﻿BUFFED 
  GROUSE. 
  25 
  

  

  Sage 
  grouse 
  have 
  been 
  known 
  to 
  eat 
  rose 
  hips, 
  greasewood 
  leaves, 
  and 
  

   the 
  buds 
  and 
  foliage 
  of 
  the 
  pulpy-leaved 
  thorn. 
  a 
  

  

  The 
  young, 
  of 
  course, 
  are 
  more 
  highly 
  insectivorous 
  than 
  their 
  

   parents. 
  A 
  half-grown 
  bird 
  shot 
  by 
  Vernon 
  Bailey 
  had 
  eaten, 
  in 
  

   . 
  addition 
  to 
  vegetable 
  food, 
  some 
  300 
  ants. 
  

  

  Much 
  remains 
  to 
  be 
  learned 
  about 
  the 
  diet 
  of 
  the 
  sage 
  grouse, 
  

   but 
  enough 
  is 
  known 
  to 
  show 
  that 
  the 
  bird 
  lives 
  principally 
  on 
  sage- 
  

   brush, 
  and 
  does 
  no 
  harm 
  to 
  agriculture. 
  The 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  flesh 
  as 
  

   food 
  has 
  been 
  much 
  discussed, 
  but 
  the 
  general 
  opinion 
  is 
  that 
  when 
  

   the 
  birds 
  have 
  not 
  been 
  feeding 
  much 
  upon 
  sage 
  the 
  flesh 
  is 
  excellent, 
  

   A 
  long-continued 
  diet 
  of 
  sagebrush 
  imparts 
  to 
  it 
  a 
  bitter, 
  sagy 
  

   flavor. 
  Hon. 
  Theodore 
  Eoosevelt 
  says 
  : 
  & 
  

  

  However, 
  I 
  killed 
  plenty 
  of 
  prairie 
  chickens 
  and 
  sage 
  hens 
  for 
  the 
  pot, 
  and 
  

   as 
  the 
  sage 
  hens 
  were 
  still 
  feeding 
  largely 
  upon 
  crickets 
  and 
  grasshoppers, 
  

   and 
  not 
  exclusively 
  on 
  sage, 
  they 
  were 
  just 
  as 
  good 
  eating 
  as 
  the 
  prairie 
  

   chickens. 
  

  

  Sage 
  grouse 
  should 
  be 
  drawn 
  as 
  soon 
  as 
  they 
  are 
  killed, 
  to 
  prevent 
  

   the 
  food 
  in 
  the 
  stomach 
  and 
  intestines 
  from 
  tainting 
  the 
  flesh. 
  The 
  

   sage 
  grouse 
  is 
  of 
  very 
  gentle 
  disposition, 
  and 
  probably 
  would 
  thrive 
  

   in 
  captivity. 
  Should 
  it 
  be 
  domesticated, 
  its 
  size 
  would 
  make 
  it 
  a 
  

   most 
  valuable 
  fowl. 
  E. 
  S. 
  Cameron, 
  of 
  Terry, 
  Mont., 
  writes 
  to 
  the 
  

   Biological 
  Survey 
  that 
  he 
  has 
  made 
  a 
  beginning 
  in 
  this 
  direction. 
  

   He 
  secured 
  eggs 
  of 
  the 
  sage 
  grouse, 
  hatched 
  them 
  under 
  a 
  domestic 
  

   hen, 
  and 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  chicks 
  survived. 
  

  

  THE 
  RUFFED 
  GROUSE. 
  

  

  (Bonasa 
  umbellus.)c 
  

  

  The 
  ruffed 
  grouse 
  is 
  widely 
  distributed 
  over 
  the 
  wooded 
  parts 
  of 
  

   the 
  United 
  States 
  and 
  Canada, 
  and 
  ranges 
  from 
  northern 
  Georgia, 
  

   Mississippi, 
  and 
  Arkansas 
  north 
  to 
  Hudson 
  Bay 
  and 
  central 
  Alaska, 
  

   and 
  from 
  Maine 
  to 
  the 
  coast 
  of 
  Oregon. 
  The 
  different 
  conditions 
  of 
  

   environment 
  prevailing 
  over 
  this 
  great 
  range 
  have 
  had 
  their 
  effect 
  

   in 
  modifying 
  the 
  colors 
  of 
  the 
  ruffed 
  grouse 
  so 
  that 
  several 
  forms 
  may 
  

   be 
  distinguished. 
  The 
  color 
  differences 
  between 
  the 
  bird 
  of 
  the 
  south- 
  

   ern 
  Rocky 
  Mountains 
  and 
  the 
  Oregon 
  ruffed 
  grouse 
  of 
  the 
  humid 
  

   west 
  coast 
  are 
  especially 
  marked. 
  The 
  latter 
  is 
  the 
  most 
  richly 
  colored 
  

   of 
  the 
  North 
  American 
  grouse, 
  and 
  is 
  notable 
  for 
  its 
  handsomely 
  

  

  « 
  Wilson 
  and 
  Bonaparte, 
  Am. 
  Ornith., 
  IV, 
  p. 
  214, 
  1831. 
  

  

  6 
  The 
  Wilderness 
  Hunter, 
  p. 
  99, 
  1893. 
  

  

  c 
  The 
  ruffed 
  grouse 
  is 
  separable 
  into 
  four 
  forms: 
  The 
  common 
  bird 
  of 
  the 
  

   Eastern 
  States 
  (Bonasa 
  umbellus) 
  ; 
  the 
  Canadian 
  ruffed 
  grouse 
  (B. 
  u. 
  togata) 
  

   of 
  the 
  spruce 
  forests 
  along 
  the 
  northern 
  border, 
  from 
  Maine 
  to 
  British 
  Colum- 
  

   bia 
  ; 
  the 
  gray 
  ruffed 
  grouse 
  (B. 
  u. 
  umbelloides) 
  of 
  the 
  Rocky 
  Mountains, 
  north 
  

   to 
  Alaska; 
  and 
  the 
  Oregon 
  ruffed 
  grouse 
  (B. 
  u. 
  sablni) 
  of 
  the 
  humid 
  west 
  

   coast, 
  from 
  northern 
  California 
  to 
  British 
  Columbia. 
  

   6568— 
  No. 
  24—05 
  m 
  4 
  

  

  