184 



FOOD HABITS AND REQUIREMENTS 



Adequate support has allowed the Investifration to look into the food habits of grouse 

 in New York on a comprehensive scale. Experience indicates that these habits may change 

 materially from year to year and from season to season. The habitat from which a bird 

 is collected, as well as its age (whether adult or chick) may often be surmised from the 

 character of the food. Another factor is the variation in the distribution and abundance 

 of grouse foods, not only as between such extremes of range as Alaska and Alabama, but 

 also to a surprisingly marked degree within the single State of New York. 



To determine the differences between food habits for regions and habitats, years and 

 seasons, adults and chicks, it has thus been necessary to collect specimens over a period of 

 12 years and from three more or less differentiated regions of the State. To indicate reli- 

 ably changes in the food taken, a goal was set for each year of at least 75 adult birds to 

 be examined from each region during each of the four seasons. Similarly, at least 50 

 chicks were collected representing each region for each of the months of June, July and 

 August. (See table 20). 



TABLE 20. SKASONAL AND RKGIONM. DISTRIBUTION OF THE l.OQ.T ADUIT GROUSE 

 AND 510 CHICKS, COLLECTED AND ANALYZED FOB FOOD HABITS 

 STUDIES— ENTIRE STATE— 1931-1941 



In gathering these, each year fnun 19.31-41 was represented, although of course to vary- 

 ing extents. 



The work involved in collecting this material is worthy of special mention. Coopera- 

 tive game protectors and special!) em|)loyed grouse collectors sent in grouse month after 

 month and year after year frmn localities chosen in advance. The difficulties these men 

 surmounted in assuring adequa(•^ of the collection would surprise the average sportsman 

 used to the actions of birds in favorite fall coverts. The sj)ecimens when received at the 

 State's Wildlife Research Center at Delmar were examined externally and internalK for 

 evidence of diseases and |)arasites. Tlie contents of the crop and the stomach or gizzard were 

 carefully separated and |)rcscrved for future idenlification. 



Grouse are remarkabK omnivorous. With abuul a thousand plants or animals contrib- 

 uting to their diet, the analysis of stomach contents is a time-consuming procedure. So 

 numerous may be the food items that sorting and idcntif\ing them from only two or three 

 specimens often represents a good days work. 



The food Habits Section of the I'. S. Fish ari<l Wildlife .Service assisted materially by 

 making 462 of the earlier examinations and provided sujiervision for subsequent analyses 

 made in their laboratory. With the establishment of a Food Habits Laboratory at the Wild- 

 life Research Center most of the later examin.ilioiis were niade there. 



It is p<t1kip> an excusable fallacy to consider llial food research may well stop when the 



