GAME BIRDS AND LARGER NON-GAME BIRDS 163 



cial governments of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta 

 were compelled to establish an absolute close season. Com- 

 plaints have been made that the use of poisoned grain in the 

 Prairie Provinces in the destruction of gophers, or ground- 

 squirrels, has been responsible for the deaths of prairie 

 chicken. The investigations of Pierce and Clegg in Cali- 

 fornia on quail, and of Bradshaw in Saskatchewan, have 

 shown that under natural feeding conditions poisoned grain 

 will not kill these birds. 



The Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse. — Unlike its near relative, 

 the pinnated grouse, this bird, which is commonly known 

 as the "prairie chicken" on our prairies, retreats before 

 settlement. It is more usually found in deep woods and on 

 uncultivated land overgrown with poplar, willow, or other 

 low-growing trees, and it may be found throughout such 

 wooded sections in the Prairie Provinces. The pinnated 

 grouse keeps in the open country and frequents the willow 

 scrub in the winter for protection. 



The Scarcity of Grouse. — During the last few years there 

 has been a remarkable and almost alarming decrease in the 

 number of grouse throughout Canada, from the Atlantic to 

 the Pacific. The chief species, such as ruffed grouse or 

 partridge, pinnated grouse or prairie chicken, and sharp- 

 tailed grouse, were all affected, and in some sections of the 

 country they disappeared almost completely. Many fac- 

 tors contributed to theu- scarcity. Of the artificial factors 

 there is no doubt that overshooting, particularly for the 

 market, was responsible for the scarcity of birds; this is 

 especially the case in the Prairie Provinces, where the in- 

 creasing use of the automobile in hunting "chickens" has 

 increased the slaughter of birds to a serious degree. Natural 

 factors have played an important r61e. In the case of all 

 species, cold, wet springs have killed off the young birds. 

 Many reports indicate that large numbers of ruffed grouse 

 have been killed in the spring. They have been imprisoned 



