SPRUCE GROUSE. 39 
the Rocky Mountains, to Labrador and Alaska. The malt' i> one of 
the handsonu'st of the <ri'<>'ise; it is <j:ray. with black bars above and 
clear black and white below, with a rusty band ed<rin^ its fanlike tail. 
In spring brilliant red combs above the eyes add to the beauty of the 
struttin<r cock. These birds drum in an odd way: The male selects 
an inclined tree and flutters up the trunk for 15 to '20 feet, (lrunnnin<r 
as he goes. The spruce grouse nests in May or early June and lay> 
from to 1() butf-colored eggs, handsomely marked with rich chestnut 
and brown. 
FOOn IIAIUTS. 
Study of the food habits of the spruce grouse has been but meager, 
since only (S stomachs were available for examination. These were 
collected in January, May, August, September, October, and Novem- 
ber, G of them in Canada, 1 in Michigan, and 1 in Minnesota. The 
material in the stomachs consisted of 100 percent vegetable matter — 
18.33 percent seeds, 19.73 jjercent fruit, G1.94 percent coniferous 
foliage. The seeds were of spruce, thistle, and several unidentifi- 
able plants. In its frugivorous habits the spruce grouse closely 
resembles its relative, the blue grouse. The proportion of bear- 
l>erries was IG.GT percent, and of other fruit 3.0() percent. Solomon's 
^eal (PoIi/ff07iatf(77i), blueberries (V accinht ?7i) j bunchberries {Coimus 
ranadensiis), crowberries {Empetnim), and juniper berries are among 
the berries principally eaten. Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Chief of the 
Biological Survey, has informed the writer that the spruce grouse 
feeds largely on the bearberry {Arctostaphylos ura-ursi) and the 
wax currant {Rihes cere ion). 
AVhen cold weather comes the spruce grouse usually abandons a 
berry diet and eats nothing but its favorite food — the leaves, buds, and 
tender shoots of conifers. This kind of browse formed Gl.9-1 percent 
of the food of the eight l)irds examined in the laboratory. It is 
safe to assume that more than half the year's food of this grouse is 
obtained by browsing, and that nearly half consists of the foliage 
of conifers. AVilson and Bonaparte state that in winter this species 
feeds on the shoots of spruce," a habit so generally known that it has 
given to the bird its name. According to Major Bend ire, this grouse 
feeds also on the needles of tamarack (Larix lanchia). and in certain 
localities feeds upcm them exclusively.'' It has been known also to eat 
the needles of Pinu.s d'lvavirata and the fir balsam {Ahies hdlsdmca). 
As with the blue grouse, resinous food imparts to the flesh a decidedly 
pitchy flavor. 
AV. II. Osgood, of the Biological Survey, informs the wi'iter that 
he examined crops of the Alaska grouse which contained the leaves 
a Am. Ornith., vol. 4, p. 208, 1831. 
6 Life Hist. N. A. Birds. [I], p. u2, ISOi*. 
