BIRD BIOGRAPHIES 



distribute the weight of the bird over a larger surface, and 

 so allow it to walk over snows into which a bird not so 

 provided would sink deeply. Its digestion must resemble 

 that of the famous Ostrich, as broken twigs and dry leaves 

 are ground up in its mill. It is a hard winter that will 

 starve the Grouse. A pair spent many winter nights in 

 a little cave in the rocky wall of an old quarry. Sumacs 

 grew there, and many rank weeds. The birds lived well 

 on sumac berries, weed seeds, and buds. 



"Sometimes, but perhaps rarely, these birds are impris- 

 oned under the snow by the icy crust which forms in cold 

 weather following a rain, but usually they are vigorous 

 enough to find a way out somewhere. The Grouse is per- 

 fectly at home beneath the snow; it will dive into it to 

 escape a Hawk, and can move rapidly about beneath the 

 surface and burst out again in rapid flight at some unex- 

 pected place. 



"The Ruffed Grouse is a bird of the woodland, and 

 though useful in the woods, it sometimes does some injury 

 in the orchard by removing too many buds from a single 

 tree. In winter and early spring, when other food is bur- 

 ied by the snow and hard to obtain, the Grouse lives 

 largely on the buds and green twigs of trees; but as spring 

 advances, insects form a considerable part of the food. 

 The young feed very largely on insects, including many 

 very destructive species." ^ 



2 From "Useful Birds and Their Protection," by E. H. Forbush. 



[46] 



