CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME 337 



come when the deer go after them in earnest. One buck on January 

 31, 1929, spent 15 minutes at a stretch nibbling at twigs of a yerba 

 santa bush. 



Green manzanita bushes are likewise heavily utilized in winter 

 and on January 31, 1929, I found that many of these were being 

 stripped of all foliage up to a height of 60 inches which is about as high 

 as a deer can reach with his front feet on the ground. 



Scrub oak is another important food plant in winter. Acorns are 

 usually a heavy crop on scrub oaks and these together with the leaves 

 of this oak are in my experience about the best and most dependable 

 food supply of southern mule deer in winter. 



A study of the food habits of burro deer which I made late in 

 December, 1930, in the Chocolate Mountains show^ed that these were 

 feeding along the desert washes chiefly on palo verde, ironwood 

 (tesota), catclaw and mistletoe. Previous investigation along the Colo- 

 rado River near Blythe, determined that in the fall burro deer feed 

 extensively on the pods and leaves of honey mesquite. 



Fig. 132. Doe and fawn hunting for acorns under snow and amid dead weed 

 stalks. Yosemite, December 9, 1932. Mus. Vert. Zool. No. 5642. 



SPRING 



In late winter and early spring, California mule deer feed largely 

 on willows, of several species, as well as manzanita and certain conifer- 

 ous trees such as white fir, incense cedar and western yellow pine. 

 Acorns of the California black oak are important in spring as are also 

 tender blades of newly sprouted wild oats and annual grasses. 



