most wonderful engine of destruction ever put 

 together of flesh and blood. I think it is fairly 

 teyond question that of all the birds that influ- 

 ence the fortunes of the farmers and fruitgrow- 

 ers of North America, the common Quail is the 

 most valuable!" — (Wild Life Conservation in 

 Theory and Practice, 1914, p. 71.) In the winter 

 season the food is almost entirely vegetable (99.8 

 per cent), consisting chiefly of the seeds of a 

 long list of weeds that are the farmer's worst 

 pests among plants. At other seasons of the 

 year the dietary includes a surprisingly large 

 amount of animal matter, a conspicuous part of 

 which consists of insects of many kinds that are 

 among the most injurious to crops and trees 

 (Bull. No. 21, Bureau of Biological Survey, Wash- 

 ington, 1905). 



6. CANADA SPRUCE PARTRIDGE OR 

 GROUSE (Canachites canadensis canace). Con- 

 fined to the evergreen forests of the northern part 

 •of the state, where it is in some places fairly 

 common. It "drums" somewhat after the man- 

 ner of the Rufied Grouse. Its flesh often tastes 

 ■of the pine needles upon which it feeds extensive- 



ly. 



The plumage is chiefly black and white. A 

 jiarrow crescentic area of bare skin over the eye 

 is bright red. 



7. RUFFED GROUSE (Bonasa umbellus um- 

 bellus). Commonly called "Partridge" or "Pheas- 

 ant." The "drumming" of the Rufied Grouse was 



kii I i.ii i.;rousi-: cock 



Strutting 



once a common and inspiring sound throughout the 

 length and breadth of the wooded areas of Min- 

 nesota. But many of the old haunts have long 

 since grown silent and the "pheasant's drum" has 

 become a strangely curious sound to the newer 

 generations. This, the finest of our game birds, 

 is growing deplorably less numerous and is now 

 practically absent from large tracts where it was 

 once abundant. Several causes have contributed 

 to its disappearance, but the chief cause undoubt- 

 edly has been incessant and relentless persecu- 

 tion by a veritable army of hunters. In the early 

 fall, before the coveys have separated entirely, 

 broods may be quickly and easily exterminated 

 with the aid of a barking dog, as the birds "tree" 



CANADA SPRUCE GROUSE 



Photograph of zviltl hird from life 



