Interrelationships of Ruffed Grouse 205 



north-central region seem to he in many ways vulnerable to, or rela- 

 tively secure from, predation much as are bohwhite populations," 

 referring to the fact that predation primarily affects that portion 

 of a population in excess of the carrying capacity of the range. 



New York and Small Brown Weasels. We presume that both species 

 of weasels common in the Northeast are capable of taking grouse 

 eggs, and occasionally grouse, although evidence is lacking to 

 identffy the work of each. The New York weasel is probably the 

 more destructive, owing to its larger size. Most important in grouse 

 ecology as nest predators, the weasel is also of some significance in 

 taking the birds too. 



The weasels ranked third only to the foxes and skunk in nest de- 

 struction on Connecticut Hill. They were accounted responsible for 

 ten per cent of the nests rifled by predators. Only three and one- 

 tenth per cent, as an average, of the loss of adult grouse from preda- 

 tors was attributed to weasels {N. Y, S. Cons. Dept. Ann. Rep., 

 1933). These animals are no doubt responsible also for the loss of a 

 few young birds in the summer. 



All scientific writings on the food habits of weasels show that their 

 food is largely rodents, mainly mice. Hamilton (1937) found that 

 ninety-five per cent of their fall and winter food consisted of small 

 mammals, and he does not mention grouse at all as a part of their 

 diet. 



Skimk. The common skunk ( see Plate 33B ) is a remarkable, though 

 not an efficient, predator of grouse. It is unable to prey upon the 

 birds themselves, but often stumbles upon and robs a nest. When 

 these animals are abundant, the number of nests broken up by them 

 may be quite large. On Connecticut Hill the skunk ranked second 

 among grouse nest predators, and was adjudged responsible for 

 eleven per cent of all nests destroyed by predators ( op. cit. ) . 



As might be expected, studies of skunk stomachs and feces have 

 not revealed this habit. Skunks crush the eggs thoroughly when 

 eating them and swallow bits of shell only by accident. The proba- 

 bility of recovering egg shells in these specimens is limited also by 

 the short time in the spring during which they are taken. Hamilton 

 (1936) examined five hundred and seventy fecal specimens and 

 thirty stomachs representing the spring and summer seasons and 

 found no remains of grouse eggs. Likewise, Dearborn (1932) says 



