Interrelationships of Ruffed Grouse 203 



mens and were ninth in volume of food eaten. One November 

 stomach out of fourteen had grouse remains, and no grouse were 

 in the fifty-six September specimens. Bennett & English (1942) 

 also reported on analyses of twenty-nine gray fox stomachs taken 

 from August to February. Only one, a winter specimen, contained 

 a trace of grouse. 



Of one hundred and eighty-six fox scats gathered in Huntingdon 

 County, Pa., in the fall months, three contained grouse remains, 

 constituting eight per cent of the volume ( Kozicky, 1943 ) . 



The food of the red fox in southern New Hampshire was studied 

 through examination of two hundred and six scats covering the 

 period from October 1 to April 30 and two hundred and seven for 

 the May 1 to September 30 period (Eadie, 1943). The author con- 

 cludes, in reference to the use of grouse by the fox, "Ruffed grouse 

 were abundant during the period of collection but were only spar- 

 ingly represented in the scats ( three per cent, winter; two per cent, 

 summer)." 



An examination of food eaten by forty-one gray foxes in Ohio 

 revealed that only one stomach contained ruffed grouse (Bezdek, 

 1943). 



From these references we can see that the ruffed grouse does not 

 rate a high place in the scale of fox foods, even considering the con- 

 servative nature of these records. Nevertheless, foxes are a very 

 important enemy of the grouse. 



Great Horned Owl. The horned owl ( see Plate 33C ) is probably 

 the most efficient of all grouse predators. With very powerful talons, 

 soundless flight, a twilight-to-dawn attack, and adequate weight, 

 it is the most capable of all the common predatory birds in taking 

 grouse. It is widely distributed throughout the Northeast, and is 

 generally the most serious predator on adult grouse. It ranks second 

 to the foxes only because it is responsible for the loss of relatively 

 few clutches of grouse eggs. 



On the Connecticut Hill area the gi-eat horned owl was by a wide 

 margin the most deadly of the adult grouse predators. More than 

 half ^ of the mature grouse killed by predators each year were taken 



^ The figures given for proportions of grouse killed by the various winged predators 

 are conservative, since a considerable number of remains were the work of hawk or 

 owl, with the evidence inconclusive as to species. The total proportion of kills was 

 75 per cent by avian species, and 25 per cent by mammals. 



