VOL. IV.] Food of Bii'ds. 55 



MAI.1.ARD. Anas boschas. Four specimens examined from 

 Suisun marshes, a. Small univalve shells in gullet, b. Bearded 

 barley and barley heads, c. Small, sprouted seeds, d. Half a 

 teacupful of barnacles in the gullet. 



Gadwall. Anas strepera. Small seeds and sand in the 

 gizzard. 



Surf Scoter. Oidemia perspicUlata. The gullet of one shot 

 in the water near the edge of a marsh was so full of small crabs 

 that they fell from the mouth when the bird was picked up. 

 Small crabs and mussels form a considerable portion of the food 

 of this species. I have eaten these birds, but do not care for 

 them often. " It is difficult to disguise the peculiarity of flavor. 



Black Brant. Branta nigricaiis. All of those which I have 

 examined came from Humboldt Bay, and had been feeding entirely 

 upon "eel grass," or "ribbon grass" — {Zostera viarina), and 

 were extremely fat. 



California Clapper Rail. Rallusobsoletus. In the gullet 

 of a bird shot on a salt marsh, near an artesian well, was a good- 

 sized frog. 



Northern Phalarope. Phalaropus lobatus. A number which 

 were collected from tide pools of a salt marsh had been eating 

 small insects and small worms. Wilson's Phalarope (/*. tricolor) 

 I have observed catching insects from a muddy surface, actually 

 stalking them in a partially crouching attitude until near enough 

 to dart after them, one at a time. 



California Partridge. Callipepla californica. Two males 

 which I shot one evening, as they were going to roost for the 

 night, after having been feeding on a newly-sown field, contained 

 the following, mainly in the crop: a. Two hundred and ten 

 whole grains of barley, six pieces of broken barley, three grains 

 of "cheat," and one of wheat, besides a few barley hulls, some 

 clover leaves and alfilaria. b. One hundred and eighty-five 

 whole grains of barley, five broken pieces, four grains of " cheat," 

 and two of wheat; also barley hulls, clover, and alfilaria. The 

 flock numbered nearly or quite twenty birds, and had probably 



