﻿RUFFED 
  GROUSE. 
  37 
  

  

  of 
  thorn 
  apple 
  are 
  used 
  for 
  food 
  — 
  the 
  cockspur 
  thorn 
  (Crataegus 
  crus- 
  

   c/alli) 
  and 
  the 
  scarlet 
  thorn 
  (0. 
  coccinea). 
  These 
  apple-like 
  fruits 
  

   afford 
  a 
  nutritious 
  food. 
  At 
  Peterboro, 
  N. 
  Y., 
  the 
  writer 
  observed 
  

   grouse 
  coining 
  to 
  thorn-apple 
  trees 
  during 
  November 
  and 
  well 
  into 
  

   December. 
  That 
  they 
  take 
  large 
  numbers 
  at 
  a 
  meal 
  is 
  shown 
  by 
  an 
  

   individual 
  obtained 
  at 
  St. 
  Vincent, 
  Minn., 
  which 
  had 
  eaten 
  38. 
  

   W. 
  H. 
  Kobbe 
  says 
  that 
  grouse 
  eat 
  with 
  great 
  relish 
  the 
  small 
  wild 
  

   crab 
  apple 
  of 
  the 
  Northwest 
  (Pyrus 
  rivularis). 
  a 
  They 
  enjoy 
  culti- 
  

   vated 
  apples, 
  seldom 
  missing 
  a 
  chance 
  at 
  trees 
  on 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  wood- 
  

   lands. 
  At 
  Chocorua, 
  N. 
  H., 
  in 
  October, 
  1898, 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  birds 
  killed 
  

   in 
  old 
  orchards 
  of 
  abandoned 
  farms 
  had 
  fed 
  principally 
  on 
  apples. 
  

   After 
  thorn 
  apples 
  and 
  partridge 
  berries, 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  other 
  fruits 
  

   are 
  also 
  staples. 
  The 
  large 
  brilliant 
  clusters 
  of 
  the 
  mountain 
  ash 
  

   (Sorbus 
  americana) 
  are 
  acceptable, 
  and 
  the 
  delicious 
  wintergreen 
  

   berries, 
  with 
  scarlet 
  skin 
  and 
  snowy 
  pulp, 
  are 
  also 
  relished. 
  The 
  

   bayberry 
  (Myrica 
  carolinensis)' 
  is 
  a 
  favorite 
  food 
  wherever 
  accessible. 
  

   In 
  grouse 
  stomachs 
  one 
  often 
  finds 
  nothing 
  but 
  the 
  little 
  round 
  

   granules 
  contained 
  in 
  the 
  waxy 
  drupes 
  of 
  this 
  berry. 
  Blueberries 
  also 
  

   are 
  eaten 
  in 
  large 
  quantities. 
  A 
  bird 
  killed 
  at 
  Chocorua, 
  N. 
  PL, 
  July 
  

   25, 
  1892, 
  had 
  eaten 
  a 
  hundred 
  blueberries 
  (Vaccinium 
  pennsylvani- 
  

   cwn), 
  and 
  one 
  killed 
  at 
  Chateaugay, 
  N. 
  Y., 
  in 
  September, 
  contained 
  

   about 
  three 
  hundred. 
  The 
  high-bush 
  blackberry 
  and 
  the 
  huckle- 
  

   berry 
  also 
  are 
  eaten, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  the 
  cranberry. 
  Dr. 
  A. 
  K. 
  Fisher 
  

   found 
  21 
  whole 
  cranberries 
  in 
  a 
  bird 
  shot 
  at 
  Lake 
  George, 
  N. 
  Y., 
  

   November 
  2, 
  1901. 
  The 
  extent 
  to 
  which 
  blackberries 
  are 
  sometimes 
  

   eaten 
  is 
  shown 
  by 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  stomach 
  of 
  a 
  grouse 
  contained 
  

   about 
  800 
  blackberry 
  seeds. 
  Another 
  bird 
  had 
  eaten 
  over 
  a 
  hundred 
  

   sarsaparilla 
  berries. 
  An 
  explanation 
  of 
  the 
  delicious' 
  flavor 
  of 
  the 
  

   ruffed 
  grouse 
  appears 
  in 
  its 
  varied 
  and 
  highly 
  flavored 
  diet 
  of 
  fruit, 
  

   herbs, 
  and 
  seeds. 
  In 
  addition 
  to 
  the 
  fruits 
  already 
  noted 
  the 
  follow- 
  

   ing 
  kinds 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  birds 
  examined 
  may 
  be 
  named, 
  though 
  the 
  

   total 
  number 
  mentioned 
  in 
  this 
  bulletin 
  is 
  probably 
  not 
  a 
  fourth 
  of 
  

   the 
  complete 
  list 
  of 
  fruits 
  eaten 
  by 
  this 
  bird 
  : 
  

  

  Greenbrier 
  (Smilax 
  sp.). 
  Wild 
  black 
  cherry 
  (Primus 
  sero- 
  

  

  Hairy 
  Solomon's 
  seal 
  (Polygona- 
  Una). 
  

  

  turn 
  Mflorum). 
  Wild 
  red 
  cherry 
  (Prunus 
  pennsyl- 
  

  

  Smooth 
  Solomon's 
  seal 
  (Polygona- 
  vanica). 
  

  

  turn 
  commutation). 
  Elder 
  (Sambucus 
  canadensis). 
  

  

  Blackberry 
  (Rubus 
  nigrobaccus) 
  . 
  Red 
  elder 
  (Sambucus 
  pubens). 
  

  

  Black 
  raspberry 
  (Rubus 
  occiden- 
  Black 
  haw 
  (Viburnum 
  prunifo- 
  

  

  talis). 
  Hum). 
  

  

  Raspberry 
  (Rubus 
  strigosus). 
  Nannyberry 
  (Viburnum 
  lentago). 
  

  

  Domestic 
  cherry 
  (Prunus 
  avium). 
  Withe 
  rod 
  (Viburnum 
  cassinoides). 
  

  

  Cultivated 
  plum 
  (Prunus 
  domes- 
  Maple-leaved 
  arrow 
  wood 
  (Vibur- 
  

  

  tica). 
  num 
  accri 
  folium). 
  

  

  a 
  Auk, 
  XVII, 
  p. 
  351, 
  1900. 
  

  

  