56 THE SPECIES— ITS TAXO\OMY, RANGE, BIOLOGY, & ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE 



Along the northern border of its range in weslern Canada, the forest cover is found pri- 

 marily close to the margins of the streams and lakes, reaching like tentacles into the tundra 

 and leaving expanses of nearly treeless moor between. South of the area between York Fac- 

 tory at the mouth of the Nelson River and the east end of Athabasca Lake, grouse are regu- 

 larly found in small numbers along these projections. Hut northward, the relationsbij) between 

 grouse range and the tree-line diminishes rapidi\. In this section, tiic line shown on the maps 

 represents the boundary of the area within which grouse are fairly constant in their occur- 

 rence, although their numbers are low and many local areas, from which they are absent, 

 exist. Nevertheless, grouse occur sporadically beyond this boundary, often to considerable 

 distances. Clarke* even suggests that the Mackenzie Mountains should be included in the 

 area throughout which stragglers may be found. This region has been so little explored orni- 

 thologically, however, that definite statements are impossible. Especially noteworthy records 

 are those at Fort Reliance at the eastern end of Great Slave Lake, and La Pierre House near 

 the mouth of the Peel River. 



A similar situation, although the zone of termination is probably narrower, exists along 

 the southern edge of the great plateau of Labrador and northern Quebec. Here, however, 

 the extensions of suitable habitat project up the streams where they have cut valleys in the 

 southern coastal escarpment, rather than downstream as in the case of the rivers flowing 

 northward into the tundra. On this plateau there appears to be even less relationship between 

 the extent of grouse distribution and the limit of treegrowth. The reason for this is that the 

 tree line'"" is considered to include a vast area supporting only a scattered and stunted growth of 

 black spruce, balsam fir, birch and jack pine, interspersed with tamarack swamps and large 

 expanses of bare Precambrian rock. Nevertheless, most of the region is still unexplored 

 ornithologically and our concept of grouse distribution in it may have to be considerably 

 revised as further data are secured. 



But below this northern border zone lies a broad belt stretching from Labrador to the Cana- 

 dian Rockies and into the Yukon valley where conditions are such that grouse may occur 

 most anywhere, but where, although generally distributed, they seldom become numerous. 



New York State 



With the exception of certain Adirondack mountain to|(s which rise to timber-line or above, 

 and the coastal marshes of Long Island, the entire area of this State originally constituted 

 suitable ruffed grouse habitat, varying, of course, in productivity. Today, after three cen- 

 turies of settlement, one may still encounter this species in every countv. with the exception 

 of the Bronx, New York, Kings, Queens and Richmond, all of which lie williin the area of 

 New York City. In fact, it is probable that densities of population now attained in many 

 localities considerably surpass those of primitive times. 



Although the species often manages to persist in small nuinliers under marginal condi- 

 tions, it naturally thrives best where it finds an abundance of its essential needs. In this 

 category, in addition to an adequate area of forest or woodland cover, are an admixture of 

 evergreens and suffi<ient undergrowth. Furthermore, as discussed elsewhere'^, cover com- 

 posed of a variety of types well interspersed is preferable to extensive tracts of uniform type. 



Therefore, grouse are to be found most abundantly in those localities where settlement has 

 opened up the forest and where mixed cover is found luit where agriculture or other utilization 

 bv man has not been intensive. Throughout the Southern Tier and nnicli of the Catskills, 



* Clarkr. C. H. D.. pmnnnl Iptlrr to Ihr siilhor*. April 21. 1942. 

 A Sec Chapter III, p. 112. 



