Food of Some Uncommon North American Birds

138 Co•A•AlVD KNArr•N, Food ofSome Uncommon Birds œApril[Auk

FOOD OF SOME UNCOMMON NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS

BY CLARENCE COTTAM AND PHOEBE KNAPPEN

FOR more than half a century the U.S. BiologicalSurvey has been ac- cumulatinginformation on the food and economicstatus of birds. During this time considerablymore than 200,000bird stomachshave beenassem- bled, mostlyfrom birds collectedprimarily for other purposes. Approxi- mately half this numberhave now beenanalyzed. Brief to comprehensive reportshave beenpublished on sometwo hundredspecies. Other species or groupsof specieshave been partially worked, while with still others, relatively little detailed informationon food preferencesis yet available. Consideringthe time elapsedand the large numberof birds collected,it is perhapsto be expectedthat the serieswould includerepresentatives of someforms that are now extinct, rare, or at most only locally abundant. Many have great mobility, which, sometimesaugmented by storms,results in their stragglingfar from their normal range; in this way certain exotic speciesof birds have comewithin our borderswhere a limited numberhave beencollected. In mostinstances only oneor a few stomachsof suchwand- ering, rare, or extinct specieshave been availablefor study. The paper givessome information on the food of forty-sevenspecies of birds and is basedon the laboratoryanalysis of the contentsof 239 stomachs. The numberof stomachsfor the variousspecies varied from one to thirty-five. Unfortunately stomachsof all our rare or extinct birds were not available. However, the informationpresented, though limited and fragmentary, is of interestand value, and unlesspublished in somesuch form as this, would largelyremain buried in the filesof the BiologicalSurvey. It is the purpose of this paper to present such data as are available in the Food Habits laboratoryof the BiologicalSurvey on the food of nearly fifty uncommon, vanishingor extinct species. Papersfrom the Sectionof Food Habits usuallytreat groupsof relatedspecies, but in this instance,a heterogeneous lot of speciesis discussedin systematicorder. Amongthe rarer or extinct speciesincluded are the PassengerPigeon, Carolina Paroquet, Eskimo Cur- lew, Trumpeter Swan, Ivory-billed Woodpecker,Great White Heron, RoseateSpoonbill, and EvergladeKite. While the largerpart of the laboratoryexaminations were made for this study by the writers, generousand willing assistancewas receivedfrom severalmembers of our Food Habits Staff--both presentmembers and otherswho haveworked in the laboratoryin yearsgone by. To all of them and to thosewho have aidedin other ways,we extendour sincerethanks. Y•.LLOW~B•LLEDLOON, Gayla adams/.--The Yellow-billed Loon, a bird of the far north, althoughnot regardedas an abundantspecies in North America,breeds in a Vol.19•9 ,56]J COTTAM,•D I•.•rrrN, Foodof Some Uncommon Birds 139 few localities on the Arctic coast of Alaska, the Mackenzie River delta, and on the Omolai River, Siberia. In winter it is widely distributed in northern Europe and Asia, occurson the Pacific coast of Alaska, and has occasionallybeen recordedas far south as Vancouver Island, British Columbia. But four stomachsof the Yellow-billedLoon, all from the Alaskancoast, have been examinedin the BiologicalSurvey, and one of them, containingonly a few fish verte- brae,was too nearlyempty to be usedin tabulatinglood percentages.The food con- sumedis similar to that of the Common Loon (Gavia immer). Each bird had fed on what are believed to be the commonand most readily available fishesin the waters where they were collected,namely, tomcodand sculpin. All three birds which contained sufficientfood for considerationhad fed on fish, one of them exclusively. The secondbird took in additiona small mollusk,while the third had consumedtwo kinds of fishes,mollusks, crustaceans, and a polychaete. The crustaceansconsisted of two speciesof amphipods(Orchomonella sp. and Anonyxnugax), one isopod(Idothea sp.), two speciesof shrimps (Pandalus danae and Spirontocarisochotensis), and a hermit crab (Pagurussp.), while the marineworm wasidentified as a speciesof Nereis. It is entirely possiblethat the minor food items were taken accidentally,incidentally, or were a secondaryfood. A summaryof the food of the three birds follows:Leptocottus armatus, 19.67%; Myoxocephalusjoak(?), 13%; undeterminedCottidae, 56.67%; Microgadusproximus, 10%; crustaceansand mollusks,each 0.33%. From this it is noted that fish made up more than 99% of the food. It was somewhatsurprising that gravel, which totaled 11% of the stomachcontents, was found in each of the stomachs. MEXXCANGREBE, Colymbus dominicus brachypterus.--The Mexican Grebe ranges from southern Lower California and southern Texas south to Panama. It is uncommon in the United States and little seemsto have been publishedon its food. In August 1929, Dr. FrancisHarper obtainedfive specimensin Cameronand Kenedy Counties,Texas, and on December11, 1937,John J. Lynch collectedone in Hidalgo County, Texas. Althoughtoo few stomachsare availableto permit definiteconclu- sions, the evidence at hand indicates that the Mexican Grebe is more insectivorous and less piscivorousin its feeding habits than are its widely distributed relatives occurringin the United States. This seemsto confirmDr. A. Wetmore'sstatement that it probablylives largely on aquatic insects(42, pp. 18-19). Moreover,it apparently consumesa smaller quantity of feathers. Each of the six birds collected had a well-filled stomach and each had fed exclusivelyon insects. Aquaticbeetles and true bugssupplied all but a smallpercentage of the food, forming 45.33% and 44.17%, respectively. Predaciousdiving beetles were a conspicuouspart of each meal Speciesof Dytiscidae, Hydrophilidae, and Haliplidae constituted 24.83%, 11.33%, and 3.17% of the average meal. Giant waterbugs(Belostoma sp.) comprised6% of the food while other waterbugssuch as Corixidae,Notonectidae, Buenoa sp., and Plea striola,amounted to 42.67% of the total intake. Other bugs,including RanarEa sp., Pelocorisfernorates and Lygaeidae, contributed1.5% of the menu. The aquaticnymphs of dragonfliesand damselflies (Odonata)were next in order of importanceand totaled 10.5% of the averagemeal, while other insects,arachnids, and indeterminableanimal matter formed only a trace. There was an averageof fifteen kinds of food per stomach. Somefeathem were found in each stomachexamined but they averagedonly 6.67% of the volume as contrastedwith an averageof 27 to 70% reportedin otherNorth Americangrebes. Three of the six birds contained a few nematodes. 140 COTTAMANDKNAPPEN, Foodof Some Uncommon Birds [Auk[April

B'•ACK-rOOTm)A'•SATaOSS, Diomedea nigripes.--Although the Black-footod Albatrossoccurs commonly at seaoff the west coastof North America,it is rarely seen near the mainland. Only two stomachs taken from birds collected on the Aleutian Islandsin June and August,1936, were availablefor analysis. The bird is knownto followpersistently in the wake of vesselsand consumesany ediblerefuse that it canglean from the surfaceof the water. W.H. Dall (20, p. 31) reportsthat it seemsto subsistto a considerableextent on a pelagiccrab (Pinnotheressp.). The two Aleutian Island birds had little opportunityto feed on shiprefuse and had obtained their sustenancefrom natural sources. Both birds had fed on fishes(mostly rockfish,Scorpacnidae), which formed 35% and 92% of the two meals. The remains of sevenfish were found in one stomach,along with six or more squids,and the commonsea urchin (StrongylocentrotusdrObachiensis), totalling 55% and 2%. The otheralbatross consumed amphipod crustaceans (Gammaridea) to the extentof 1% of the meal. Drift plant fiber, consistingpartly of brownalgae, probably kelp, made up 8% and 7% of the contentsof the two stomachs. SLEN])Ea-m'•Lm)SnEZaWATEa, Puffinus tenuirostris.--Accordingto the American Ornithologists'Union 'Check-list'(1, p. 7) the Slender-billedShearwater, which breedsin Australian seas,ranges from the southernoceans northward in the Pacific to Bering Sea "and eastward,mainly on southwardmigration, to the coastof North America from Sitka to southern California." Although it annually occursin fall migration at sea off the Pacific coast,it is rarely seenfrom our mainland. For this study twelve stomachscollected in Alaska were available. All but one, obtainedin May, weretaken in July. Two of the stomachswere too nearlyempty to be usedin the percentagetabulations. A summaryof the foodsreveals that this shearwateris contentto make a mealon relativelyfew items;only onebird had con- sumedas many as four kindsof animal matter, and the averagewas only oneor two speciesper meal. A tabulationof the foodis asfollows: amphipods, 13%; schizopods, 15%; undeterminedcrustaceans, 20.8%; squid (Loligo sp.), 16.1%; undetermined marine-invertebrateflesh, possibly squid, 29.4%; and fish 5.7%. Gravel was found in eachstomach and averagedonly slightly lessthan 40% of the contents. I•NK-FOOTm) SnSAaWATSa,Puffinus creatopus.•The Pink-footer Shearwater is largely restricted to eastern portions of the Pacific Ocean and is very uncommon alongthe westernAmerican coast. But two stomachs,one taken in Augustand one in July, were available for study. One of thesewas nearly empty, containingundeter- mined fish scalesand the mandiblesof a squid(Loligo sp.). The other stomachcontained the remainsof twelve or moresquids and a few eye-lensesof fishes. Cooper, asrecorded by Baird, Brewer,and Ridgway (7, p. 384), foundthem feeding commonly on fish "which they are most active in catchingwhen the seasare rough as it enables them to scoopup small fish from the agitated tops of the waves." GaSATWn•TS HEaON, Ardea occidentalis.--TheGreat White Heron is limited in distribution to Florida and the Florida Keys and for many years it has been pro- gressivelydecreasing. The unparalleledFlorida hurricaneof 1935almost put an end to the species,for Sprunt (39, pp. 405-411), found only 146 Great White Heronsin a detailed survey of nine-tenths of its range in October, 1935. Fortunately, 412 individuals were found in October of the succeedingyear (2, p. 458). Nine stomachsof birds collectedon the Florida Keys in Decemberand January 1923-24 were examined,one of whichwas too nearly empty to be includedin the food tabulation. Of the eight birds considered,six had drawn three-fourthsor more of their rations from the fish fauna and the two other birds had fed almost exclusively Vol.1930 56]J COTTAM•.•nK•.PPE•r, Food of So,he Uncommon Birds 141

on shrimps(Peneus sp.). In summary,fish averaged65.25% of the food. Avail- ability seemedto be the principalfactor governingfeeding, consequently nearly all the fishestaken were of coarse,non-commercial varieties, such as toadfish,pipefish, and porcupinefish (Ophicthyidae,Opsanus sp., Diodonsp., Calamussp., Siphostoma sp.). Of sixty-onefishes of five speciesidentified in the stomachs,only one,a mullet (Mugilidae), couldbe consideredof commercialvalue. The commonedible shrimp (Peneussp.) or someother crustaceanentered into the menu of eachof the birds, and formed the entire contents of two stomachs. Shrimp supplied 31% of the averagemeal, and crabsand other crustaceansmade up 1.5% of the total food. Small gastropodswere eaten by five of the eight birds,yet they formedonly 1.37% of the averagemeal. Vegetabled•bris and root stockswere taken in smallquantities by threeof the birds,averaging 0.88% of the total food. Ros•,T• SrOO•BILL,Ajaia ajaja.--One of America'smost picturesquebirds is the RoseateSpoonbill, a speciesthat unfortunatelyhas suffereda seriousreduction both in numbersand in distribution. It is to be hoped that presentconservation meas- ures and interest evincedby national, state, and local organizationswill restorethe bird to at least its former abundance. A recentreport of the National Associationof Audubon Societies(3, p. 26) indicatesthat the bird seemsto be increasingslightly in numbersalthough it is still dangerouslyrare in the United States. Accordingto the 'Check-listof North American Birds,' (1, p. 34), the spoonbillbreeds locally in southernTexas, Louisiana,Georgia, central and southernFlorida, the Bahamas, Cuba, and Central Mexico, south to Argentinaand Chile. Formerly it was casual in distribution north to Pennsylvania. Relatively little study has beenmade of the food habitsof this species,aJthough casual observationshave been recorded by a considerablenumber of observers. Audubon (4, p. 191) wrote: "They move their partially openedmandibles laterally to and fro with a considerabledegree of elegance,munching the fry, insects,or small shellfish,which they securebefore swallowingthem." He further observedthat while the birdswere frequentvisitors to artificial pondsin Florida "the shallowinlets in the great salt marshesof our southerncoasts are their favorite placesof resort." N. B. Moore (13, p. 19) statesthat he hasfound fish,prawn or shrimp,and cole- opterousinsects in the stomachsof spoonbills. Maynard (33, p. 404) writes that a bird kept in confinementwas fed principallyupon smaJlfishes, bread, and cooked sweetpotatoes. From field and laboratory study, it is evident that the birds feed in both fresh and salt-water areas. For the present study only four stomachswere available, all of which were obtained in Florida in February and March. Three of thesewere gorgedor well filled, while the fourth, which was nearly empty, contained90% bonefragments of sheeps- head minnowand 10% woodpnlp. The food in the first three stomachsconsisted of 80.67% fishes,11.33% water beetles,4.67% shrimps,3.33% plant material, with a trace of miscellaneousaquatic bugs and gastropods.All of the fishesconsumed were of non-commercialvarieties. As would be expected those forms most readily obtainable, suchas killirish, made up most of the menu. As evidenceof a surprisingcapacity the followingfoods were consumedfor one meal: nineteentop minnows(Zygonectes notti), 9%; twenty-onekillifishes (Fundulvs sp.), 9%; three sheepsheadminnows (Cyprinodonvariegatus), 2%; four killifishes (Jordanellaflorida), 2%; forty-six top minnows (Mollienesia latipinna), 17%; fragmentsof undeterminedtop minnowsand killifishes(Cyprinodontidae and Foecili- idae), 43% (total of 246 fishamounting to 82% of one meal); fragmentsof undetermined fish eggs,trace; and of one ground beetle (Bembidiumsp.), trace; forty-nine 142 COTTAM•I• K•il'I'ES, Food of Some Uncommon Birds [AprilAuk

predaciousdiving beetles (Thermonectesbasilaris), 5%; fragments of twenty-three or more water-scavengerbeetles (Tropisternusglaber), 2%; fragmentsof twenty-one or more water boatmen (Corixidae), trace; one pseudoscorpion,trace; one gastropod (Amnicolasp.), trace; 152 or more shrimps(Palaemonetes exilipes), 9%; conefragment of pine (Pinus sp.), trace; sedge(Cyperaceae) plant fiber, trace; wood pulp and vegetabled•bris, 2%; and feather fragment, trace. TRU•rrTrR Swz_•, Cygnus buccinator.--The Trumpeter Swan was formerly a commonAmerican species occurring as a breederfrom Alaska, Mackenzie,and James Bay, southto British Columbia,Alberta, Manitoba, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Indiana, and as a winter visitor southward to the Gulf of Mexico and southernCalifornia. Diminution of this majestic bird commencedfifty to sixty years ago and by 1930 only a few individualswere left. The BiologicalSurvey, the National Park Service, National Parks Bureau of Canada, and private individuals have extendedcomplete protection to the Trumpeter Swan for nearly two decades. At presentthere are flocksin British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, one in Yellow- stone National Park, and one on the Red Rock Lake Migratory Waterfowl Refuge in Montana, and possiblyanother at Henry Lake, Idaho. There are, no doubt, other placeswhere isolatedpairs or small groupsbreed. We regret that the Trumpeter Swan must now be listed among ornithological rarities and we hopeit may someday againbecome abundant--a possibilitysuggested by the history of the flock at the Red Rock Refuge establishedApril 22, 1935, pri- marfly to protect theseswans. In the first two yearsthere was a 50% increasein the swanswhich numbered thirty-nine adults and fifty-one young in April, 1937. Though censusfigures are not available for 1938, seventy-eight swans of which about 50% were juvenileswere observedon a day's field trip on March 1. Far too little is known of food preferencesof this rare bird and unfortunatelyonly three stomachshave been examined in the Biological Survey. One of these was practically empty of food, and the two others, while full, were from birds that had died of lead poisoning. Consequently,it is not known whether their food was entirely typical. Thesebirds died in the first weekof April, 1937,at Red Rock Lake, Montana. Each stomach was about one-third filled with sand; one was from an adult while the other was from an immature bird. The trumpeter feeds, like all swans,by immersingthe long neck and head and diggingits food from the bottom. Results of the stomach analysesare as follows: No. œ1œ892.--Leavesand stemsof the white water-buttercup(Ranunculus sp., probably R. trichophyllus),70%; aquatic mosses(Amblystegium sp., 30%, and Fissi- denssp., trace), 30%. No. 21œ894.--Plantfiber of the white water-buttercup(Ranunculus sp., probably R. trichophyllus),63%; aquatic mosses(Amblystegium sp., 1%; Fissidens,probably F. grandifrons,30%, and Calliergonsp., 3%), 34%; buds and leaves of pondweed (Potamogetonpanormitanus), 1%; three seedsof claspingleafpondweed (P. perfoliatus), trace; sevenseeds of two speciesof sedge(Carex spp.), trace;undetermined plant fiber, 1%; threecaddisfly larvae of threespecies (Trichoptera), 1%; fragmentof one predaciousdiving-beetle larva (Dytiscidae),trace; mollusk shell fragment (Mollusca), trace. The bird whosestomach was nearly empty containeda siugleseed of claspingleaf pondweed(Potamogeton perfoliatus), moss and undeterminedplant fiber. Dixon (22, p. 492) in a public appealto savethis vanishingspecies described the habits of this swan in the Yellowstone, as follows: "The favorite food of the adult birds was the sproutingwhite underwaterstalk of the rule which was securedby Vol.1939 J COTTAM roodo/so 143 tipping up and reachingdown with their long, muscularnecks. In pulling up such tender, sproutingrule stalks, the parentsoften dislodgedwater boatmenand other aquatic insectsthat had taken refuge in the algae and moss. Such insectswere in- stantlygobbled up by the cygnets,which were soon leading instead of followingtheir parentsabout. During the first ten daysof their livesI foundthat insectfood formed the major portion of their diet. However, as they grew they beganto pick up more and more of the bits of vegetation that had been pulled up and loosenedby their parents." Forbush (25, p. 477) statesthat it feedschiefly on water plants but alsoconsumes succulent parts of terrestrial speciesalong with some shellfish and crustaceans. Bruette (16, p. 415) addsthat it alsofeeds on insects,leaves, seeds and roots. Audu- bon (5, p. 223) affirmed that they consumesnails, small reptiles, and quadrupeds. On the Columbia River, Hughes (29, p. 283) found that its favorite food was the wapato (Sagittariavariabilis) and reportedfinding a bird that had been strangledby having a large tuber lodged in its throat. BAa•ACLr Goosr, Branta leucopsis.--TheBarnacle Goose,a native of northern Europe and Greenland,seems to be especiallyfond of succulentgrasses found along the water's edgeand is said normally to be a land feeder. From the singlestomach, available in the files of the BiologicalSurvey, collectedon Clavering Island, Green- land, August 6, 1931, it appearsto forageupon grassesand sedges. The last meal of this bird consistedof plant fibers:sedge (Carex sp.), 40%; grass(Gramineae, probably Poa sp.), 35%; and undetermined,25%.

EMrEaoa Goosr, Philacrecanagica.--The justificationfor includingthe Emperor Goosein this studyis basedlargely on the fact that its distributionis restrictedto the cold and inhospitableshores of northern Alaska and Siberia, rather than to any alarmingrarity of the species.Elliott (23, p. 130) pointsout that it remainslonger in the Far North than any othergoose, lingering until the wholeseacoast is fringedwith ice. In winter it may be considereda rare or accidentalvisitor southof the Aleutian Islands. For the presentstudy thirty-five stomachsof birds were availableof which two werenot suitablefor percentagetabulation. But oneof the remainingthirty~three stomachs--froma bird collectedat Netarts, Oregon,on the last day of the year in 1920--was taken southof Alaska. One other bird wasobtained at St. LawrenceBay, Siberia,in July 1914. In seasonaldistribution twenty of the birds were taken in May, sevenin June, two in July, and one each in April, August, September,and December. This report may thereforebe consideredas applyingin generalto spring and early-summerfoods. The data here presenteddo not confirmmost published accounts of the food tend- enciesof this interestingspecies. Most writersspeak of it asbeing predominantly an animalfeeder. William Bruette (16, p. 392) writesthat its "fleshis stronglytainted with fishfor this gooseis an animalfeeder," and addsthat they live "almostentirely uponthe crustaceansand musselsobtained on theirfavorite feeding grounds." Other writersaffirm that it feedsprincipally upon the bluemussel (Mytilus edulis)and other shellfish.Grinnell, Bryant, and Storer(27, p. 245) informus that "at timesit resorts to heath berrieswhich are availableon the tundras closelyadjacent to the seashore." Of the food in thirty-three stomachssufficiently full to enter into the percentage tabulation,91.58% wasof vegetable,and only 8.42% of animal origin. Only two of• thesebirds had fed predominantlyon animallife, and only four othershad consumed more than a trace of animal matter. In contrast twenty-seven,or more than four- 144 COTTAMAND KNAPPEN, Food of Some Uncommon Birds [April[Auk fifths of the birds, had made their last meals wholly of pla•t tissues. The major groupsof foodconsumed were: algae, 30.73 %; eelgrassand otherpondweeds, 13.91%; grassesand sedges,24.94%; undeterminedand miscellaneouspla•t fiber, 22%; bi- valve mollusks (Pelecypoda),3.66%; crabs and other crustaceans,2.18%; rodents and fishes,1.76%; and miscellaneousanimal life, 0.82%. In view of publishedinformation on the food preferencesof the Emperor Goose, the results of the present study summarized in Table i give further evidence that laboratory analysesare indispensablein determiningfood habits. They should,of course,be supplementedby adequatefield observationsin order that resultsmay be properlyinterpreted. From the facts availableit appearsthat algae are a favored food, nearly one-third of the total diet (30.73%) consistingof these pla•ts. Sea lettuce (Ulvaceae, including both Ulva and Enteromorpha),occurred in twelve of the thirty-three stomachs,constituting the soleitem of food for five of the meals, and averaged17% of the total. Undeterminedgreen algae (Chlorophyceae)comprised 13.24% and other algaemade up approximatelyoneohalf of oneper cent. Much of the undeterminedgreen algae appearedto be Ulvaceae. Feeding on Ulv•ceae and other algaemay be the reasonwhy the fleshof the bird is not particularly appetizing, as suchfoods normally causethe fleshof birds feedingthereon to have a strong, so- called 'fishy' flavor. This may have suggestedto somewriters that the bird was principally an animal feeder. Tender shootsof sedgesand grasseswere secondin importance,forming 24.94% of the total food and occurringin eighteenof the thirty-three stomachsexamined. Pla•t fiber of sedge(Carex sp.) amountedto 15.03% and meadowgrass(Poa sp.) formed2.27% of the total. None of the othergrass or sedgematerial could be identified beyondthe familiesGraxnineae or Cyperaceae. Undoubtedlymuch of the determined plant fiber, which comprised21.55% of the total consumption,was groundup sedgeand grass;certainly little of it wasalgae. That eelgrass(Zostera marina) is a favored food is shown by the fact that it averaged 12.37% of the total consumptionand formed from 88 to 99% of the food of four birds. Sagopondweed (Potamogeton pectinatus) was eaten by two birds and averaged 1.51% of the total food of the thirty-three tabulated. Miscellaneous vegetablefiber or seeds,including mossd•bris, seedsand plant tissueof surfgrass (Phyllospadixsp.), mare's tail (Hippuris vulgaris), crow-berry (Empetrum nigrum), and bedstraw (Galiumsp.), comprisethe remaining0.48% vegetablefood. Only six of the stomachscontained more than a trace of animal matter; two of these,however, contained 98 and 92 per cent, respectively. The most important of the animal foodswere bivalves,forming 3.66%, of which the razor clam (Siliqua sp.) averaged2.91% and the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) 0.45%. Crustaceans,which were a closesecond with an averageof 2.18%, consistedmostly of horsecrabs (Tek messuscheiragonus), 2.12%. One of thesemeasured 39 mm. acrossa•d formed70% of the meal. Vertebrate animals contributed 1.76% to the menu and consistedof rodentsand fishes. One bird had consumeda lemmingmouse (Lemmus sp.) and field mouse (Microtinae), forming 36% of its meal; but only 1.09% of the average food of the thirty*three birds. Remains of fishes,mostly Cottidae, were found in three stomachs,in volumeforming only a trace in two mealsand 22% of a third; the averagefor the wholegroup was only 0.67%. The miscellaneousanimal foods,which totalled 0.82%, were consumedby nine of the thirty-three birds, yet in two only did they form asmuch as oneper centof a meal. One bird had made22% of its meal on spongeswhile anotherhad drawnupon hydroids to the extentof 5% of its meal. As with all other speciesof waterfowl,sand or gravel is extensivelyingested, and in the birds herereported upon formed27.85% of the total volumeof the stomach Vol.1939 56]J COTTAMAND KNAPPEN, Food of Some Uncommon Bird.s 145

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contents. Most geeseconsume relatively few speciesof itemsper meal,being content to make their entire meal, within limits, of what is most available. The thirty-three birds here discussedaveraged four different items per meal. From this study it may be concludedthat although the Emperor Gooseis predominantlyphytophagous, it seems also to be somewhat omnivorous. PIN•-FOOTr.D GOOSE,Anser brachyrhynchus.--ThePink-looted Goosewhich breeds in Spitsbergen,Iceland, and eastern Greenlandand winters throughoutnorthern Europe through Russia,has been taken oncein Massachusetts. The stomachcontents of two birds taken on Clavering Island and Hudson'sLand, northeastGreenland, on July 31 and August6, have beenexamined. Both had taken only a trace of animal foods--an amphipod and an insect, respectively,but had foragedextensively on sedgesand grasses,stripping the headsof ripeningseeds. The food of the two birds consistedof fibersand seedsof sedge(Carex sp.), 54.5%; meadowgrass(Poa sp.) and undeterminedgrasses (Gramineae), 32.5%; bulblets of Arctic smartweed(Polygonum viviparum), 3%; mossd4bris (three species), 2.5%; and undeterminedplant material, 7.5%. Fine sand comprisednearly half of the gross contents of these well-filled stomachs. Euaorr.•.N •V•DGr.O•, Mareca penelope.--TheEuropean Widgeon, a closerelative of our AmericanWidgeon or Baldpate, occurscasually in the westernhemisphere, and has been collected on both coasts as well as at several localities in the interior. In recentyears it has beenregularly observed in small numbersat a few points on the Atlantic seaboardand on a few occasionslarger numbershave been noted. In their food habits the two specieshave much in common. Though readily ac- cepting seeds,both feed to an extent unusualamong ducks, upon plant stemsand foliage. For this study twenty-two stomachswere available from sevenStates and two Canadianprovinces, but of thesefive have alreadybeen reported upon by Mabbott (31, pp. 16-17). Becauseof the rarity of the speciesin North Americaand the fact that someof these collectionshave not previouslybeen recorded,the data are here given in Table 2. In its choiceof foodthe EuropeanWidgeon appears to be almostentirely vegetarian as not one of the twenty-two stomachsof birds examinedfor this paper contained even a trace of animal matter. Seedsundoubtedly are relished,yet their consumption usuallyappears to havebeen incidental to foragingon the plant shoots.Only one of the twenty-two birds here consideredhad fed exclusivelyon seeds,and that was one taken in Massachusettslate in the fall, which had consumedthose of the salt- marsh bulrush (Scirpusrobustus). All the other birds had fed largely, and someof them exclusively,on plant stemsand foliage. When an acceptableitem of food is found, this widgeondoes not seemaverse to making an entire meal of it. Ten of the birds had fed exclusivelyon a singlespecies of plant and not one had diversifiedits menu to the extent of more than six items. It is significantthat approximately three-fourthsof the total food consistedof sagopondweed (Potamogeton pectinatus) and other Najadaceae. As a group, sedges were secondin importanceand undeterminedplant fiber a closethird, comprising morethan ten per cent of the total intake. Sealettuce (Enteromorphasp.) madeup 95 per cent of the meal of onebird takenin coastalMassachusetts. Of the ten widg- eonsthat had madean entire meal of a singleplant species,eight had fed on vegetation and seedsof sagopondweed, one widgeongrass (Ruppia maritima), and oneseeds of salt-marshbulrush. Gravel was taken in considerablequantity and composed forty-six per cent of the grossvolume of the stomach. Vol.1939 56]J COTTAMAND I•NAPPEN, Food of Some Uncommon Birds 147

Variations in the food of this bird in its native land are noted by J. G. Millais (34, pp. 43-44). He refers to finding the widgeonfeeding extensivelyon eelgrass (Zosteramarina) in Scotland. Although the birds are normally vegetarian,he states that "sometimeswidgeon, which are both conservativeas to their beats and modes

TABLE 2

Data for Stomachs of European Widgeon

Food Habits &ccession Locality Date CollectOr Remarks

84442 • Currituck Sound, lq. C., at Currituck Club. 12-3-09 W.L. McAtee Collector's 1•o. 915 154042 Currituck Sound, 1•. C. 11-17-19 W.F. Kubichek Taken on open bay Colieetor's Iqo. 1 101505 • Back Bay, Va. 1-22-12 A.H. Helme Coliector's 1•o. 18 101506 • Back Bay, Va. 2-2-12 A.H. Helme ColieetOr's lqo. 19 159233 Back Bay, Va. 12-16-20 M.A. Church 186405 • Aquia Creek, Potomac River, Va. (near Washington, D.C.) 12-24-27 U. T. Brooks 95038 Susquehanna Flats near Havre de Grace, Md. 3-28-11 W. T. Jackson Taken on open bay 86831 Ipswich, Mass. 16-25-09 John Hardy Collected in salt marsh--l•o. 22 156354 Marthas Vineyard, Mass. 12-1-19 J.C. Phillips Squibnocket Pond 156355 Marthas Vineyard, Mass. 12-1-19 J.C. Phillips SquibnOcket Pond 156356 Marthas Vineyard, Mass. 12-1-19 g.C. Phillips Squibnocket Pond 156357 Marthas Vineyard, Mass. 12-1-19 J.C. Phillips Squibnocket Pond 156358 Marthas Vineyard, Mass. 12-1-19 J.C. Phillips Squibnocket Pond 156359 Marthas Vineyard, Mass. 12-1-19 J.C. Phillips Squibnocket Pond 156360 Marthas Vineyard, 1Vfass. 12-1-19 L C. Phillips Squibnocket Pond 156361 Marthas Vineyard, Mass. 12-1-19 L C. Phillips Squibnocket Pond 166299 • Near Eastham, Mass. [L E. Maynard 203729 Lochabet, Que. Fall of •. R. White Collected in a duc• 1926 marsh, 1•o. 2788 166271 • Port Clinton, Ohio 16-3-22 •,. B. Fuller Collected in a cat. tail marsh at 7.0( a.m. 1•o. 175 177357 Monroe, Michigan 4-3-27 •g. B. Tyrell Collected in mars[ at 11.30 a. m lx•-o. lO 197218 l•isqually Flats, mouth of l•isqually River, Wash. 12-6-32 r.H. Scheffer 146853 Okanagan, B.C. 1-24-18 I.A. Munro Collected in Okan agan Lake at 3.30 p.m. 1•0. 3349

of life, will pay little attention to a vegetable diet, but live almost exclusivelyon animal food. Such I find to be the casewith the birds living on the sandy coast near the town of Dornoch in Scotland, where all conditionsare purely marine. The widg- eonhere feed by day and live entirely on small cockles. This renderstheir fleshpoor, bitter, and quite uneatable. I haveshot a goodfew of them thereand found all to be the same,whilst birds from the other side of the samefirth, and living on the Zostera beds, to the west of Tain, were fat and as good as widgeongenerally are. In spring widgeonare great grasseaters, and later on, like teal and garganey,they devouran 148 Co•A.AND I•[NAPPEN, Foodof Some Uncommon Birds [April['Auk

s.uq9p olq•o•o• pou.n•.m•opulq Vol.1939 56]J COTTAM•a•O KnArrEn, Food of Some Uncommon Birds 149 enormousquantity of flies." He reportsfinding them in Iceland feedingextensively on flies. A summa•T of the food of the twenty-two birds taken in North American waters is given in Table 3. EvRoP•A• T•AL, Nettio• crecca.--The European Teal occasionallywanders to North America. Though recordedin the interior, it is most frequently found along the coastsof Alaska and Canada, and has been reportedfrom the United States. While of lessfrequent occurrencein America than the European Widgeon, it has been reportedmany times, particu1•rlyin coastalNew England and on Long Island. But five stomachs(four taken in Alaska and one in Virginia) were available for this study and unfortunately three of thesewere lessthan a fourth full and none wa• well filled. Gravel constituted48.8% of the grosscontent. Consequently,the data obtainedcan be considereda• only suggestiveof food tendencies. Like its congener, the American Green-wingedTeal, the European speciesappears to be adaptable in its feeding and patronizesa considerablevariety of plant and animal life; no fewer than eighteenitems have been found in one of the stomachs. When an acceptable item is presentin abundancethis speciesseems content to make an entire meal of it; three out of four birds taken in coastal Alaska had fed almost exclnsively on soft- bodied crustaceans. This made the percentageof animal forms (80.2) occurringin the stomachsconspicuously high. Gastropods(noted in two stomachs,and forming 85% of the food of the bird taken in Virginia) equalled17.2% of this teal's food, and were surpassedas a food only by crustaceans. These,present in the four Alaskan stomachs,formed the bulk of the animal food, totalling 60% as follows:soft-bodied crustaceans,44%; gammarids,12%; isopods,4%; and entomostracans,trace. In- sects,largely midges(Chironomidae, 2.4%) totalled 2.6% and formed 13% of the contentsof the only stomachin whichthey werefound. Miscellaneousanimal foods includinghydrozoans, spiders, mites, eggsand fragmentsof fish and unidentifiable material, amountedto 0.4%. Algae supplied5% of the total food (presentto the extent of 25% of one of the Alaskan stomachs);grasses and sedges(Panicurn sp., 0.2%; Scirpusvalidus, 0.4 %; Carexsp., 9.4 %; miscellaneousand unidentified, tr aces) formed 10.6%; crowberry (Empetrumsp.) equalled1.6% and mosses,mare's-tail (Hippuris sp.) and plant d•bris contributed2.6% to a total vegetablefood content of 19.8%. From our knowledgeof Americanteal foods,it is felt that theseresults are not typical and that the collectionof a larger and more representativeseries of birds would noticeablyreduce the percentageof animal fvod. G.H. Mackay (32, p. 294) reports collectinga bird of this specieson March 16, 1890, the stomachof which containedonly a few seedsof Ranunculus(? septentrionalis). EVERGLADEK•TE, Rostrham•ssociabilis plumbeus.--It has been a sourceof deep regret to ornithologistsand bird lovers that the Everglade I{_ite, which formerly rangedthroughout the Everglades,has gradually diminishedin numbersand possibly faces extirpation from the United States. This unhappy state of affairs is due to this kite's almostcomplete dependence for food upon a singlespecies--the Everglade snail (Pomaceadepressa, formerly known as Ampullaria) whichis restrictedto swamps of the southeast,particularly Florida. The numbersand distributionof this snail have been greatly curtailed by drainage operationsand with this diminution the Everglade Kite has likewise dwindled in numbers. The examinationof four stomachsand cropsof birdstaken in Florida--two in May, and one each in March and December---confirms field observations that it subsists on the fleshof the freshwaterEverglade snail (Maynard, 33, pp. 191-192; Howell, 28, 150 COTTAMAND KNAPPEN, Food of Some Uncommon Birds [April[Auk pp. 168-171;and Baker, 8, p. 140). Threeof the stomachscontained nothing but the fleshyremains of this snail, and the remainingbird which had both crop and gizzard gorged,contained 97% of the Evergladesnail and 3% plant d•bris. This vegetable material was probably consumedaccidentally in capturing and extracting the snail. Two mites (Galumnidae) and a midge larva (Chironomidae)were also present. It wassurprising to find that eightwhole snails and fragmentsof at leasttwelve others had been consumed. It is saidthat eachEverglade Kite hasa favorite perchto whichit carriesmost of the snails captured and after skilfully extracting the animal with its well-adapted bill, dropsthe shellto the ground. SHORT-TAILEDHAWK, Buteobrachyurus.--But a singlestomach of the Short-tailed Hawk, a Buteo ranging from Florida (sparingly), eastern Mexico and Central Americasouth to Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil, hasbeen examined in the BiologicalSur- vey. This bird, taken in February at Lake Harney, Orange County, Florida, had fed exclusivelyon a Sharp-shinnedHawk (Accipitervelox). SrNNETT'SWUITE-T.•I•E•) H.•WK, Buteoalbicaudatus hypospodius.--Little reliable information is available on the food and economic status of Sennett's Hawk. This is probably due to its limited distribution in the United States, occurringas it does only in restrictedparts of southernTexas in the lowerRio GrandeValley. For the presentstudy four stomachsof this bird, collectedby Dr. FrancisHarper in Kenedy County, in August 1929, were available for laboratory analysis. Un- fortunately, two of these were only about one-tenth full. The others were well filled and both heldremains of frogs,snakes, and insects. One cropcontained a recently swallowedleopard frog (Rana pipions), and the stomachof the same bird showed fragmentsof another victim of the samespecies. Together they comprised55% of the meal. Remainsof a medium-sizedsnake, possibly a bull-snake(Pituophis sp.), amountedto 14% of the volume, and the remainsof a ten-day-oldquail chick (Coli- n•s virginianustexanus) supplied an additional27%. A centipede(Chilopoda), four grasshoppers(Acrididac), and two crickets(Gryllus assimilis) comprised the remaining 4% of the meal. The secondhawk had consumedone leopard frog (Rana pipions),forming 99% of the contents,and a snake(possibly Coluber sp.), whichsupplied the remaining1%. Well-digestedremnants of grasshoppersand crickets also were noted, along with smallbeetles, water insec.ts (such aslarvae of dragonflies),true bugs,and lepidopterous larvae, and wereconsidered to be the foodof the vertebratescaptured by the hawks. The two partially filled stomachsindicated a similarchoice of foodssince they both contained remains of amphibians,reptiles, grasshoppers,crickets, large beetles (Scarabaeidae),ants, and plant fiber. It is probablethat Sennett'sHawk is normally beneficialin its food tendencies. Bendire(10, p. 235), quotingW. H. Hudson,says that the closelyrelated subspecies that occursin Argentinafeeds exclusively on largeinsects. Bent (15, p. 220) reports that various observershave noted that "cotton rats, quails, snakes,lizards, frogs, grasshoppers,and beetlesare amongthe food of this hawk, in the United States." MrXlC•N Bt•CK HAWK, Urubitinga anthracinaanthracina.--The Mexican Black Hawk is another southernraptor, whoserange extendsnorthward only slightly be- yond the extremesouthern boundary of the United States. This speciesnormally occursas a summerresident at the northernlimits of its rangefrom southernArizona to the lower Rio Grande in Texas. Vol.1939 561J COTTAM.•N•) KN.•rrEN, Food of Some Uncommon Birds •5•

Scatteredpublished information indicates that its diet is varied. Bailey (6, p. 161) states that its food consistsof small mammals, reptiles, crustaceans,insects, and rarely birds. From Fisher's early bulletin (24, pp. 84, 85) on hawks and owls we learn that it feeds on frogs, fishes,and snakes. Bendire (10, pp. 248-249) quotes Colonel A. J. Graysonas stating that in northwesternMexico this hawk is commonat all seasonsand is usually found about the esterosand marshesnear the seacoast,sub- sistingchiefly upon land crabs. "Occasionally,"he writes, "one is seeneating a fish upon the sandymargin of the river." G.B. Thomas (41, p. 117) alsoinforms us that in British Hondurasthe Mexican Black Hawk subsistsalmost entirely upon land crabs. Ridgway (37, p. 581) reportsit feedingon a Curassow(Crax globicera). The writerswere able to examinethe stomachand cropcontents of two specimens collectedin May 1928near the internationalborder south of Cloverdale,New Mexico. Both birds had fed principally upon snakes,although each also had eaten a small bird, severalbeetles, and other large insects. Followingare the principalfood itemsrecorded in the two stomachs: No. 179780.--Remainsof a small passerinebird, trace; one medium-sizedsnake (Colubersp.), 86%; one lizard (Sceloporussp.), 2%; one large centipede,2%; four water bugs (Belostomasp.), 4%; five Dobson-flylarvae (Corydaliscornuta), 3%; one large butterfly larva (Lepidoptera),1%; large scarabbeetles (Xylosyctes sp.), 2%; and one other beetle (Alleculidae), trace. No. 179781.--0ne Fringillidae, possiblya Dickcissel (Spiza americana), 15%; fragmentsof one snake (Colubersp.), 83%; four beetles(one Brachinussp., one Trichotonsordidurn, one Chlaeniuscumatilis, and one undeterminedTenebrionidae), 1%; two wasps(Polistes sp.), 1%; Camponotussp. and other ants, trace.

GI•A•zSEA EAGLE, Haliaeetus albicilla.--The Gray SeaEagle, a casualwanderer to Alaskaand the AleutianIslands from the northernregions of the Old World, is representedin the Food Habits collectionsof the BiologicalSurvey by two stomachs. The contentsof thesesuggest that the bird'sfeeding propensities are similarto those of its commonAmerican relative, the Bald Eagle. Probablylike other largepreda~ cious or scavengingbirds, its daily menu consistsusually of few items. The two birds herereported upon had eachfed on a singleobjectß One, taken May 14, 1922,by J. Mackinan in an icy strait at Hoonah Island, Alaska, had dined on a large seulpin (Triglopsbeani). The generalappearance of the food indicatedthat it was carrion. The secondbird, collectedby EdwardPrensehoff on April 10, 1923,at Lung Island, Alaska,had madeits last mealon a duckof the genusNyroca, most likely a scaup. Major CharlesBendire (10, p. 273) saysthat its foodconsists of fish,sea fowl, and occasionallycarrion. Dixon states:"Within my ownobservation, the favoritefood ß is the strandedfish and shoregarbage on the beachof its maritimehaunts; while farther inland a dead carcassor a weakly bird or animal are sharedwith the ravensand crows." A. Hagerup(18, p. 292), observesthat in Greenlandit feeds extensivelyon Eider Ducks and Murres. PEALE'SFALCON, Falco peregrinus pealei.--Because of their remarkableskill, daring, and perhapsunexcelled speed of flight, the PeregrineFalcons are objectsof special interest. Despitethe fact that they subsistalmost exclusively upon other bird life, America would suffer an irreparable loss should they ever becomeexterminated. Fortunately, many of these birds breed in inaccessiblerecesses of the Far North. The Duck Hawk, though uncommon,is rather generallydistributed, at least in migration,and is much the more commonof the peregrines. Its closerelative, Peale'sFalcon, the subjectof this brief account,is restrictedto the North Pacific 152 co• •N• K•q•rrr•q,Food of Some Uncommon Birds LApril[Auk coast,breeding in the Aleutian and CommanderIslands and wintering along the coast as far south as Oregon. But sevenstomachs and cropstaken in July, October,November, and December, at Seaside,Oregon, and Amak Island, Alaska, have been submitted to the Biologieal Survey. All of thesewere filled with the carefully picked, fieshyremains of birds. Three of the falconshad each captured a duck, two had fed on Tufted Puffins (Lunda cirrhata),and oneeach on a grebe(Colymbus sp.), and a gull (? Larus sp.). One of the ducks capturedwas identified as a Pintaft, one was thought to be a scorer,and the third was indeterminable. The falconthat preyedupon a Pintaft had both crop and stomachso gorged that after a week of air-drying the contentsweighed 56.6 grams and when well packed measured152 cc. Undoubtedlymany speciesof birdsfall prey to this raptor. Wetmorein his field notes of June 1911, describedhow one struck down and carried off a male ptarmigan at Kiska Island, Alaska. Darcus (21, p. 47) found Peale's Falcons feeding extensively on seabirds,especially upon Cassin'sAuklets, Marbled and Ancient Murrelets, and CaliforniaMurres. He reportsfinding an eyrie of a falconsituated in the midst of a large nestingcolony of Tufted Puffinsand Violet-greenCormorants. The eyrie containedfour well-grownyoung, yet this nest was within four feet of a brooding cormorant on the same ledge. That the Peale'sFalcon is a bird of extraordinaryskill of wing is shownby the fact that it fliesfar out over the openocean, catches such swiftly flying prey as shorebirds and not infrequentlyeats them while on the wing. Wetmore in his field notesof September1, 1911,tells of a falconthat caughta LeastSandpiper (Pisobia minutilla), somefifty miles off the Alaskan coastand proceededto pick the prey while in flight. ChaseLittlejohn states (12, pp. 276-277) that it takes great numbersof Ancient Murrelets, even pursuingthem at seaand eating the capturedones while hoveringin the air. CnaenaLaca, Ortalis vetulavetula.--This interesting denizen of Mexico, southern Texas, and the lower part of the Rio Grande valley, doubtlessowes its scarcity in the United Statesin part to the fact that it is a much-pursuedgamebird. A singlestomach collected near Point Isabel, Texas,in August 1929,by Dr. Francis Harper, has beenexamined. It appearedto be a little over half-full and contained 2.5 cc. of plant foodas follows:seventy-six seeds with adherentfruit pulp of hackberry (Celtispallida), 72%; eight seedlesshusks of mesquite(Prosopis glandulosa), 28%; in addition there were tracesof feathersprobably from its own body. Mas•rn Bor-w•x•r, Colinusridgwayi.--The Masked Bob-white, extirpated from the United States,but formeHyranging from southernArizona to northernSonora, Mexico, has recentlybeen re-introduced into its ancestralrange in southernArizona. Plantingshave also been made in NewMexi.co. Because food is a primaryrequisite for any•pecies, summary of thestomach coq,tents of eventen specimens should be of somevalue in connectionwith managementof the species. Thesestomachs were collectedon a grassyplain somesix mileswest of Teporica,Mexico, on October30, 19•1, by D. M. Gorsuch. Their contentsindicate that the bird is primarily a vegetarian, 79.1% of the food being drawn from the plant kingdom. Seedsof acacia,mostly Acacia angustissirna,which were consumedby eight of the ten birds, were of first importance,supplying 18.8% of the total. No fewerthan sixty-six seeds (5•% of that meal) were taken by one bird. The seedsof groundcherry (Physalissp.), which enteredinto the diet of every bird, were of only slightlyless value, averaging16.•% of the total. One bird had obtained some380 of theseseeds, another more than 300, and severalothers only slightlysmaller numbers. Panicgrasses, including Pan•cum Vol..56119S9J COTTAM,•N•) KN,•rrEN, Food of Some Uncommon Birds 153

hallit (12.0%), P. stramineum(2.3%) and P. arizonicum(0.3%), were next in order of importance,totalling 14.6%. Theseseeds and other parts of panicgrasses were ingestedby eight of the ten birds, and while with someof the birds they formed only a trace or small per cent of a meal, in three casesthey had beentaken extensively,in oneup to about 475 seedsalong with floral headsand leafy fragments. Miscellaneous grassescomprised 3.4% of the averagemeal. The seedsof day flower (Commelina elegans)which were noted in nine of the stomachs,supplied more than a tenth (10.8%) of the food and amounted to as much as 46% of one meal. Seedsof wild bean (Phaseolusritensis) had been eaten freely by four of the birds and for the group averaged3.8%. Indian mallow seeds(Abutlion crispurn,1.9%; A. incanurn, 1%; and A. arizonicum,trace) contributed2.9% of the total and enteredinto the diet of all but one of the birds. However, only one had made more than a tenth of its last meal from these plants. The seedsof the partridge pea (Cassialeptadenia), which enteredinto the diet of but four birds,were of only slightlyless value, forming2.5% of the total food. They were followedby morning-glory(Ipomoea sp.), 2.3%, and milk pea (Galaeftasp.), 1.5%. Seedsof the former had been taken by five of the birds, while only two had eaten the milk peas. The remaining2.2% plant food was drawn from sixteendifferent species,none of which suppliedas much as 1% of the meal. These miscellaneousplants included: speciesof Acanthus,tick-trefoil (Meibomiasp.), Waltheria americana,three-seeded mercury (Acalyphasp.), morning-glory(Evolvulus arizonicum), and false mesquite ( Calliandra reticulata). Animal foods (19.3% consistingprimarily of grasshoppersand other Orthoptera) formed20.9% of the total. Thesewere apportioned as follows:grasshoppers, Melano- plussp. (whichformed 88% of the meal of onebird), 8.8%; Romaleasp. (obtainedby three birds), 7.1%; undeterminedgrasshoppers (taken by four birds), 2.5%, and undeterminedOrthoptera (obtainedby four birds), 0.9%. Miscellaneousanimal foods contributing the remaining percentageincluded the' stink bug (Euschistus zopilotensis)and undeterminedPentatomidae, 1.4%; cutworms (Noctuidae), 0.2%; and tracesof a beetle (Coleoptera);an ant (Pogonomyrmexsp.), and a fly (Phorasp.). Gravel formed 11.4% of the grossstomach content. Major Bendire(10, p. 11), examinedthree stomachs of the MaskedBob-white and reports that "one containeda speciesof mustard seed,a few chaparral berries,and some6 or 8 beetlesand otherinsects ranging in lengthfrom half an inch downto the size of a pin-head. The secondwas similarly provided, but containedin lieu of mustardseed, a grasshopperfully an inch in length. Thesetwo were taken on the mesa. The third, from a bird taken in the valley, containedabout 20 medium- sized red ants, several crescent-shapedseeds, and a large number of small fleshy, green leaves." LArwi•G, Vanellusvanellus.--This European wanderer, with its contrastinggreen and white plumageand large gracefulcrest, is perhapsone of the most beautiful and strikingof the shorebirdsthat occasionallyreach our coasts. Its normalrange extends from the Arctic Circle of the Eastern Hemispheresouth to India and northern Africa. Following severestorms during the periodsof migration, the Lapwing has been recorded on the Atlantic coast of North America from Bafi•n Island to North Carolina as well as on islandsin Norton Sound, Alaska. One of the most notable of theseinvasions took placein 1927-28 when hundredsof Lapwingswere observed or shot. The singlebird here reportedupon was collectedby H. H. Brimley, Jr., at Siler City, in central North Carolina, on November 12, 1926. Unfortunately, its stomachwas nearly empty, ten pieces of gravel present comprising85% of the 154 co•A•AN•) KNxrr•N, Food ofSome Uncommon Birds [April[Auk contents. The bird had consumedtwo ground beetles (Scariressubterraneus and an undeterminedCarabidae), an ant, and a little vegetabled•bris. So far as this goes, it is in line with the resultsof the eminentEnglish investigator Collinge (19, pp. 231- 235), who examinedsome sixty-nine Lapwing stomachs and found that beetles,in- cludingground beetles, were favoredfoods.

EsKimo CUR•.EW,Phaeopus borealis.--This curlew, oncecalled the Prairie Pigeon becauseit came in sky-darkeningnumbers like the PassengerPigeon, and like the latter wasexploited for the urbanmarket to an extentno speciescould support, once bred in the BarrenGrounds, reaching them in the springby way of the Mississippi Valley and in the fall, taking off for South America from the North Atlantic coast. The numericaldiminution of this speciesfollowed closely upon that of the Passenger Pigeon,being first notedin 1870to 1880,and by 1890the bird was rare. The last specimenrecorded for North Americawas taken at Norfolk, Nebraska,in A1)ril 1915. Hopes for the survival of the specieswere raisedby the recordingof a flock in Brazil in February, 1925. One of the four Eskimo Curlewsupon which this note is basedwas collected in 1887, in New York, two weretaken in 1888in Massachusetts,and the fourth bird wasshot in 1912 in Wisconsin. All were taken during September. Most writers state that this curlew fed largely upon the crowberry (Empetrum nigrum), but our specimensall camefrom south of the rangeof that plant. They containedmostly animal foodsas follows:spiders, 2%; dragonfly (Odonata), 0.5%; grasshoppers(Acrididae), 20.75%; field crickets (Gryllus assimilis), 69%; beetles, including ground beetles,scarab beetles and weevils (Carabidae, Scarabaeidaeand Phytonomuspunctatus), 3.25%; moths (Lepidoptera), 1.25%; ants (Formicidae), 0.25%. The plant food consistedof algae,2.5%, and vegetabled•bris, includinga singleseed of panic-grass(Panicurn sp.), 0.5%. Thesestomachs were respectively one-half,two-thirds, three-fourths, and completelyfull, gravelor grit averaging7.5% of their contents. Without doubtgrasshoppers and crickets were the favoredfood, no stomachhaving lessthan 85% of the two together,and onecurlew had consumedtwenty-four cricket nymphs. The only other item that appearedmore than oncewas spidersin the two stomachs from Massachusetts.

WHISKEREd)AU•.ET, Aethiapygmaea.--The pelagic bird life of the North Pacific, althoughexceedingly abundant, includes a numberof speciesthat are relatively commonor only locally abundant. Among the latter group may be includedthe Whiskered Auklet, which rangesfrom the CommanderIslands to Kamchatka and Japan,occurring rarely east to Unalaskain the Aleutian chain. But little is known of its food habits, consequently,any additionalinformation is of value. For the presentstudy, six stomachstaken from birds collectedon various islandsof the Aleutian chain in June 1936, were available. One of thesewas entirely empty. Three of the remainingfive containedcopepods (Xanthocalanus sp.), exclusively. One other bird consumed60% of soft-bodiedcrustaceans, including amphipods,isopods and copepods,40% of a singlefish (Scorpaenidae),and a traceof spider. The sixth bird had made 10% of its meal of unidentifiablesoft-bodied crustaceansand 90% of fragmentsof what appearedto be molluskeggs. This brief seriesof food analysesindicates that the WhiskeredAuklet subsistsprimarily on soft-bodiedcrustaceans, animals known to be particularly abundantin northern waters. Theseresults support the observationof Dr. Stejneger(40, p. 32) in 1885, that the speciesfed principallyon gammarids. Vol.1939 56]J COTTAMAND KNAPPEi•, Food of Some Uncommon Birds 155

WHITE-CROWNEDPIGEON, Columba leucocephala.--This fine pigeon occurssome- what irregularlyon the Florida Keys and has been taken about a dozentimes in the southernmosttip of Florida. Maynard (33, pp. 191-192)states that the sea-grapeis oneof the importantfoods of the White-crownedPigeon. Oneof the two speciesof sea-grape(Coccolobis laurifolia) found on the Keys is called pigeon-plum--good evidencethat it is a pigeonfood. The stomachof a singlespecimen taken by A. H. Howell, five milesnorth of Cape Sableon March 26, 1926,was nearly full (no crop hasbeen received). As usualwith Columbidaethere was little animal matter present, 2% ascompared with 98% of vegetablecontent. Items identifiedwere nineteen seedsof Florida-privet (Forestierasp.), 93%; approximately 150 seedsof wild fig (Ficus sp.), 4%; threefig insects(Blastophaga sp.), a midge(Chironomus sp.), twelve wasps(Calli•nome sp.), and eight parasiticHymenoptera (Eupelmus sp.), totalling 2 %; and ninegalls, equalling 1%. A fragmentof featherwas present. The relatively soft nature of the food and the presenceof hard pits of oneof the itemsmay explain the completelack of sandor gravel. PASSENGERPIGEO•r, Ectopistes migratorius.--One of the darkest picturesin Am- erican treatment of wildlife is the wanton destruction and final extermination of the PassengerPigeon, a bird that once was consideredinexhaustibly abundant. No attempt is here made to presenta comprehensivetreatment of the food of this bird becausegood accountshave already been publishedby Forbush (26), Bent (14) and Mitchell (35). Inasmuch as these summariesare based largely on field observation and publishednotes, it is of interest to report upon laboratory examinationsof elevenstomachs of the speciesin the Food Habits collectionof the BiologicalSurvey. Eight of these were collectedin Illinois by ProfessorS. A. Forbes, and three were from birds shot by John H. Sage,at Portland, Connecticut;J. Ford Sempers,near Port Deposit,Maryland; and H. W. Henshaw,in Washington,D.C. Three months --February, August, and October--are each represented•by one stomach;and four months--March, May, June,and September--bytwo stomachs,each. Both stomach and crop contentswere availablefrom the Maryland bird, and probably alsofor the District of Columbiaspecimen, but the materialfrom the others had everyappearance of being stomach contents only. Judgedby the amount of material containedin the cropsand stomachsof Mourn- ing Doves, thoseof the larger Wild Pigeonsprobably were not full or evennearly full, except in one case. Ten of the stomachs'contents included gravel varying from a trace in one to 48% of the entire bulk from an apparently well-filled stomachcontaining wheat. The large size and amount of the gravel was striking. One of two pebblesin a stomach(No. 5503, D.C.) measured5/16 by 6/16 by 3/16 inches,while the largest in another (No. 45926, Illinois) measured7/16 by 6/16 by nearly 7/32 inches. Two stomachcontents contained traces of feathers;in one the feather was undoubtedly,in the other, possibly,that of a pigeon. A third stomachcontained a massof PassengerPigeon feathers totaling 2% of the grosscontent. The presence of small amounts of feathers in the stomachis the rule in the dove family. Animal food, though entirely lacking in one stomachand forming but a trace in seven, constituted9.36% of the total food in the elevenstomachs. The tracesnoted consistedof fragmentsof chitin, and in two casesof the headof an ant (Lasiussp.). A cocoonof an anthomyiid fly (Helina sp.) formed 1% of the food of the District of Columbia bird, and cynipid larvae, from oak galls made up 2% of the food of the Maryland-taken pigeon. An adult May-beetle (Phyllophagatristis), the only item in one stomach(No. 45928), contributedmost to the apparentlyrather high percentage of animal food for the eleven birds. 156 Co•A• AN•)KN.•rrE•, Food of Some Uncommon Birds [AprilAuk

In contrastto but four speciesof insects,thirteen kinds of plantswere consumed, though somebent (Agrostissp.) and pigeonor foxtail grass(Setaria sp.) and sida representedby one or two seeds,each formed but a trace. A samaraof the yellow birch (Betulalutea), made up 1% of the contentsof the Connecticu•stomach and formed a little less than 0.01 in the averagefor all of the birds. Other items each formingless than 1% of the pigeons'food, wereforty-four seedsof the large-seeded smartweed (Polygonurnpen•sylvanicum), totaliug 6% in •he Maryland stomach; fragmentsof the seedsof wild black cherry (Prunus serotina),making a trace in one and 2% in another,while •wo wholepits amountedto 5% in a third stomach;and four seedsof the frost grape (Vitis cordifolia),to 2% of the contentsof •he stomach from the District of Columbia. Whea• (Triticum aestivum) formed 98% of the

TABLE 4

Summary of Stomach Contents of Eleven Passenger Pigeons

Tot• Number 45926 5503 20157 •592• 45929 45927 45930 45932 45931 •527(] 14197 per. Cen• Feb. Mar. Mar. May May June June Aug. Sept. Sept.l Oct. age•

State Ill. D.C. Md. IlL Ill. Ill. IlL IlL Ill. IlL Corm Animal food -- 1 2 100 trace trace trace trace trace trace trace 9.3 Plant food 100 99 98 -- 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 90. • Gravel and feathers 7 4 3 -- trace 10 25 20 48 30 20 15.3

Miscellaneous insect material trace 1 2 trace trace trace trace trace •race •ace trace 0.2' May beetle 100 9.0!

Miscellaneous plant material 2 6 5 2 1 1.4, Wheat 98 8.9 Corn 100 9.0! Acorn mast 100 86 95 100 100 100 52. Pokeberry 97 8.8: Oak galls 6 99 9.5, contentsof one stomach;corn (Zea maya) composed•he entire contentsof another, and pokeberry(Phytolacca americana) made up 97% of a third. Thoughimportant foods,these did not vie with acornswhich formed 96% and 95%, respectively,of the contentsof two stomachsand practically the entire contentsof four others. The acornswere of two types: thosein five stomachswere from the pin oak (Quercus palustris),and thosein the sixth possiblyfrom the willow oak (Q. phellos). In either casethe recordsare of interest, as the literature statesthat PassengerPigeons fed on the acornsof the white oak (Q. alba), no• on thoseof the red or black-oakgroup to whichthe specieshere identified belong. Anotheritem of particularinterest was oak galls made by Cynipidae,found in only two stomachs,but contributingapproxi- mately a tenth of the total food. In one stomachsome of the larvae were found sep- aratedfrom the gall and assigneda percentageas animal food. Fragmentsof acorns alsowere presen• in this stomach. In the otherstomach, which contained no acorns, the larvae were all encasedin the hard galls. There is little doubt tha• thesegalls were taken as articlesof plan•, no• animal food, as they closelyresemble small berries or nuts, and were taken in quantity with an ample supplyof gravel Vol.1030 561I COTTAMAND KNArrsN, Food of Some Uncommon Birds 157

ßuuoo 'aoO XXX X X • 'os!•A 'ados XX '* X X 'aqo• 'ados X X •o X ß•qo• 'ados XX • X '•qo• 'ados XX • o '•qoK 'ados XX • 'aqoK '•do• X • '•qoK '•doS XX • • 'ss• '•doS X X '• 'ados X X '11I 'ados X X X XXX • + • X '11I '•doS •

'11I '•n V XXX X X '• XInF XX X ßX .• XinF X X • ßX '• ounf X '[[I aunt xxx x x '[[I aunt xxx x • '[[I X• XXX X • '[[I X• X X • X X 'p• •a• XXX X • • • •

'[[I 'qa• XX • 'as• X • • • 'quO X X 'quo X X 'X '• X X .• x 2

x x x x xx • • xx • 158 Co• .•NDKN.•rr:•N, Food ofSome Uncommon Birds [April[Auk

The contentsof the stomachof the PassengerPigeon from the District of Columbia were coated with the so-called'pigeon's milk', a product of the cells lining the crop and usedin feedingthe young birds. The food content of the eleven stomachs examined is summarized to indicate the percentagesof the major items in the diet (Table 4). In orderto make a more nearly completetabulation, recordsof actual stomach or crop contentshave been culled from the literature and are listed in Table 5 togetherwith the items found in stomachs examinedin the BiologicalSurvey. As percentageswere not available in the published notes this secondtable has been constructedto show occurrencesof items, though in certain entries the number of specimensof a single item (as twenty-five sugar-mapleseeds) has been given for its interest. WsI•r-rao•D Dovr, Leptotilafulviventris angelica.--This dove which is limited to southern Texas and northern Mexico, is representedin the Food Habits collection by a singlestomach from a bird taken eight miles northwest of Point Isabel, Texas, on August 28, 1929. The gizzard of this bird was half full, the crop two-thirds full, and the total food content 8.79 cc. The items identified were: two seedsof panic grass (Panicum dichotomiflorumand Panicum sp. (formerly designatedas P. arizonicum and P. fasciculatum), trace; 135 seedsand fruit pulp of hackberries (Celtis pallida), 41%; six seedsof mesquite (Prosopisglandulosus), 4%; twenty-three seeds of prickly ash (Zanthoxylumnear fagara), 24%; thirty-five large euphorbiaceous seeds, 10%; ten seedsof an unknown plant, 3%; seventeenseeds of marine-ivy (Cissusincisa), 7%; thirteen seedsof a prickly-pear cactus (Opuntiasp.), 1%; three seedsof Indian mallow (Abutilonincahum), six of viper's bugloss(Echium vulgate), one of leaf-cup (Polymnia sp.), and vegetabled•bris, 6%. One leg of a camel cricket (Ceuthophilussp.) was the only animal matter present. One of the few positive ob- servationson the food of the White-fronted Dove, made by Smith (38, p. 95) is that "they feed almost entirely on small herb and grass seed, rarely partaking of the mesquiteor ebonybean."

C•uo•.IN• P•uoqv•% Conuropsiscarolinensis carolinensis.--This paroquet once regularly occurredfrom southern Virginia southward through Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, appearingsporadically farther north. Its appearancewas dreadedby farmers as the paroquets were regarded as agricultural pests to be shot on sight. Bendire (11, pp. 2-3) compiledfrom various sourcesa full account of their feeding habits, mentioning their partiality for cultivated fruits, resulting in considerable damageto orchards,and their fondnessfor cornin the milk; he notesalso their habits of feeding on cockleburs(Xanthium strumarium), sand burs (Cenchrustribuloides), fruits, and seedsof various native trees, including pines. The Section of Food Habits had one stomach and crop of a Carolina Paroquet which was examinedfor this paper. It was collectedon October 24, 1885, near Fort Drum, Florida, by Walter Hoxie, whosefield notesfor 1888 in East Florida contain the following comments: "They feed upon seedsof pine and cypress,and also upon cockleburs and sand spurs. They are said to damage corn at times by eating out the germ, but their visits to settledportions of the country are at suchrare intervals they cannot be very destructive." The stomach was apparently about half full and the crop one-third full, their total contentamounting to 1.5 cc. Except for two rabbit hairs, two bits of the bird's own feathers, and two fragments of an indeterminable ant, which formed only traces,the entire contentconsisted of the remainsof no fewer than thirty-two seedsof loblolly pine (Pinus taeda). Neither stomachnor crop containedany sand or gravel. Vol.1939 56]J COTTAMAND I•NAPPEN, Food of Some Uncommon Birds 159

TUICK-BI•.•.•DPAaaOT, Rhynchopsittapachyrhyncha.--This parrot occurs only occasionallyin the United States, venturing from its native Mexican tableland into Arizona by way of the Chiricahua Mountains. Our very meagerinformation on the food habits of this interestingparrot was gatheredduring two suchincursions. In June, 1900,Lusk (30, p. 129), investigated the stomachsof severalmembers of a flock,and reportedthat they werefeeding upon immature pine seeds. In March 1918, F. H. Hands sent the stomachsand cropsof two Thick-billedParrots to the BiologicalSurvey, with a letter in whichhe mentioned that ten or fifteenparrots were noted feedingin the Chihuahuapines. Thesebirds were collectedon March 27, 1918,in Pincry Canyon,Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona. qq•estomachs and cropsof both birds were well filled, containing 4.1 cc. and 7.4 cc. of food, respectively,and each stomachheld 1% of fine gravel; while 136 and 284 or more seedsof the Chihuahua pine (Pinus chihuahuana)comprised the entire food contentsof the two birds. The pine seedswere in all stagesfrom entire seedsto a pulverizedmast-like d6bris. The larger of the two stomachscontained a fragment of one of the bird's own feathers. In 1919, Dr. Alexander Wetmore (43, pp. 18-21), interviewed Hands and several otherswho were familiar with this parrot from the Chiricahua occurrencesof 1904, 1917 and 1918, recording that yellow pine and pinyon were eaten as well as the Chihuahua pine. After the pine harvest was over the parrotsfed on the oaks and, despitereports to the contrary,did not attack cultivatedcrops in thispart of Arizona.

HI•A•.AYA CrrcKoo, Cuculusoptatus.--So far as the writers know there is but a singleAmerican record of this exotic--a bird taken on St. Paul's Island in the Fribi- lofs, Bering Sea. This bird had fed exclusivelyon crane-flies(Tipulidae), its well- filled stomachcontaining the remainsof more than a hundredindividuals with many eggs.

MAYNAan'SCucKoo, Coccyzusminor maynardi.--Maynard's Cuckoo is a summer residentof lower Florida, rangingthence eastward to the Bahama Islandsand Cuba. Full stomachsof two birds obtained in the Everglades,Florida, on March 15, 1919, were availablefor laboratory analysisand theseindicate that the food of the species is similar to that of other Americancuckoos. Both birds had fed extensively(averaging 44.5%), on hairy caterpillars, includingArctiidae, Hesperiidae,and Notodonti- dae, as well as upon a few smooth-skinnedkinds. With the pupae that were consumedby both birds (averaging5.5%) lepidopterousforms suppliedjust one-halfof the total intake. As with many cuckoosthe stomachsof the birds were fairly well lined with the bristly hairs of caterpillars. Next in orderof importancewere the remainsof severalpraying mantids (including Stagmomantissp.) whichsupplied a little morethan a fourth (26%) of the total food. Long- and short-hornedgrasshoppers (Locustidac and Acrididac) followedwith 19% and 2.5%, respectively. Ten pupa casesof a hymenopteranparasitic on caterpillars, which may have been taken incidentally with the larvae, formed 1%, while spider fragmentssupplied the remaining1.5%, and ants (Formicidac)a meretrace.

M•LL's PArraAqrr•,Nyctidromus albicollis merrilli.--Specimens of this goat- suckerwere collectedby Dr. Francis Harper, near Sarita (Kenedy County), Texas, in early August 1929. This is near the northernlimit of its breedingrange which extends from the Gulf Coast and Rio Grande valley in Texas, south to Tamaulipas. Like its relatives in our fauna, the Whippoorwill, Chuck-will's-widowand Poor- wills, the Pauraqueis highly insectivorous,and the three stomachsexamined con- 160 co• .•D KN•.rrl•,Food of Some Uncommon Birds [AprilAuk

rained only insect material, with no traces of other animal food, plant material or grit. The food items were as follows:

TABLE 6 2•ryctidromus albicollis merrilli Sennett--food

CommonName ScientificName 188320188321 188328 Average Percent

Antlions Myrmeleonidae(?) trace/ trace Stink bugs •uschistussp. 1% 6.00 •, StinkSoldier-bugsbugs AcrosternumPentatomidae sp. 152 % tracet Locusts $phara#emon(?) Pleotomus sp.pallens 3 % 14%t 4.67• Click beetles Elateridae 5 % Click beetles Lacon rectan#ularis 3 % 10 % Click beetles Crigtmus sp. 7 % 12 % 74 % Tiger beetles Cicindela sp. trace Ostomidbeetles Temnochilavirescen$ 4% trace• 89.00• Twig-borer Apatides fortis 20 % ' Carrot muck beetle Li•yrus #ibbosus 38% 53% 2% Long-horned beeties Chion cinctus 6 % Long-horned beetles Cyllene crinicornis 4 % Long-horned beetles (?) Pantomallus ovieollis 26 % Butterillesormoths Lepidoptera trace 1% trace/ 0.33•, Beesor wasps Itymenoptera trace/ trace

From the table it may be noted that true bugs formed 6%, grasshoppers4.67%, beetles 89%, and lepidopterans0.33%; and hymenopteransbut a trace of the total contents. RIVOLI'S HU•INGBn•D, Eugenesfulgens.--Hummingbirds--the smallest of birds and amongthe mostgorgeonsly colored--are exclusively a New World family with their center of abundancein the tropics. Of more than six hundred speciesand varieties only the Ruby-throated occurseast of the MississippiRiver, and only sixteen speciesare known north of Mexico. Half of thesecome but a short distancenorth of the international boundary of the extreme southwesternUnited States and are distinctly rare. Unfortunately only a few stomachsof but four speciesof thesesouthwestern hummers were available for laboratory analysis. Furthermore, it shouldbe pointed out that becauseof their highly specializedfeeding habits laboratory analysiscan re- veal only part of their food preferences. Hummingbirds are known to feed extensively on the nectar of flowers,a food ordinarily not detectablein preservedstomachs, unlesspossibly by chemicalanalysis. Rivoli's YIummiugbird occurs in the mountains of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico, southern Mexico, and in Central America south to Nicaragua. The stomachsof three birds from the Huachuca Mountains of Arizona, 6000 to 8700 feet elevation,collected late in July 1932, were availablefor study. All had fed extensivelyon minute insectsprobably obtained at the baseof a floral cup. Followingis a summary of the three meals:leaf bugs (Miridae), 1.67%; plant lice (Aphididae),11.67 %; leaf hoppers(Cicadellidae), 10 %; parasiticwasps (Chalcididae), 10%; beetles (Anasp/s sp.), 4%; flies (Diplotoxa sp., Agromyzasp., Chrysotussp., Chloropiscasp. and undeterminedDiptera), 26%; fragments of moth (Lepidoptera), Vol.1039 56]J COTTAMAND iKNAPPEN, Foodof Some Uncommon Birds 161

3.33%; fragmentsof undeterminedinsects, 1.67%; and of spiders,31.66%. No fewer than eight speciesof insectsand spiderswere noted in one stomach. Bendire (10, p. 190), quotesa Mr. Price, as follows with respectto Rivoli's Hum- mer: "During the flowering season,it feeds extensively in the flowers of the Agave parryi in the HuachucaMountains. In the Chiricahuas,I have found it early in the morningin openglades feeding on the flowersof an iris." Otho C. Poling (36, p. 402) writesthat the bird arrivesin May, but is nowhereplentiful until the mescal(Agave) beginsto bloom about the middle of June. This plant normally occurson hillsides below the pine belt. ARIZONABLUE-THROATED t'IuMMI•NGBIRD, Lampornis clemenciae bessophilus.--The Blue-throatedHummer like the preceding(Rivoli's Hummer) is one of the larger representativesof the family. It inhabitsthe mountainsand canyonsof southern Arizona and New Mexico and the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico. The species appearsmuch more retiring than its relativesand is little known. Bendire (10, p. 191) quotesDr. A. K. Fisher as sayingthat the birds are partial to the flowersof the shrubberyhoneysuckle (Lonicera involucrata), and that "it is probablethe flowers attract large numbersof insectswhich in turn attract the birds, for the gulletsof the hummers secured were filled with them." For the presentstudy three stomachswere available, the contentsof which indicatethat the birdswere seeking insects and pollen. Two of the birdshad consumed pollen representing10% and 15%, respectively,of the stomachcontents. Small insectsand spidersseem to have been taken indiscriminately. One bird had made 92% of its meal on sevenspecimens of a fly (Hypocerajohnsoni),which is rare in col- lections. A summary of the food of these three birds follows:fragments of true bugs (Hemiptera), 1.67%; of small beet.les(Coleoptera), 1.33%; sevenflies (Hypocera johnsoni),30.67%; other flies (Diptera), 15%; wasps(Ichneumonidac), 5%; spiders (Arachnida),26.33%; daddy-longlegs(Phalangidae), 10%, and undeterminedpollen grains and plant fiber, 10%. WHITE-EAREDHUMMINGBIRD, Hylocharis leucotis leucotis.--The delicately-tinted White-caredHummingbird is confinedlargely to the mountainsof Mexico, although it occurssparingly in those of southernArizona. It is comparativelylittle known both in life historyand in food preferences.Only a singlehalf-filled stomach of this diminutivebird has been examined. It wasfound to containthe remains of .sixflies (? Dilophussp.), forming92% of the meal and fragmentsof other but undetermined Diptera, 8%. Mrs. F. M. Bailey (6, p. 244) recordsthat it feedson insectsfound in honeysuckleand other flowers. Dr. A. Wetmore (44, p. 36) notesalso that the bird "feeds principally at blossoms." BROAD-BILLEDHUMMINGBIRD, Cynanthus latirostris.--The handsome Broad- billed Hummer is at home in the foothillsof the small mountain rangesof southern Arizona and southwesternNew Mexico and ranges southward to Mexico City. Wetmore (44, p. 36) informsus that "it inhabitsarroyos, canyons, and the borders of streams,perching on dead twigs at the top of bushesor low trees,resting in the sun on cool morningsand in shadein the heat of the day." Its feedinghabits are similar to thoseof the other hummingbirdshere described, althoughit is perhapsless active than someof its congeners.Wetmore (44, p. 36) observedthe birdsfeeding at flowersand alsogleaning small insects and spidersfrom the under sideof branchesand leaves. Four stomachsof birds collectedat Dragon Mountain, Arizona, in July, and one taken the latter part of March from the Rincose Mountains of the sameState, showthat the bird feedsprimarily on smallinsects and 162 Co•,• XNl)I•Nxrrr, N, Food of Some Uncommon Birds [April[Auk spiders. The foodof an the birdswas similar except that the bird obtainedin March had taken pollen. A summary of the food in the stomachsis as follows:fragments of: plant lice (Aphidae),7%; leaf-hoppers(Cicadellidae), 18.4%; jumpingplant lice (Psyllidae), 6%; miscellaneousbugs (Hemiptera), 1.8%; root gnats (Sciarasp.), 5%; flowerflies (Syrphidae),18%; miscellaneousflies (Diptera), includingdance flies (Rhamphomyia sp. and otherEmpididae), Chrysotus and Orthocladiussp., 25%; ants (Formicidae), 1%; parasiticwasps (Figitidae), 4.2%; Serphoidea,2.6%, and Chalcididae,1.2%; miscellaneousHymenoptera, 4%; undeterminedinsects• 1%; spiders,3%; daddy- longlegs(Phalangidae), 1.2%; and pollengrains, 0.6%. COPPr,R¾-TXILr, D TROGON,Trogon ambiguusambiguus.--The solitary Coppery- tailed Trogon is largely an exotic which occursin limited numbersin the United States,usually in the pinesand oaksof remotecanyons from southern Arizona to the lower Rio Grandevalley of Texas. Even thoughit is deckedwith flashycolors and has been describedfor more than a century, it still remains little known. For this food-habit sketch but two well-fliled stomachs were available. One was from a bird collectedJune 9, 1892,by Dr. A. I(. Fisher in the HuachucaMountains, Arizona,and the other from a trogonobtained October 10, 1931,south of the inter- nationalboundary near Teporica,Mexico, by D. M. Gorsuch. The Junebird had fed exclusivelyon the adults and larvae of lepidopterousinsects. The Octoberbird had drawnupon insects to the extentof 68%ofitsmeal;the remaining32%, however, consistedof fruits of cut-leavedcissus (Cissus incisa), 2%; fruit of red pepper(Capsi- curebaccatum), 14%; and undeterminedplant fiber•6%. The animalitems in the food of this bird includedfragments of: one grasshoppernymph (Acrididac), 1%; long-hornedgrasshopper eggs (Locustidae), trace; three Mantidae, 4%; three stink bugs,Brochymena sp., and other Heteroptera,6%; one leaf-beetle(Chrysomelidae), 1%; onevery largelarva of a hawk-moth(Sphingidae), 56%; larvaeof undetermined Lepidoptera,9%; and two sawflylarvae (Tenthredinidae),1%. Dr. Fisher, accordingto Bendire,reported that fruit, caterpillars,grasshoppers, and otherinsects commonly enter into the bill of fare and that the birdscatch insects on the wing in the mannerof a flycatcher. IVOR¾-BILLr,D WOODrrCKrR, Campephilusprincipalis.--As with most of the speciesso rare asto be on the vergeof extinction,the amountof accurateinformation availableas to the foodof the Ivory-billedWoodpecker is exceedinglylimited. This majesticbird--the largestof our species--whichonce ranged from North Carolina and Indiana to Texasis representedin the BiologicalSurvey collection by three stomachs. Two of these were collected on November 26, 1904, at Tarkington, Texas, by Vernon Bailey, and the third at Bowling Green, West Carroll Parish, Louisiana,on August 19, 1903,by E. L. Mosely. The first two stomachswere well filled and thoughonly the contentsof the third were received,it probablywas also well filled. Only this last stomachcontained gravel,a trace beingpresent. Forty-sixper cent of the combinedfood of the three birds was of animal origin, long-hornedbeetles (Cerambycidae,including Parandra polita and Stenodontusdasystomus) comprising 45.33%, while the remaining0.67% consistedof three differentspecies of engraverbeetles (Tomicus spp.). Southern magnolia(Magnolia grandiflora) seeds, formed 14% of the vegetablefood; hickory (Carya sp.) and pecan(Carya illinoiensis)nuts, 27%; and poison-ivyfruits (Rhu• radicans),12.67%. Fragmentsof an unidentifiedgall formed0.33% of the contents. SULrSUg-rr,LL•r,D FL¾CXTCn•R, Myiodynastes luteiv•ntris swarthi.--The Sulphur- bellledFlycatcher nests in the mountainsof southernArizona, migrating to Central Vol.1939 561] COT'rAM•D I•rr•, Foodof Some Uncommon Birds 163

America and probably also to westernSouth America. Like its relatives, it is in- sectivorousand probably content with whatever comesits way of appropriatesize. The singlestomach examined was collectedin the HuachucaMountains, of southern Arizona, on May 28, 1922. It contained fragments of: one long-horned beetle (Chrysobothrissp.), 16%; weevils (Curculionidae),3%; undeterminedbeetle (Cole- optera), 3%; four or morestink bugs(Pentatomidae), 20%; other true bugs(Hemi- ptera, includingLygaeidae), 13%; four indeterminableparasitic wasps of three or more species,25%; other wasps including one Cercerissp., one Odynerussp., one Chalcididae,15%; fly, 1%; undeterminedinsect, 2%; and spiders,2%. OLIV.•CEOUSFLYCATCHER, Myiarchus tuberculiferolivascens.--This small cousinof our common Northern Crested Flycatcher occursfrom southernArizona south throughwestern Mexico to Oaxaca. While the bird is fairly well known, very little is on recordas to its foodtendencies. We reporthere on the foodof threebirds obtained in June and July 1919, in the Chiricahua Mountains of southernArizona by Dr. Alexander Wetmore. The evidenceseems to indicate that any moving insect of small size is acceptable,one bird having ingestedsome twenty kinds of insects. The following is a summary of the contentsof the three full stomachs. Fragments of: grasshopper(Acrididae), 0.33%; termites (Isoptera), 6.67%; ant lion (Myrmel~ eonidae), 4.67%; mayflies (Ephemeridae), 0.67%; tree-hoppers(including Cyrtolo- bus sp., Stictocephalasp., and other Membracidae),14%; miscellaneousbugs, in- cludingSinea sp. and other assassinbugs, leaf-hoppers (Cicadellidae), spittle bugs (Cercopidae),squash bug (Coreidac)and undeterminedHomoptera and Heteroptera, 7.67%; beetles,including wood-borers (Agrilus sp.), and weevils(Pandeleteius dep•es- sus),2.67%; snipe-flies(Cyrtopogon sp.) and other Diptera, 30.66% (this groupof in- sectsformed the principalitem in eachstomach); moths (Lepidoptera) mostly adult (eight individuals,seven adults, and one larva comprised27% of one meal), 16%; beesand wasps(including Apidae, Sphecidae,Odynerus sp., Eucharidae),9%; undeterminedinsects, 3%; and spiders,4.66%. BUrr-SI•EASTEDFL¾C.•TCISEI•. Empidonax fulvifrons pygmaeus.--Becauseof its retiring nature and restricted distribution in the sparselysettled •reas of southern Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent northern Mexico, the little Buff-breasted Fly- catcheris oneof the leastknown of its group. From the limited data available, it apparently like othersof its kin feedson those insectsthat are mostavailable. The contentsof the singlestomach (from Huachuca Mountains, Arizona, June 17, 1922) available for laboratory analysis,suggests that the bird is a beneficialspecies. Fragments of the following insectswere noted: five beetles (includingone Bembidionsp., one Agrilus sp., one Pachybrachyssp. and one Rhynchophora),6%; one short-hornedgrasshopper (Acrididae), 1%; true bugs,including leaf-hoppers(Cicadellidae), chinch-bugs (Lygaeidae) and big-eyed bugs (Geocorissp.), 13%; more than forty antsof three genera(Formica sp., Myrmica sp., and Solenopsissp.), 65%; and undeterminedhymenopterous fragments, 15%. Gm•]•NJ•¾, Xanthouraluxuosa glaucescens.--The Green Jay is essentiallya species of northern Mexico and southernTexas, rangingnorthward throughthe Rio Grande valley to Laxedo. Most of its biographersgive it a decidedlyevil chaxacter. For instance,Austin Smith (38, p. 96), who spent severalmonths at Port Isabel, Texas, in 1908,has the followingto say: "What do they forageon? Well, duringthe nesting time for small birds, I judge upon Thrashers,Orioles, Sparrows,Wrens, Chats, Mockingbirds,etc., both in the embryoand down;at otherseasons, mostly on seeds and insects. In winter the seedsof the Ebony (Siderocarpus)is the main reliance; 164 COTT••,•n Ktvxrr•,Iv, Food of Some Uncommon Birds [April[Auk alsoin lessquantity the fruit of the Palmetto, to securewhich they will travel far into the open." Smith's indictment is not confirmedby the only previousrecord of stomach contents with which the writers are familiar--that from Vernon Bailey's field notes for April-May 1900, at Brownsville,Texas: "Stomach containedone grasshopper,beetles, small insects, and part of a kernelof corn." Exceptfor the cornthis food listed by Bailey is similar to that found by us in the stomachof a Green Jay collectedby Dr. FrancisHarper near Norias, Texas, on August 17, 1929. One per cent of the food consistedof fragments of two seedsof a bristlegrass(Setaria ? grise- bachii),seed fragments of prickly-ash (Xanthoxylum clava-herculis), and undetermined plant fiber. The remainderof the food was animal in origin, includingfragments of: sixteenor more stink bugs (Brochymenasp.), 79%; severalcoreid bugs (Acanlhoce- phala sp.), 8%; finely ground indeterminablebugs (Heteroptera), trace; a short- hornedgrasshopper nymph (Acrididac),1%; a field cricketnymph (Gryllusassimilis), 1%; a beetle, probably a click-beetle (? Elateridae), 1%; a hymenopteran,trace; indeterminableinsect, trace; and a fragmentof a spider,1%. Gravel formed1% of the gross contents. S•,NN•,•'s T•aAs•,a, Toxoslomalongiroslre sennelli.--Sennett's Thrasher is a bird of the Lower Austral and Upper Tropical zones,occurring from the lower Rio Grande valley and the Gulf coastof southernTexas, south to central Nuevo Leon, Tamaullpas, Coahuila and San Luis Potosi, Mexico. On the basisof laboratory analysisof three stomachsobtained by Francis Harper in extremesouthern Texas in August,it appearsthat the bird may be slightly more insectivorousthan our commonBrown Thrasher. The fact, however,that one bird made 23% of its last meal on hackberries,indicates that fruits form an acceptable item of diet. That it feedsquite indiscriminatelyis shownby two of the birds having eachconsumed twenty-one different kinds of food for their last meals,while the third had taken thirteen items. The indicationsare that the bird is normally beneficial. A summaryof the food of the three specimensfollows: ant-lions (Myrmeleonidae), 4% (one bird had consumedeight larvae of these peculiar insectsand a secondbird, oneindividual); termites, 1%; grasshoppers,locusts, etc., 5 % (someobtained by each bird); stink bugs (Pentatomidae) including Brochymenasp. and Euschislussp., 9%; miscellaneoustrue bugs,6.67%, formed a part of eachmeal and includednegro bugs (Aelhus sp., Galgupha sp., Fulgoidae and Reduviinae); beetles including Oedionychissp., Choeridiumleconlei, Alaeni•s sp., 30%; Onlhophagussp., Pseudocan- thonsp., Elcodes veteralor, E. lricoslata,Blapslinus sp., and otherTenebrionidae, 30%; ants (includingCamponolus sp. and Formicasp.), 13.33%; other Hymenoptera,1%; moth, 11.67%; miscellaneousinsects, 2.67%; spiders,2.67%; centipedes,1.67%; fragmentsof a small frog, 1.33%; fruit of hackberry (Cellispallida), 7.33%; undetermined plant fiber, 2.66%. Aztyra•Bn•rmn, Sialia sialisfulva.--The Azure Bluebird like others of its kind is cherishedwherever found by thosewhose souls are atuned to the graceand beauty of Nature. Unfortunately, its distribution in the United States is extremely limited. It breedssouthward from the mountains of southernArizona to Jalisco,Oaxaca and VeraCruz in Mexicoand its winter range extends to northernGuatemala.•;• • The singlestomach available (collected during May in the Ituachuca Mountains, Arizona) contained fragments of: one larval ant-lion (Myrmeleonidae), 3%; one grasshopper(Acrididac), 15%; two pygmylocusts (Tettigoniidae), 15%; one field cricket (Nemobiussp.)• 5%; two crickets (Gryllusassimilis), 18%; one scarabacid beetle,3%; threeor morecarpenter ants (Camponotussp.), 15%; otherants (Formici- dac), 13%; larva of a sawfly(Tenthredinidae), 2%; a wasp(Hymenoptera), 5%; and Vol.1939 J COTTAMAND I•NAPPEN• Food of Some Uncommon Birds 165 spiders,6%; besidesfinely ground plant d•bris from the alimentary tracts of the grasshoppersand crickets. EuROrEA• WHEATE•R,Oenanthe oenanthe oenanthe.--This bird though breeding throughoutthe northernportion of both hemispheresis certainlynot commonin North America. The singlestomach here reportedon was collectedby Alfred M. Bailey, at Hooniah Sound,Alaska, May 12, 1920. The food, almost entirely of plant origin, includedthirty unidentifiedbulblets and fragmentsof many more,totalling 96%, and undeterminedplant fiber, 3%. The animal matter consistedof one jumping spider (Artidac), 1%; fragment of another spider, trace; and fragment of an undeterminableinsect, trace. Gravel constituted 5% of the total content. Bean recordsthe Wheatear feedingon grassand saxifrage seedsat Cape Lisburne,but mostof the publishedrecords of the food of this species indicate that it is primarily an insectfeeder--especially upon flies and parasitic wasps. L•R•E-•ILLED SPXRROW,Passerculus rostratus rostratus.--The Large-billedSpar- row has a very peculiar distribution; restricted during the breedingseason to the LowerAustral Zone about the headof the Gulf of California,yet duringthe remainder of the year it spreadswidely, coveringthe entire coastlineof Lower California and also that of the southern third of California. Twenty-eight stomachswere available; fourteen taken in December,three in January, and eleven in March. One each was obtained at Pasadenaand El Monte, California,and the remainderat AlamitosBay, California,and at San Lnis Island, Gulf of California. The foodof thesewinter-collected birds was 39.21% animal, and 60.79% vegetable. A full stomachcontained about three-quartersof 1 cc. Of the animal foodsvarious crustaceans, both soft-bodiedforms and crabs,were consumedto the extent of 22.67% of the total intake. Of these,crabs of various speciesformed 10.71%. A variety of insectswere next in order of importancesup- plying 8.36% of the food. Beetles(Coleoptera) composed 4.68%, and unidentified insects,ants, and a lepidopterouscocoon (Tineidae) made up the remaining3.68%. But oneof the twenty-eightbirds had fed on spidersand this onehad made11% of its last mealthereon. As an averagefor all birdscollected, spiders comprised but 0.39% of the total food. That •mall gastropodsare readilyacceptable is shownfrom the fact that ten of the elevenbirds collectedin March at San Lnis Island, Gulf of California,had ingested a relativelythin-shelled snail (Marinula rhoadsi)in amountsvarying from a trace to 55% of their meals. For the elevenbirds collectedduring March, snailssupplied 18.45% of the food, but all of the twenty-eightbirds averagedonly 7.25%. Miscel- laneousgastropods contributed another 0.54%, makingthe total consumptionof these mollusks7.79%. A surprisingamount (30.87%) of the plant materialconsumed could not be identified otherthan asseed fragments, woody d•bris, or rubbish. Grain supplied22.96%, distributedas follows:barley (Hordeurnvulgare), 3.57%; barley or wheat, 3.57%; wild oats (Avenafatua),12.25%; oats (Arenasatira), 3.57%; while seedsof storksbill (Erodiumsp.) andSolanum sp. supplied the remaining3.57% and 3.39% respectively. A considerable difference was noted in the food of birds collected in March at San Lnis Island and of those taken in December at Alamitos Bay, California. The formergroup had subsistedon animal food, mostlycrustaceans and gastropods,to the extent of 53.73%, while the California birds had taken insects,crustaceans and gastropodsonly to the extent of 22.29%. This would indicatethat the speciesis adaptable,feeding within limits on whatever is most readily obtainable. 166 CO,AMAND KNAPPEN, Food of Some Uncommon Birds [AprilAuk

Cassin (17, p. 226) who studied these birds in 1856, wrote: "In those localities, frequently of difficult access,these birds rear their young in comparative safety, subsistingon seedsand insectsand seldomattracting attention. They may occasionally be seen,too, on the bare sandsof the beachsearching for smallmarine animals thrown up by the waves." BO•rER•'S SrAR•OW,Aimophila b. botterii.--Botteri's Sparrow is a little-known sparrow of the prairies of southernArizona and the lower Rio Grande valley of Texas;its rangeextends south over the Mexicantableland to Chiapas. For the presentstudy fourteenstomachs were available,of which two weretaken at about 5000 feet elevation in the Huachuca Mountains of Arizona, five miles southeast of Fort Huachuca. One was obtainedJune 20 and the other July 13, 1932, by Alexander Walker. The other twelve birds were securedby Dr. Francis Harper in August 1929, sometwelve miles southeastof Brownsvilleand near Point Isabel, Cameron County, Texas. From this study, it is apparent that during the summerthe speciesis predominantly insectivorous,although it does not ignore seeds. The fourteen birds had drawn 86.08% of their food from the animal, and 13.92% from the plant kingdom. Five had fed exclusivelyon insectsand other animal foods, while six others had taken only from a trace to 12% of plant items. The remainingthree birds had made 44.48%, and 71% of their last mealson plant foods. In all, fifty kinds of insectsand spidersand thirteen plant specieswere identified. The averagemeal consistedof 8.8 items; the maximum number in any meal was fifteen and the minimum three. Eight of the birds had eaten one or more spiders,which averaged3% of the total food, but aside from these all other animals taken were insects. Orthoptera, consumedby every bird examined,were first in order of importance,supplying a total of 48.29% of the entirefood. Of these,grasshoppers, including a numberof Melanoplus, madeup 35.01%, mantids,including Litaneutria sp., and phasmidseach contributed 5.07%, while pygmy locusts (Tettigonidae) added another 3.07%. The remaining 0.07% consistedof crickets (Gryllidae). No fewer than six grasshoppersand two pygmy locustswere obtained at a single meal. Other destructive insectsconsumed includeda number of speciesof bugs (Hemiptera), 13.27%. This includedcicadas (Tibicen sp.), 6.71%; leafhoppers(CicadeHidae), 1.64%; stink bugs (Nezara sp.), 2%, Podopssp., 1.21%; and shield-backedbugs (Homaemus sp.), 0.86%. The fact that someof the bugsconsumed are amongthe most objectionablyodoriferous, from man'sviewpoint, would indicatethat this quality is ineffectualas a protectionagainst birds. As further evidencethat the feedinghabits of this bird may be a benefit to agriculture, it may be stated that of a total of the 14.82% beetlesentering into the bill of fare, 8.33% consistedof weevils (Curculionidae)and 5.71% of leaf-beetles(Chry- somelidae). The remaining0.78% coleopterousfood was drawn from among the ground beetles (Carabidae), wood-borers(Buprestidae), and pea-weevils(Mylabri- dae). Twelve of the fourteen birds had eaten thesebeetles and three of them to the extent of more than 40% of their meals. One bird had consumedno fewer than fourteen weevils and one leaf-beetle, while two others had taken nine and eight, respectively. If further evidenceis neededthat destructive insectsare eaten, it may be pointed out that termites (Isoptera)were consumed by three birds and madeup 57% of the last meal of oneof them, and as an averagethey comprised4.14% of the total intake. One bird had eaten at least thirty-five of these pests. Caterpillars (Lepidoptera larvae) enteredinto the diet of five of the birds, making more than one-quarterof the Vol.1939 56]J COTTAMAND KNAPPEN, Food of Some Uncommon Birds 167 meal of one of them and 2% of the total food of all the birds. The remaining 0.56% insect food consisted of ants and other Hymenoptera and nerve-winged insects (Neuroptera). Nine of the fourteen birds consumedplant material in someform, although with but one bird did seedsor other plant productssupply as much as half of the meal. Spurgeseeds, totalling 5.95% (and includingAcalypha sp., 2.74%, and Phyllanthus sp., 3.23%), taken by six birds, were of first importance. Seedsof panic grass (Panicurnsp.), eaten by five of the birds, were only slightly lessimportant and contributed 4.59% of the total food. Thesewere followedby putslaneseeds (Portulaca retusa),which added 2.22% to the menu. A sedge(Scirpus sp.), 0.79%, and a RueIlia, 0.36%, contributed the remaining vegetable percentage, although other grasses, sedges,and a legume were representedby traces.

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U.S. Bureauof BiologicalSurvey Washington,D.C.