THE SCARCITY OF RUFFED GROUSE IN 1907. 3 79 



South Middlesex, Mass.— ' There have been but few grouse killed in 

 this section, but a good proportion of those killed have been young birds." — ■ 

 (R. L. Eaton, in Forest and Stream, December 7, 1907.) 



The scarcitv of hens may also be laid at least indirectly to the cold 

 and wet spring for the following reason: There is good reason to believe 

 that the ruffed grouse is polygamous, but whether so or not, it is well 

 known that as soon as incubation begins the cock leaves the hen, not to 

 return till the chicks are nearly grown. Incubation lasts from three to four 

 weeks, and during that time the hen has to forage for herself, leaving her 

 eggs onlv for short intervals during the warmer part of the day after incu- 

 bation has begun. She is very loath to do so even then, as may be judged 

 from her permitting herself to be almost stepped on before flushing from 

 her nest. Taking all this into consideration, what can be more reasonable 

 than to believe that during the extraordinary spring of 1907 she would 

 have been even more loath than ever to leave her eggs exposed to the cold, 

 inclement weather, and so, weakened from exposure and lack of food, she 

 fell an easy prev to disease or to foxes and other enemies. 



The cock birds, on the contrary, having no family cares to burden 

 them, were able to seek shelter during cold and storm y days and nights 

 and to forage at will throughout the day, thus keeping in good condition. 

 That they suffered no appreciable loss in numbers, if any at all, through 

 later attacks of disease or parasites, or from any other cause, may be accepted 

 as probable when we consider the following facts : It seems fair to assume 

 that there is on the average one hen for every cock (though if the belief 

 that grouse are polygamous is correct, the hens should outnumber the 

 cocks*. Again it seems fair to assume that at least one-third of the average 

 brood of twelve to fourteen chicks reach maturity in normal years. This 

 would mean that at least six birds would constitute the average family. 

 Then if, as in 1907, all or nearly all the hens and young were destroyed, 

 the proportion of birds left would be as one to six — the one being the 

 cock. But in all the estimates that have been seen, comparing the num- 

 ber of grouse in 1907 with that in 1906, none places the proportion lower 

 than one to six. The majority place it at about one to four or even higher. 

 Therefore when we consider the number of cocks that were shot in 1907, 

 it would seem probable that they were practically as numerous as in the 



