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From 1974 to 1976 annual interviews were conducted with 9756 of male Indian potential hunters at James Bay and Hudson Bay coastal villages to determine waterfowl kill. Sample interviews were conducted at inland villages. Of those interviewed at coastal communities, 87% hunted waterfowl. The mean yearly take of all species ranged from 55 to 145 birds per hunter. Lesser Snow Geese and large Canada Geese were the main prey, averaging 38 350 and 23 152 birds shot per year, respectively. Small numbers of other goose species were taken. The duck kill averaged 22 715. Eighty percent of the large Canada Goose kill occurred in spring; 76% of Snow Geese were taken in fall. Considerable inter-year variation in total kill occurred. The take for the highest kill year (1975-76) exceeded-that for the lowest (1976-77) by 61% for Snow Geese and 34% for large Canada Geese; the spring kill was particularly variable. The kill of Snow Geese has apparently increased by a factor of 2, and that of large Canada Geese by a factor of 3, since the mid-1950s. Through analysis of band recoveries, the kill was determined to have been apportioned among separately managed stocks. The Indian kill made up approximately 13% of the total hunting kill of the Tennessee Valley Population, 9% of the Mississippi Valley Population, and 7% of Hudson Bay Lesser Snow Geese.

A heavy infection with schistosomes of the genera Trichobilharzia and Dendritobilharzia was considered the cause of 90% mortality in a group of 40 wild-caught Atlantic brant geese (Branta bernicla hrota) that were maintained in captivity on a fresh-water pond in Aurora, Ontario. Numerous adult worms and eggs were disseminated in many organs throughout the body of all birds examined. The main pathological findings, attributed to both eggs and adults, included emaciation, thrombosis of the caudal mesenteric vein and its branches, fibrinohemorrhagic colitis, and in some birds, heptomegaly. Translocation of brant geese from their natural marine environment to a fresh-water pond may have caused them to be exposed to parasites which they would not normally encounter.

Plasma glucose, free fatty acids, and triglycerides were measured in captive ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) acclimatized to deep winter conditions, and in controls held at 22 °C. Levels of these metabolites indicated a significant hyperglycemia in the winter-acclimatized grouse, but no lipolytic response was observed. The glycogen content of the liver and pectoral muscles of grouse acclimated to −10 °C for 4 weeks was significantly higher than the control levels. The percentage ether-extractable lipid content of wild grouse collected from January to August was low (5.91–9.17% of dry weight) and showed no significant changes during these months. The pectoral muscles and liver made up 31.8–36.6% and 1.14–1.64% of the total body weight, respectively, but marked changes in the proportions of these tissues did not occur from January to August.Ruffed grouse contain very small energy reserves. The respective roles of carbohydrates and fats in thermogenesis are discussed, as well as estimates of the energy available from fat and glycogen reserves compared with the daily energy requirements of grouse. The importance of regular feeding, together with behavioral and plumage adaptations which restrict heat loss, is emphasized in the maintenance of an energy balance during winter conditions.