102 



The Ruffed Grouse 



This information apphes to the northeastern states, from Viiginia 

 and West Virginia to Maine, and is of necessity somewhat ideahzed 

 since records for all seasons for all parts of the region are not avail- 

 able in adequate quantity. Thus, the percentages at any exact time 

 of the year for any specific area are not set forth as exactly correct. 

 However, the diagram does indicate the trends in seasonal use of 

 v^arious types of food. 



It is clear that animal food furnishes a significant proportion of 

 the volume of adult food only during the summer. Leaves, includ- 



June 



July 



MONTHS 



August 



September 



Fig. 7. Utilization of Food by Young Ruffed Grouse According to Types of 

 Food (Northeastern States) 



ing fern fronds, flower parts, and other vegetative parts except buds 

 and twigs, are by a narrow margin the most staple type of food used 

 throughout the year, increasing considerably in the spring and sum- 

 mer, but furnishing from fifteen per cent to forty-five per cent of the 

 food at all times. Fruits and seeds furnish nearly as much, generally 

 from fifteen per cent to fifty per cent, of the diet, with greatest use 

 in summer and fall, while buds and twigs vary widely, from an 

 almost negligible quantity in summer to nearly three quarters of all 

 food in late winter. 



The types of food utilized by the immature grouse are widely at 

 variance with the adult diet during the early summer but gradually 

 change until by the end of the juvenile moult they agree with those 

 taken by ad\ilts. These trends are illustrated in Fig. 7. 



