FOOD OF WEST VIRGINIA BIRDS 37 



nest in the fields and fence corners, no Paris green need be used on 

 the potato crops. On locusts they work just as well. Professor Aughey 

 found in the stomachs of twenty-one quail, 539 of these insects, an 

 average of twenty-five apiece, and that only a part of one day's work. 

 These birds also eat large numbers of chinch bugs, cotton worms, cotton- 

 boll weevils, cucumber beetles, May beetles, leaf beetles, clover-leaf 

 beetles, corn-hill bugs, wire worms, cutworms, ants, flies and many 

 other insect pests. And being birds of good size they require large 

 quantities of such food. As destroyers of weed seeds they stand as high 

 if not higher. Forbush states that they eat the seeds of over sixty differ- 

 ent kinds of weeds, those of ragweed seeming to be the favorite. The 

 same authority tells us that 'as many as two or three hundred seeds of 

 smartweed, five hundred of the red sorrel, seven hundred of the three- 

 seeded mercury, and one thousand of the ragweed have been eaten at a 

 meal.' Dr. Judd gives even stronger testimony in favor of these birds 

 when he tells us that five thousand seeds of green foxtail and ten 

 thousand of pigweed have been found in a single bird. He estimates 

 that from June 1st to August 1st in the two states of Virginia and 

 North Carolina alone, bobwhites eat 1341 tons of weed seeds and 340 

 tons of insects. When to all this is added the aesthetic value of this 

 gentle bird, whose cherry voice thrills all to whom it Is familiar, we 

 see that to kill a quail and serve it on toast is to realize but a very 

 small part of what it is worth." 



Ruffed Grouse. 



Several kinds of Grouse are to be found in various parts of this country, 

 but only one occurs within the limits of our State. This is the Ruffed 

 Grouse, called "Pheasant" by many West Virginians and "Partridge" 

 by persons from farther north, though this last name is usually applied 

 to the Bobwhite in this section. Like our other Game Birds the Ruffed 

 Grouse has decreased greatly in numbers during the past few years, 

 though it may be found in most localities throughout the State. Along 

 the Ohio Valley this species is very rare, but in the hilly region, the 

 plateau and mountain regions of West Virginia it is rather common, 

 where there are extended forests. The, flesh of this bird is of excellent 

 quality, and is much sought for by those who prize such delicacies. Of 

 its food Ernest Thompson Seton says, "The food of this Grouse is largely 

 insects and berries during the summer; in the autumn it adds seeds to 

 the list, and when the ground is covered with snow the staples are 

 catkins, leaves, and buds." About the glade regions of West Virginia 

 this Grouse is often found feeding among the alders and the ground 

 hemlocks that are found along the edges of the great swamps. 



I 

 Wild Turkey. 



Frank M. Chapman speaks of the Wild Turkey as "the noblest of 

 American birds." Those who have seen this fine bird in his native 

 forests are willing to testify to the correctness of this estimate. No 

 more splendid bird is found anywhere in all our country than the 



