1942 clearly indicate this habit. During this ascent 

 up the mountains, which takes place mostly dur- 

 ing July and August, the birds are more apt to 

 be seen on the south faces of the mountains than 

 elsewhere. By September most of the grouse are 

 to be found on or near the ridge tops. As would 

 be expected, Blue Grouse during the summer 

 months were found more commonly in vegetative 

 types with huckleberries than any other type of 

 forest. 



During July we found Blue Grouse consider- 

 ably closer to drinking places than we did during 

 the later summer, leading us to suspect that these 

 birds do not require drinking water during late 

 summer when they are able to feed on huckle- 

 berries. 



GREY RUFFED GROUSE 

 (Bonasa umbellus umbelloides) 



This specie is often known as the Ruffled 

 Grouse, Willow Grouse, Native Pheasant, or 

 Brush Pheasant. Although it occupies much of 

 the same general regions as does the Blue Grouse 

 (figure 6), this grouse is found at lower elevations. 

 Virtually all of the ruffed grouse observed were 



seen between 3,000 and 5,000 feet. Furthermore, 

 ruffed grouse are found closely associated with 

 wet places. The average distance from water of 

 all the ruffed grouse seen was only 113 yards. 

 Whether this choice of habitat so close to streams 

 is due to the fact that the birds need to drink 

 frequently we cannot say. We feel that it is 

 more likely a preference for the type of vegeta- 

 tion found in the bottom land. 



FRANKLIN'S GROUSE 



(Canachites franklini) 



Almost always called Fool Hen 



This bird formerly occurred over a much 

 wider range (figure 7). In most parts of its range 

 it is seen very rarely. Only in Lincoln County 

 or in some of the primitive areas can it be con- 

 sidered at all common. This grouse is found over 

 a wide altitudinal range from about 3,000 to over 

 7,000 feet. Since so few Franklin's grouse were 

 seen, we are unable to characterize its habitat, 

 although it seemed to be associated with spruce 

 and lodgepole types. It is usually found close to 

 water. 



MONTANA. 



SHARPTAIL GROUSE RANGE 



ric~ 



\ J*Q\o> mAU «7) V^ H "'4p J^f^^Sp), 





ff | i 





ck. 



FIG. 2 





LEGEND 



COMMON 

 ABUNDANT 



