THE CANADA GROUSE IN CAPTIVITY. BISHOP. 151 



found they were ailing, I tried every means to restore them 

 to health but without avail. I had them replaced by others, 

 however, as soon as I could get them. This was not long as I 

 had offered a liberal price. I then began to study what their 

 food supply consisted of in their wild state. I therefore care- 

 fully examined the contents of the crops of those brought me 

 to be mounted, and found that their food consisted of the 

 foliage of the red and white spruce, some crops containing a 

 few buds of hacmatack or larch (Larix americana) , and some- 

 times a few blades of grass. 



The tops of several young spruce trees seven or eight feet 

 long were then cut and stood up in the pen. As soon as they 

 were in place the birds flew up in them and commenced feed- 

 ing, and it was interesting to see how eagerly and adroitly they 

 would strip the spine-like leaves from the branches. In gather- 

 ing these spines from the twigs the bird makes a stroke nearly 

 parallel with the branch on which they grow, striking outward 

 towards the end of the limb, gathering perhaps a half a dozen 

 leaves at a time. Then by a twisting movement of the head, 

 the spines are partly broken and partly bitten off, leaving a 

 small portion still in place on the twig. These movements are 

 as rapid as those of a domestic fowl picking up corn. 



These tree tops served for roosting places as well as food, 

 and were replaced whenever needed to keep them fresh and 

 good. In selecting trees for this purpose, the young thrifty 

 growing ones must be got, for the birds will not eat those 

 which are old and slow growing as the foliage is tough and 

 hard. By pinching off the spines with the fingers it is quite 

 easy with a little practice to select those which are most accept- 

 able to the birds. During the winter this food was supple- 

 mented by a little bread and grain, wheat and buckwheat. Oats 

 and barley were not relished. As the spring advanced and the 

 spruce buds began to swell, they were eagerly eaten by the birds, 

 and even after the new shoots had grown to a length of two or 

 three inches the whole new growth was eaten. The cones were 



