2 MISC. PUBLICATION 15 9, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



Under such circumstances starvation may kill these creatures 

 directly, or it may indirectly cause their death by so weakening them 

 that they are easy victims of predatory animals, or more susceptible 

 to cold, disease, and other agencies that would not menace well- 

 nourished individuals. Well-fed game birds, for instance, rarely, 

 if ever, die from exposure to cold, even in the most severe weather 

 of northern winters, and if food is abundant in and near good cover 

 they have little to fear from natural enemies. Food, always a lim- 

 iting factor in determining the distribution and abundance of wild 

 life, is therefore of the utmost importance, especially for birds, 

 in times of excessive cold, sleet, deep snows, and blizzards. Yet many 

 coverts are seriously deficient in available winter foods. 



Figure 1. — Cover and food scanty, winter feeding needed. 



NATURAL FOODS AND THEIR DEFICIENCY IN WINTER 



The chief natural winter foods of northern game and small winter 

 birds are weed seeds, dried berries and fruits, and to some extent buds 

 and persistent green foliage. 



Among weed seeds, those of ragweed are of great importance 

 to birds in stubble fields, pastures, and fallow lands, but the supply 

 is generally limited and frequently the seeds are buried under snow. 

 The same is true of the seeds of several other weeds; by midwinter 

 the supply is usually exhausted or buried, especially in regions 

 that are intensively farmed. This winter food supply for the birds 

 will be more abundant, however, if harvesting machines are set to 

 leave long, high stubble; and, for game-feeding purposes, stubble 

 fields near coverts should be left unplowed over winter. 



Though some weeds that have the utmost importance in carrying 

 the birds through the winter are considered pests by the farmer, 

 it should be remembered that during the crop seasons birds will 

 repay the farmer for the consideration he gives them in winter. 

 Furthermore, in spring and summer the surplus weeds are ordi- 

 narily removed by cultivation. Leaving weeds in suitable places 

 causes the farmer little, if any, extra work, and they are lifesavers 

 for the birds. 



