Interrelationships of Ruffed Grouse 201 



We have seen how important the foxes are in grouse mortahty. 

 How important is tlie grouse to the fox? The answer is that it repre- 

 sents a food dehcacy, even as to you and me, but not a staple item 

 of food. In following fox tracks ( mostly red ) for nearly three hun- 

 dred miles on Connecticut Hill, no evidence was found of grouse 

 being caught, and apparently only one attempt to catch a grouse 

 had been made. The event, though rare, does occur. The accumu- 

 lated animal remains at four fox dens on Connecticut Hill occupied 

 by one pair of red foxes from March through May contained four 

 grouse among thirty items of prey (N. Y. S. Cons. Dept. Ann. Rep., 

 1934). But all comprehensive records of fox food habits show the 

 ruffed grouse to be a negligible item in the year-round food supply. 



Before we review some typical records of fox food habits, it may 

 be well to consider certain factors that affect the interpretation of 

 these records. In the first place, the fox is most destructive as a nest 

 predator in the month of May, but few indeed are the fox stomach 

 records representing that season. Further, as the fox eats the egg 

 contents, taking little if any shell, the stomach and scat records do 

 not fully bring out the extent of this food habit.^ Another important 

 factor in food habits records that often leads to misinterpretation, 

 is the source of material. It is obvious that foxes taken from areas 

 that have no grouse will have no grouse remains in their stomachs. 

 To interpret properly the importance of grouse in fox diet, we must 

 give weight to these facts: Stomach or fecal analysis will not reveal 

 the extent of egg-eating, even in specimens collected during the 

 nesting season; summaries of stomach or fecal analyses will ordi- 

 narily be conservative in revealing grouse in the diet, as a part or aU 

 of the specimens may have been taken in localities where there were 

 no grouse. 



Hamilton (1937) summarizes the food of the red fox as follows: 

 "Investigations in the Midwest, Michigan, New England, New York, 

 and Virginia are all in essential agreement. The studies indicate that 

 the fox feeds chiefly upon fruit and berries, small mammals— chief 

 among which are mice— carrion, insects, and an occasional bird. I do 

 not doubt it prefers a tender grouse to a half-dozen mice, but the 

 fact remains that mice are far more abundant than grouse, and much 

 easier to catch." Examination of five hundred and thirty-seven scats 



^ Of two fox scats collected in June in Centre Count)', Pa., one contained remains 



of grouse eggs (Kozicky, 1943). 



