COVER REQUIREMENTS OF THE GROUSE 153 



15 a generally lessened interest on the part of the aduh in overgrown lands and in slash- 

 ings* though many a bird still seeks the abundance of food to be found there, particularly 

 during the summer and fall months. Second-growth woodlands, though usually well patron- 

 ized, are also less important, unless they contain at least a scattering of evergreens. Con- 

 versely, the adults seem to find the more open ranks of the mature hardwoods and conifers, 

 as well as the denser stands of evergreens, much more to their liking than did the broods. 



In reducing grouse flushes to a "per acre" basis, one source of error has been avoided, but 

 another encountered. The scarce types, even though moderately used, have been made to ap- 

 pear more important than would actually be the case, were they, in fact, more extensive. 



In other words, use is not proportionate to size. In using a "per acre" analysis, types 

 large in area are made to appear less important whereas types represented by but few acres 

 appear to support a larger use than is actually the case. This situation should be kept in 

 mind when interpreting the cover preferences by month on page 157. a.s well as in other tables 

 showing "birds per acre." 



To be of much use the general cover picture must bo broken down by seasons and months. 

 Let us then take a look at where the adults are then to be found. 



Seasonal and Monthly Cover Preferences 



Among the questions frequently asked by sportsmen during the course of the Investigation 

 has been, "Where can I find the most grouse?" It is usually motivated by the desire to har- 

 vest a share of the rr<jp. as well as by a natural interest in the habits of the bird and its 

 welfare. 



Beginning with table 153^ one will find described many a trend that will help lo answer 

 this perplexing problem. 



A resume of grouse cover choice by seasons in New York runs something like this. In 

 the winter the birds frequent the more heavily wooded areas particularly if conifers are 

 present. Occasional forays into brushlots seeding in to evergreens and hardwoods, or to the 

 older slashings, especially if bordered with pines or hemlocks, are carried out, possibly with 

 an eye to sampling the greater variety of food to be found there. 



In spring the birds are still partial to the woods, both second-growth and mature. They 

 are also conifer-conscious though to a nmch smaller degree than in winter. Kxcursions into 

 cut-over patches and overgrown lands become more frequent. 



By summer the trend has become a habit as they revel among berry briers and woods' 

 edges. Though the hardwoods are by no means deserted during the warmer months, ever- 

 greens are but little used if not actually avoided. Spot-lumbered areas also are popular. 



The fall brings to maturity new crops both of grouse and of the fruits on which they fatten. 

 Forgotten apple trees in fence corners, pasture-seeded thornapples. dogwood clumps and 

 cherries in the hedgerows act like magnets drawing the birds to fields long abandoned. In 

 beechnut years the hardwoods, too. merit their share of attention, though they are otherwise 

 least attractive at this season of the year. The presence of evergreens among mature hard- 

 woods is, for grouse, again a woodland sign of welcome. 



Wildlife managers partial to the partridge will find much food for thought in table 153 



* See p. 120 for a dcsi-riplion of rn\ri tvprH r.-.n^m/r.!. 

 A See Appendix, p. 810. 



