc'niJhtrd} feeds on insects, leaves, berries. includin*; the crowberry {lim pcti'inn h'uffunt), tender leaves of the dwarf bircli and white birch, willow buds, and sorrel/' Saniiiel Ilearne notes that the rock ptarniipm eats the buds and toj^s of the dwarf birch {Ihfiila (/hnuhilosa).'' Knndien examined a croj) that was crannned with spha<2:ninn moss/ THE WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN. {lAU/opu.s Icucunis.) The white-tailed ptarniipm is found above timber line in Alaska, in the mountains of British Columbia, and in the higher Cascades south to Mounts Hood and Jefferson. It ranges south along the Rocky Mountains through Colorado to northern New Mexico. Unlike the other species, this ptarmigan has no black feathers in the -tail. Writing of this bird in Colorado, W. W. Cooke says that it breeds above timber line, virtually under arctic conditions, and that only in most severe winters does it descend into timber. He records that it breeds at from 11,500 to 13,500 feet altitude, and wanders up to the summits of peaks 1,000 feet higher. Nesting takes place early in June and is similar to that of other ptarmigans. In winter, when the birds descend to lower altitudes, the sexes are in different flocks. The white-tailed ptarmigan is a trusting creature, lacking the fear necessary for self-preservation. Clark P. Streator, while employed by the Biological Survey in the Cascade Mountains of Washington, reported that one could approach within 10 feet of it, that miners killed it with stones, and that it was very good for food. In Colorado public sentiment is strongly in its favor, and it is protected by an absolutely prohibitory law. The ptarmigan is one of the sights pointed out to tourists in the Colorado mountains. Its status here may be contrasted with that of the willow^ grouse in the north, where thousands are killed by Eskimos and Indians. Killing birds for food, however, even by wholesale, has its excuse, but whole- sale slaughter for millinery purposes, such as has overtaken the ptarmigans in the Old World, is un])ardonal)le. A single shipment of ptarmigan wings in Russia consisted of 10 tons.<* FOOD HABITS. During winter in Colorado, according to Professor Cooke, they subsist, like other ptarmigan, largely on willow buds. The stomachs oLife Hist. N. Am. Birds, [I], p. 80, 1892. ''Journey to Northern Ocean, p. 41(5, ITOf). ' Hull. 15, U. S. Nat. Mus.. p. 8;^, 1879. , containin0 per- cent; other seeds, 20.12 percent; miscellaneous vegetable matter, 1.93 percent. The wild turkey is very fond of grasshoppers and crickets. Wil- liam Hugh Robarts has observed a flock of a hundred busily catching grasshoppers." Vernon Bailey, of the Biological Survey, killed a turkey at Corpus Christi, Tex., in May, 1900, that had eaten a large number of grasshoppers and a sphinx moth. During the Nebraska invasion of Rocky Mountain locusts. Professor Aughey examined the contents of six wild turkey stomachs and crops collected during August and September. Every bird had eaten locusts, in all amount- ing to 259.^ The wild turkey has been known also to feed on the cotton worm^ {Alabama argillacea), the leaf hoppei*s, and the leaf- eating beetles {Chrysomela suturalis). The grasshopper {Arnilia sp.) and the thousand-legs (Jidus) form part of the turkey's bill of fare. Tadpoles and small lizards also are included. Besides the bird shot on the Roanoke, already mentioned, the stom- achs and crops of four other Virginia turkeys have been examined by the Biological Survey. One of these contained only small quartz pebbles. Another bird had eaten only a few grapes and flowering dogwood berries. A third had made a respectable meal. Ten percent of its food was animal matter and 90 percent vegetable. The animal part consisted of 1 harvest spider {Phalangichv) ^ 1 centipede, 1 thou- sand-legs (Julus), 1 ichneumon fly (Ichneumon unifaskulata)^ 2 yellow- jackets {Vespa germanica)^ 1 grasshopper, and 3 katydids {Cyrtoj)kyllus perspieulatus) . The vegetable food was wild black cherries, grapes, berries of flowering dogwood and sour gum, 2 chestnuts, 25 whole acorns {Quereus pahfsfris and Q. vehitina)^ a few alder catkins, seeds of jewel weed, and 500 seeds of tick-trefoil (Meihomia nudi flora). Another turkey, also shot in December, had eaten a ground beetle, an ichneumon fly, 2 wheel bugs, 10 yellow- jackets, a meadow grasshopper, 75 red-legged grasshoppers, a few sour-gum berries, some pine seeds (with a few pine needles, })robably taken accidentally), several acorns, a quarter of a cupful of wheat, and a little corn. a Am. Field, vol. 55, p. 42, 1901. 6 First K. K"t. Com., App. II, p. 4G, 1878. c Fourth Kep. Eut. Com., p. 88; 1885. WILD TURKEY. 51 One turkey, collected December 23, 1890, in North Carolina, had eaten half a pint of do^jwood berries. Its crop contained also a few pine needles. Four Florida wild turkeys also were examined. Nearly 100 percent of their food was ve])sis prhujlei) , mesquite beans, sedgfe, poa grass, and composite flowers. Florence Merriani Hailev. in Avritin2, 11)04. I N 1) r, \ Page. Alaska, ptanui;,'an. food values ami siiariii;; 44-4r> Apple orcliards. injury l>.v irrouse 18.33 Blue grouse. Scr Dusky ;;rouse. Bobwliite. compared with prairie hen. m)tos ._ 13, 14 value to farmer 9 Bonasa umbcUiis ^ ^.V-'iS Canachites canadensis 38—40 franhlini 4() Ccntroccrcus urophasianiis : 2:^25 Colorado, law protectinj; ptarmigan 47 Conifers, foliajre eaten by j^'rouse and wild turkeys ::}4, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 48, 51 food of ^^rouse, etfeet on tlavor of tlesh 41 Corn, eatinj; by wild turkeys 51 Denilratjaims ohsrurus 41-44 Dusky grouse, breeding habits 42 distribution 41 food for man, use 41 habits 41-44 of young 41.44 general 41-14 object of sport 41 vegetable food 42^4 Farming, relations of grouse and wild turkey 8, 0, 14, 4< ►, 52 Food, bird, effect on flavor of flesh, notes 25,34,37,39,40,41,4(3 habits, grouse, Dusky 41-44 Franklin 40 Kuffed 29-38 Sage 24-25 Sharp-tailed 21-23 Spruce 39-40 heath hen 18-19 prairie hen 13-18, 19, 20 ptarmigan 45-47 use of grouse 10-11,20-21,25,40,41,44.45.40,47,48 wild turkey 48 Fool hen. »sV'c Franklin grouse. Franklin grouse, distribution, habits, quality of flesh 40 Fruit buds, eating by grouse IS, .3.3-34 eating by grouse and turkey 18, 23, :i.5-.3S. 44. 51 Game, destruction 7. 28, 45. 47, 4S laws 12, 29, 47 Galls, oak, eating by grouse 31 Gooseberries, food grouse, effect on flavor of flesh 41 Grain, eating l)y grouse and wild turkey 17,20,22,24,31,51 Grouse, distribution, usefulness, various species of United States 7-8 Dusky, distribution and general habits 41-44 forest regions, occurrence 8 Franklin, distribution and general habits 40 Kuffed. distribution and habits 2.5-38 Sage, distribution and general habits 2.3-25 Sharp-tailed, distribution and general habits 20-23 .S'rr (//.so lleatb ben and Prairie hen. Heath hen. distribution, food habits, and danger «>f extinction 18-19 Insect food, prairit' ben and grouse 14-15,21-22.29-31 wild turkeys 50. 51. 52 lusects, iujurious, destruction by grouse and turkeys 14,22,30,50 5:3 54 GROUSE AND WILD TURKEYS OF UNITED STATES. Kriitncky. cjirly .ilmiuljiiuo of j^nmse V2 Lact'.v Aft. j,Miiie in-otectioii 12 Lago/ms latfu/ms 44-4«> Iriirurus r 47— 18 liifK'stris 4(>-47 Lnws iirotcctiiii; .i;;Mno 12,29,47 Lessor pr.iirir licii. ahuiulaiue, distribution, and food habits lJ>-20 r.(Miists destroyed by i^nnisc and turkeys 14,50 Maryland, trappiiij; turla'ys 48 Mast, eating' by j^rouse and wild turkeys .'il, 52 A/ (Ira (/r is (/(illoimro 48-52 Minnesota, jjrouse. destruction 28 New Enjrland, destruction of turkeys 4S North Carolina, turkey hunting 49 Oats, destruction by grouse 17,20,22,24,43 Partridge, t^cc Kobwhite and Huffed grouse. I'cdiocctcs i)Jtasia)icIIi(s 20-23 Pheasant. *SVr Kuffed grouse. Plants eaten by grouse, list 35 I'oisonous plants, effect of eating on liesh of grouse 34,35,30 Prairie hen, breetling habits, migration, description, distribution 10,20 domestication 13 enemies 13 food for man, use 10-11 grain food 17 habits 13-18 of young 18 insect food 14-15 leaves, flowers, and shoots as food 17-18 Lesser, distribution and Iiabits 19-20 man's ally 11 object of sport 11 proi)agation and preservation 11-13 vegetable food 15-18 Ptarmigan, Kock. distribution, value, and general hai)its 46-47 White-tailed, distribution and general habits 47-48 Willow, distribution, habits, and use as food for man 44—46 Quail. aS'cc Bobwhite. Restocking, grouse and turkey, imi)ortance 9 Rock ptarmigan, distribution, value, habits 46-47 food for man, use 46 habits 4(>-47 Ruffed grouse, aesthetic value 27 breeding habits :__^ 26-27 buds and leaves as food 32-35 color differences 25 descrii)tion, general habits, food, etc 25-38 distrilmtion 25 domestication, problem , 29 drumming habits 2{V-'27 enemies 28 food for man, use 28 hal)its 2^38 of young 38 fruit food 35-58 insect food 29-31 note 27 object of sport 28 l>reservalion and pn)i)agation 28-29 vegetable food 31-38 Sage grouse, breeding hal>ils and foo-21 hnl)its 21-2:^ habits, giMH'i-al 20-21 ins(M't food 21-22 vcgotablo food 22-23 Spico l)ush, food of turkey 49 Spruce grouse, u'stliotic value 40 breeding habits 39 distribution, food habits 38-40 drunnniihg 39 food for man, use 40 habits 39-40 object of si)ort 40 relation to agriculture 40 State game hnvs 12,20,47 Sumaeh, prairie hen food 16 Texas, destruction of prairie hen 20 Tobacco, "worming." by turkeys 52 Turkey, tame, origin 8 wild, abundance 8-0 breeding 48-40 destruction 0,48,52 distribution 8-9, 48 food for man. use and value 48 habits 49,52 insect food 50, 51, 52 relation to agriculture 9,52 shooting from blinds 49 species 8-9,48 vegetable food 50,51,52 Tympanuchus amcricanus 10-18 ciipido 18-19 paUidicinctus 19-20 Vegetable food, grouse, and turkey 15-17,22-23,31-38,42^4 Weeds, destruction by grouse and turkey 1(5,22,52 Wheat, eating by grouse 17,20,22,24 White-tailed ptarmigan, breeding habits 47 distribution 47 food for man 47 habits 47-48 habits, general 47 legislation 47 Whortleherrj', effect oi eating, on flesh of grouse 41 Wild turkey, abundance 48 breeding habits 48-49 decrease in numbers 9,48 distribution 9, 48-49 food for man, use 8,48 habits 49-52 habits, general 48-49 Willow ptarmigan, abundance 44-45 breeding habits 45 distribution 41-45 food for man, use 44-45 habits ^ 41^5 habits, general 44-45 snaring, method 45 o Date Due Due Returned Due Returned ^ xe«7 ^AY 1 0 197A Mar 1 id ^ 1 a ifi77 MAR 17 101 rr (illAP i' ? 1980 aTOM^^i ^1? 1 9 mj 1 AGK COLT ur MBflARl ^ 1^ UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA ^^':r> 3 1262 08491 6641 :&>? ^' ^j^ " -o^ "• \j. .-i»*^; K iki#-/ V ■i