WEIGHT 



97 



may still live for days or weeks. Naturally, this critical point may be expected to vary 

 somewhat with the environment and the individual. Though known for the ring-necked 

 pheasant in captivity, no exact measurement, covering a sufficient number of specimens, has 

 ever been made to secure a reliable average for grouse. Long*, however, has worked out for 

 the Investigation an approximation for adult hand-raised birds at the peak of their weight 

 cycle. Roughly the line falls between about 16 oz. (460 grams) and 14 oz. 1 390 grams) 

 in the case of males and for females it lies between about 14 oz. (400 grams 1 and 12 oz. 

 (350 grams). It represents about a 30 per cent loss from original weight among both sexes. 



GROUSE AT THE KESEARCH CENTER WERE WEIGHED PERIODICALLY AS ONE MEANS OF COMBAT- 

 TING DISEASE 



Further light on what constitutes the danger zone and the critical weight is gained by 

 analyzing weight losses under various conditions, such as extremes of temperature, lack of 

 food, intense activity and niouhing. One indication of the threshold of the danger zone is 

 the point at which birds are likely to fall prey to chronic diseases. At its lower limit are 

 the weights under which a bird cannot drop and live for long. This has been roughly deter- 

 mined for New York grouse by a study of the final weight decline of birds which have died 

 of chronic ailments. Nevertheless, this conclusion must be interpreted as only an estimate, 



* See discussion iiiulcr Pliysinlugy. p. 60. 



