Nutritional quality of winter browse for ruffed grouse

Efforts to determine quality of ruffed grouse winter diets from food habit studies have been hampered by lack of knowledge of nutritional values for potential forages. We measured food preferences and digestive efficiencies of 8 grouse fed quaking aspen staminate flower buds, willow buds, and American hazel, paper birch, and speckled alder catkins. We collected forages in winter condition and fed them to grouse that had acclimated to winter foods for 31-41 days prior to mass balance trials. We collected winter and spring aspen buds from trees used by grouse in the field. Grouse preferred spring aspen flower buds and avoided birch and alder catkins.