SOME OHIO BIRDS 
59 
cover; they roost in the open, forming a circle, tails together and 
heads out. The young vacate the nest as soon as hatched, some¬ 
times with a piece of the egg-shell adhering. At the approach of 
danger, the mother bird utters a call which the young know to 
signify danger, and all immediately hide among the leaves or flatten 
themselves against the ground where they are difficult to discover. 
Although hardy, their numbers sometimes suffer heavy loss during 
unusually severe winters, when snow and ice seal up their food sup¬ 
ply. At such times, they frequently seek food and shelter about hay 
or straw stacks, even coming to the barnyard where they have been 
known to feed with the chickens. When thus threatened by starya- 
tion, coveys can be saved by scattering chaff and grain where they 
will find it. This entails but little expense or trouble, and will be 
fully recompensed the following summer by the destruction of 
noxious insects. 
The character of the food varies with the season; the vegetable 
predominating in winter and the animal in summer. Seeds, fruit, 
leaves, buds, tubers, insects, spiders, myriapods, crustaceans, 
mollusks and even batrachians are eaten. About 83.59 percent of 
the total food is vegetable matter, of which 17.38 percent is grain; 
52.83 percent weed seeds; 9.57 percent fruit and 3.8 percent miscel¬ 
laneous. Of the 16.41 percent animal matter, 6.92 percent consists of 
beetles; 3.71 percent of grasshoppers; 2.77 percent of bugs; 3.01 per¬ 
cent of caterpillars, spiders and other invertebrates. Many injurious 
insects are taken, most important of which are: potato beetle, May 
beetle, both the spotted and striped cucumber beetles, cutworms, 
tobacco worm,army worm, clover weevil, click beetles, grasshoppers 
and chinch bugs. The seeds of many noxious weeds are also eaten. 
As this species feeds among cultivated crops, it is of more than ordi¬ 
nary economic value to the farmer, and he should demand the pro¬ 
tection of so valuable a bird the year round. 
RUFFED GROUSE, Bonasa umbellus umbellus (Linn.) 
This handsome bird is more commonly called Pheasant. It is 
confined to woodland and is, therefore, very local in its distribution. 
Through the destruction of the forest and persistent slaughter by 
hunters, its numbers have steadily diminished until, like the Wild 
Turkey, extermination seems inevitable. The food is varied and 
consists of many kinds of insects, seeds, wild fruits, buds and leaves. 
It is of decided economic value to woodland and, when protected, be¬ 
comes very tame, and has been known to feed close to buildings, 
showing little fear of man. 
