162 CONSERVATION OF CANADIAN WILD LIFE 



Ruffed Grouse. — This species, commonly known as the 

 "partridge," offers excellent sport to the hunter. It ranges 

 through the wooded regions of all the provinces from Prince 

 Edward Island and Nova Scotia to British Columbia, and 

 the "drunoming" of the male birds is a well-known sound 

 of springtime, when the winter snows are melting. During 

 the last few years there has been an alarming decrease in 

 the mmnbers of this and other species of grouse, the causes 

 of which will be discussed presently. With adequate pro- 

 tection, however, when the numbers of grouse become seri- 

 ously reduced, there is no reason to fear their disappearance, 

 provided the protective regulations are adequately enforced, 

 as the breeding range is so wide that the species have suf- 

 ficient means for recuperation. 



Ptarmigan. — These hardy birds breed in our most north- 

 erly latitudes, and are chiefly distinguished by the fact that 

 they assume a plumage of pure white during the winter 

 months. The willow ptarmigan breeds throughout northern 

 Canada from the Labrador coast and northern Quebec to the 

 Yukon. In the autumn they unite to form flocks of con- 

 siderable size, and constitute an important article of food 

 for the Indians and Eskimos and the few white inhabitants 

 of the north dm-ing the winter. Above the timber-line in 

 the Rocky Mountains and other high mountains in British 

 Columbia is to be found the white-tailed ptarmigan. 



The Pinnated Grouse or Prairie Chicken. — This well-known 

 game-bird of the prairie regions has followed the extension 

 of the area devoted to grain-growing. It migrated into 

 Canada from the south; the first specimens appear to have 

 been killed in Manitoba about 1881, according to Thompson. 

 By 1884 it had become tolerably conomon, and in 1886 it 

 was abundant near Winnipeg, and is now spread over the 

 entire prairie region of Canada. During recent years, how- 

 ever, its numbers have been reduced to such an extent 

 through natural causes and overshooting that the provin- 



