Autumn and Winter Foods of Ruffed Grouse in the Southern Appalachians

Abstract

Crop contents from 311 ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) were analyzed to determine food utilization during winter. Greenbrier (Smilax sp.)-20%, mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia)-15%, and Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)-11%, were significant in the diet. Dogwood (Cornusflorida) and honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) were locally important foods in the Cumberland Plateau and Great Valley regions, respectively. Herbaceous annuals and perennials of the forest floor (30%), leaves and fruits of vines (35%), and foliage of woody shrubs (20%) were important foods; overstory trees contributed only 3%. Green leafy plant parts comprised 63% of the food consumed. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 43(1):121-127 Ruffed grouse populations extend into the southeastern United States, including western Virginia, western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, northern Georgia and northwestern South Carolina. In this area their ecology is poorly known (Korschgen 1966, Hein 1970). Nelson et al. (1938) listed the food items in crops and gizzards from ruffed grouse shot on the George Washington National Forest, Virginia. Treichler et al. (1946) determined nutritional values for several grouse foods obtained from this same forest. Edwards (1957) recommended management practices for ruffed grouse in North Carolina, and Weber and Barick (1963) discussed population trends of the species in North Carolina over an 11-year period. Stewart (1956) described habitat selection and food habits of ruffed grouse broods in mountainous regions of Virginia. Other studies of grouse in the southern Appalachians are quite general (Safley n.d., Palmer 1966), or emphasize distributional records (Stupka 1963). Our study of autumn and winter dietary patterns was part of a broader effort to evaluate habitat use by ruffed grouse in the southern Appalachians. The following persons contributed crops for analysis: A. E. Ammons, E. Moore, L. Safley, J. Leatherwood, B. Kenne y, O. Boruff, R. Heatherly, and R. Rathbone. Partial funding for this study was p ovided by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through Federal Aid Project W-46-3.