104 



The Rufted Grouse 



Ithaca ill 1936 with captive grouse chicks indicate they wiU take 

 almost any kind of insect. The main limitation is their abihty to 

 locate the prey and then to capture it. 



Even though grouse eat parts of plants of hundreds of species and 

 in many cases two or more parts in different seasons, the bulk of their 

 food at any one season comes from a relatively small number of 

 species. The species that are predominantly represented in the food 

 at any given time and place depend upon availability and the degree 

 of preference by the grouse. There is wide variation between Vir- 

 ginia grouse food habits and those in New York, or between those 

 in New York and those in Maine. But at the same time, insofar as 

 staple food plants are available in each part of the range, they are 

 consistently used. 



The sources of food habits records given are mainly as follows: 



^The records used in these studies overlap to a considerable extent; hence the 

 totals of specimens used are not wholly original vAth each study after the first, and 

 the grand total of analyses is larger than tlie actual nmnber of birds involved. 



^ Darrow's records include all the specimens covered by the 1937 N. Y. S. Cons. 

 Dept. Ann. Rep.; hence the number of specimens is omitted from the latter reference. 



By seasons, the adult records were approximately: Fall— 2,113; vvdnter— 392; 

 spring— 125; summer— 85; fall and vdnter— 1,318. 



By area they were collected: Nortlieast (in general)— 319; New England— 1,818; 

 New York-995; Pennsylvania— 642; Virguiia-205; Ohio— 42. 



The chicks were largely from New York. 



