_>i ; 



FOOD HABITS AND REQUIREMENTS 



contents of a bird from Lewis Countv iN.Y.) was supplied by 87 pond snails I Lymnaea col- 

 umella). Most of the records, however, are of the common land forms found under dead 

 leaves, in rotting logs and among other debris. 



It is apparent from field observation that there exists at the time when most needed a wide 

 xarietv in the seemingly unlimited supplv of insect food. They are apparently most abundant 

 in the cover types most commonly frequented by grouse in the late spring and summer. An 

 intensive studv of insect population by the sanijilp ])lot method in each cover type repre- 

 sented on the Adirondack and the Connecticut Hill study areas was carried on in 1936. The 

 investigation was repeated on the latter area the following year. In June 1936 the average 

 number of insects available to grouse chicks was estimated at 326.()(K) per acre in the Adiron- 

 dack study unit and 2i]0.000 on Connecticut Hill. On the latter area at least 334,000 to the 

 acre were believed to be present the following vear. The increase was ascribed to a wetter sea- 

 son. A more complete synopsis of the report on insect foods available to grouse chicks is 

 given in the Appendix fp. 775 I . 



Seasonal Differences in Food Habits 



While seasonal differences in grouse food are sometimes marked, upon analysis they rarely 

 have fundamental significance. Plant foods are dominant throughout the year I figure 161. The 



100 



90 



70 



5 

 :3 



o 

 > 



^ 50 

 CD 



u> 



30 

 20 

 10 



90 



80 

 70 



U) 

 50 



J.0 

 30 



SPRING SUMMER FALL WINTER 



FIGURE 16. FOOD (.KOI PS TAKEN in l.(W3 ADULT GROl SE AT VARIOUS SEASONS 



great bulk is produced, season by season, by a do/en or so groups, such as the <licrrics. the 

 aspens and the hop-hornbeam. One or another of the cherry species supply buds iti the 

 spring, fruits and seeds in the summer and fall, and buds again in the winter. From the hop- 

 hornbeam is taken an abundaTit supplv of buds, twigs and catkins throughoul fall, winter and 

 spring, with a bonus of seeds during the autumn. One or more groups may ha\e importance 

 for a single season, as the raspberries in summer and the tliornajiples in the fall. \o one. how- 

 ever, seems to occupv such a commanding position at an\ season that its elimination from the 

 average covert would ircate a serious food shortage. 



