32 GROUSE AND WILD TURKEYS OF UNITED STATES. 
lock, the j)it('h pine, and the maple. The following miscellaneous 
seeds are taken by the ruffed grouse: 
BhK'kberry lily (licUnncanda chi- Beech-drops {Lcptaniuiuni vlnjiui' 
nciisis). anion). 
Bojjfxar- ticks (liidois frondosa). Avens {(icuni sp. ). 
Cliickwoed (Alsinc media). Persicaria {Polygonuni ijciuhsyl- 
Sheep sorrel (Rumcj- acetosella). vanicum). 
Sedge (Carcj- lupulina). Frost weed {IlrJiantJirnnon rana- 
Sedge id/per us sp. ). dense). 
Violet {YloUi sp. ). Jewel weed (linpatini.s sp. ). 
Witch-hazel (Ilanuunclis riroini- 
ana). 
The list is interesting mainly for what it does not contain. Fur- 
ther investigations may show that the ruffed grouse, like the bob- 
white and other so-called granivorous species, is fond of ragweed, 
sunflower, and grass seed. A grouse taken in British Columbia dur- 
ing October showed a peculiar liking for the apjDarently dry husks 
of geum seeds, no fewer than 500 appearing in its crop. 
BUDS AND LEAVES. 
The ruffed grouse spends most of its feeding time in browsing and 
berry picking. It thus secures, respectively, 48.11 percent and 28.82 
percent of its food. The country boy knows where it resorts for 
budding, and often bags it without the aid of a dog or hammerless 
gun. The buds and foliage of poplar, birch, and willow form 20.20 
})ercent of the entire food. Budding is most practiced in winter 
and early spring, when many otlu^r kinds of food are buried in snow. 
Birch and poplar buds afford by far the largest share of this cold- 
weather diet. Edward A. Preble says that in Canada in spring the 
sitting hen grouse leave the nest, fly to poplar trees, rapidly fill 
their crops with buds, and then hurry back to their eggs. He thinks 
that the males, having plenty of time to sj^are at that season, ]:)refer 
to search for choicer food. The crop of a hen bird that he shot at 
Fort Chipewyan, Athabasca, May 29, 1901, was filled witli young 
leaves of poplar (Popuhts balsam if era). The number of buds to a 
meal is surprising. A grouse shot at Palmer, Mich., December 15, 
1894, contained 300 poplar buds, \\nien engaged in budding, grouse 
take both flower buds and leaf buds: grown leaves of i){)])lar also are 
eaten, and, not infre(|uently, the flattened i)etioles that catch the 
wind and give the leaves their characteristic (juiver. P()/}>/hfs hal- 
sainifcra, /^ tirinuloldcx, and P. (fvaniJUJentata are among the si)ecies 
on which they feed. Birch buds also are a staple; they are taken 
from the canoe birch (licfula papyrifera) , the gray birch {B. popnli- 
fol'ta), the yellow birch {B. Jufca), and the black birch {B. lenta). 
Everybody who is familiar with New P^ngland woods has seen the 
