OBSERVATIONS ON THE FOOD OF GROUSE
69
the gut proper, and the crop is left almost empty. This has given rise to the view that Grouse only feed once a day, and that in the evening. Heather (Calluna vulgaris), as is well known, is the ordinary food of the
TABLE II. — Weight in Grains of Crop Contents in which the Hour of Collection was given
from April to November inclusive.
| Hour of collection. |
Weight of crop contents of each Bird in Grains. (April to November.) |
Weight of crop contents of each bird in Grains. (December to March.) |
Average Weight, in Grains. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr. to Nov. Average. |
Dec. to Mar. Average. |
Combined Average for 12 Months. | |||
| 6 a.m. | 1 | 10, 10 | 1 | 10 | 51⁄2 |
| 7 " | 8 | No specimen | 8 | No specimen | 8 |
| 8 " | No specimen | 20 | No specimen | 20 | 20 |
| 9 " | 1, 8 | 10 | 41⁄2 | 10 | 71⁄4 |
| 10 " | 9 | No specimen | 11 | No specimen | 51⁄2 |
| 11 " | 18, 2, 16, 27, 20, 14, 3, 13, 24, 40, 28, 36, 43, 34, 11 |
5 | 22 | 5 | 131⁄2 |
| Noon | 12, 14, 2, 11, 18, 6, 7, 15, 21, 7, 1, 6, 15, 24 |
120, 10 | 111⁄3 | 65 | 38 |
| 1 p.m. | 18, 36, 62, 29, 32, 2, 3, 5, 13, 13, 18, 12, 19, 9 |
No specimen | 19 | No specimen | 19 |
| 2 " | 26, 45 | 70, 60, 20 | 351⁄2 | 75 | 551⁄4 |
| 3 " | 50, 173, 98, 213, 334, 27, 7, 12, 17 26, 18, 14, 2, 6, 8, 28, 52, 24, 48 31, 1, 5, 68, 31, 32 |
110, 100, 80, 180, 358, 200 369, 50, 380, 250, 320 |
53 | 217 | 135 |
| 4 " | 15, 1, 4, 246, 50, 17, 32, 50, 43 50, 46, 8, 4, 2, 43, 3 |
339, 429, 239, 369, 429, 599 280, 280 |
36 | 3701⁄2 | 2081⁄4 |
| 5 " | 8, 1, 1, 2, 1, 254, 66, 18, 5, 32, 23, 17 7, 23 |
150, 210, 200 | 321⁄2 | 1862⁄3 | 1091⁄2 |
| 6 " | 37, 93, 114 | 10, 349, 290, 20, 409 | 81 | 214 | 1471⁄2 |
adult Red Grouse. But twenty or thirty other plants are also eaten, often in great quantities, and it is a well ascertained fact that Grouse that have never set eyes upon a sprig of heather will live and flourish for years.
