﻿DUSKY 
  GROUSE. 
  43 
  

  

  its 
  time 
  in 
  pine 
  forests 
  feeding 
  on 
  needles, 
  buds, 
  and 
  flowers. 
  The 
  

   yellow 
  pine 
  (Pinus 
  pondevosa) 
  — 
  male 
  flowers, 
  the 
  white 
  fir 
  (Abies 
  

   concolor) 
  , 
  Abies 
  magnified, 
  the 
  Douglas 
  fir 
  (Pseudotsuga 
  mucronata 
  ) 
  , 
  

   the 
  western 
  hemlock 
  (Tsuga 
  heterophylla) 
  , 
  and 
  the 
  black 
  hemlock 
  

   (Tsuga 
  Wjertensiana) 
  are 
  among 
  the 
  trees 
  that 
  afford 
  it 
  subsistence. 
  

   That 
  the 
  blue 
  grouse 
  thus 
  utilizes 
  the 
  foliage 
  of 
  conifers 
  is 
  well 
  known 
  

   to 
  everybody 
  familiar 
  with 
  the 
  bird. 
  Major 
  Bendire 
  writes 
  that 
  dur- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  winter 
  its 
  food 
  consists 
  almost 
  wholly 
  of 
  the 
  buds 
  and 
  tender 
  

   tops 
  of 
  pine 
  and 
  fir 
  branches, 
  refuse 
  bits 
  of 
  which 
  sometimes 
  accu- 
  

   mulate 
  under 
  a 
  single 
  tree 
  to 
  the 
  amount 
  of 
  a 
  bushel." 
  A 
  blue 
  grouse 
  

   shot 
  by 
  W. 
  W. 
  Price 
  at 
  Slippery 
  Ford, 
  Cal., 
  when 
  15 
  feet 
  of 
  snow 
  lay 
  

   on 
  a 
  level, 
  had 
  filled 
  its 
  crop 
  with 
  the 
  young 
  leaves 
  of 
  the 
  white 
  fir. 
  6 
  

   Plants 
  other 
  than 
  conifers 
  furnish 
  14.17 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  annual 
  food 
  

   of 
  the 
  species. 
  This 
  material 
  includes 
  red 
  clover 
  leaves, 
  willow 
  

   leaves, 
  blueberry 
  leaves, 
  miterwort 
  (Mitella 
  brewer 
  '/), 
  birch 
  shoots, 
  

   and 
  poplar 
  flower 
  buds. 
  During 
  July, 
  in 
  Montana 
  and 
  Utah, 
  field 
  

   agents 
  of 
  the 
  Biological 
  Survey 
  have 
  seen 
  the 
  bird 
  feeding 
  on 
  the 
  

   leaves, 
  buds, 
  and 
  flowers 
  of 
  the 
  Mariposa 
  lily 
  (C 
  alocliortus) 
  . 
  It 
  

   eats 
  also 
  the 
  blossoms 
  of 
  lupine, 
  columbine, 
  and 
  the 
  Indian 
  paint 
  

   brush 
  (Castilleja). 
  

  

  The 
  blue 
  grouse 
  is 
  only 
  slightly 
  granivorous. 
  Its 
  seed 
  food 
  

   amounts 
  to 
  but 
  4.99 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  whole 
  — 
  a 
  proportion 
  small 
  indeed 
  

   when 
  compared 
  with 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  bobwhite 
  and 
  the 
  crested 
  quails. 
  

   The 
  species 
  is 
  said 
  by 
  Alexander 
  Wilson 
  to 
  resort 
  to 
  seeds 
  only 
  when 
  

   other 
  food 
  is 
  scarce. 
  At 
  times 
  it 
  visits 
  fields 
  for 
  oats 
  and 
  other 
  grain. 
  

   It 
  feeds 
  also 
  on 
  pine 
  seeds 
  (Pinus 
  fiexilis 
  and 
  other 
  species). 
  It 
  picks 
  

   up 
  polygonum 
  seeds 
  (P. 
  polymorphum 
  and 
  others), 
  is 
  fond 
  of 
  wild 
  

   sunflower 
  seeds, 
  and 
  has 
  been 
  known 
  to 
  sample 
  false 
  sunflower 
  ( 
  Wye- 
  

   thia 
  mollis), 
  caraway 
  (Glycosma 
  occidentalism, 
  and 
  the 
  capsules 
  of 
  

   Pentstemon 
  gracilis. 
  It 
  picks 
  up 
  also 
  the 
  seeds 
  of 
  various 
  species 
  of 
  

   lupine, 
  and 
  is 
  fond 
  of 
  acorns, 
  including 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  canyon 
  live 
  oak 
  

   (Quercus 
  chrysolepis) 
  . 
  

  

  The 
  blue 
  grouse 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  highly 
  frugivorous 
  of 
  our 
  gal- 
  

   linaceous 
  birds. 
  Fruit 
  formed 
  20.09 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  food 
  of 
  the 
  45 
  

   birds 
  whose 
  stomachs 
  were 
  examined 
  in 
  the 
  laboratory. 
  Manzanita 
  

   berries 
  constituted 
  a 
  large 
  part, 
  amounting 
  to 
  13.48 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  

   total. 
  During 
  the 
  summer 
  and 
  early 
  fall 
  they 
  were 
  eaten 
  in 
  great 
  

   quantities. 
  The 
  manzanita 
  often 
  forms 
  tangled 
  areas 
  of 
  chaparral 
  

   and 
  includes 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  species 
  which 
  furnish 
  birds 
  and 
  mammals 
  

   an 
  abundant 
  supply 
  of 
  berries. 
  The 
  berries 
  eaten 
  by 
  the 
  blue 
  grouse 
  

  

  a 
  Auk, 
  vol. 
  6, 
  p. 
  33, 
  1889. 
  

  

  *> 
  Condor, 
  vol. 
  3, 
  p. 
  160, 
  1901. 
  

  

  cAm. 
  Ornith., 
  vol. 
  4, 
  p. 
  191, 
  1831. 
  

  

  