GREATER PRAIRIE CHICKEN 259 



a dairy State, all the corn that is raised is cut and made into ensilage 

 for the cattle. Practically no corn is allowed to ripen in the field; 

 hence it does not appear as a food for the prairie chicken. Both lists 

 agree in the large percentage of grasshoppers comprising the food. 

 The prairie chicken and sharp-tailed grouse are notable grasshopper 

 consumers, which fact, together with their fondness for weed seeds, 

 makes their presence a great asset to the farmers. 



Except in the northern part of their range, where very severe 

 weather and deep snows prevail, there is sufficient natural food for 

 the prairie chickens at all seasons of the year. The prairie chicken 

 is there hard pressed for an existence, since it does not seem to be 

 able to subsist on buds and other foods above the snow to the extent 

 that it is done by the ruffed grouse. In Wisconsin, experiments con- 

 ducted with winter feeding stations by the conservation commission 

 have proved a great success. Plots of ground ranging from a half 

 acre to two acres in extent are planted chiefly to buckwheat, with sor- 

 ghum, sunflowers, broomcorn, and corn planted as accessory foods on 

 most of the plots. Half of the crop is left standing and the other 

 part is cut and placed in covered shocks, which are opened up after 

 the deep snows arrive. According to the reports of the wardens in 

 charge, as many as 200 to 300 birds visited a single station at one 

 time, a strong testimonial for the practicability of such stations in 

 game management. 



Migration. — The prairie chicken is a permanent resident in much 

 of its range, but in the Northern States there is a regular annual 

 movement of the birds southward at the approach of winter weather. 

 There are counties in Wisconsin where prairie chickens do not breed, 

 or are present in very small numbers during the summer season, 

 whereas they are represented by large numbers of individuals dur- 

 ing the winter months, especially when deep snows and extremely 

 cold weather exist in the more northerly sections of the range from 

 which the birds apparently come. Observers in Door County, Wis., 

 have reported seeing flights of prairie chickens approaching the 

 land from Green Bay. The birds supposedly came from the oppo- 

 site shore, a distance of 12 to 15 miles, which, if true, means that 

 they sometimes take flights exceedingly long and continuous for a 

 bird of the type of the prairie chicken. A. E. Doolittle, superinten- 

 dent of Peninsular Park, Door County, saw a flock of 300 prairie 

 chickens headed northeast, up the shore of Green Bay, which he 

 thought were en route for the Michigan side of the bay. William 

 Fairchild, former keeper of Chambers Island (near the middle of 

 Green Bay, a distance of about 7 miles from the mainland), saw 

 two prairie chickens arrive from Marinette in April, 1927. They 

 remained several weeks, then flew eastward to Door County proper. 



