282 CONNECTICUT GEOL. AND NAT. HIST. SURVEY. [Bull. 



been reported in the stomach of this bird. Of 22 stomachs re- 

 ported by Dr. Fisher, 17 contained mice; 1, a bird; 1, an insect; 

 and 3 were empty. Of 4 stomachs examined by the author, 3 

 contained mice ; and 1 was empty. 



The Snowy Owl (Nyctea nyctea) is a rare winter resident 

 in the state, most common near the seashore. Dr. Fisher finds 

 it a useful bird. Of 38 stomachs examined by him, 2 contained 

 game birds; 9, other birds; 18. mice; 2, other mammals; and 12 

 were empty. 



CUCKOOS. 



Cuculidcc. 



Especially deserving of protection are our Cuckoos, the 

 Black-billed (Coccyzus erytJirophthalmus), and the Yellow- 

 billed {Coccyzus americanus americanus) ; as they feed chiefly 

 on the caterpillars that infest the trees of the woods and orcfiards, 

 and are among the few birds that eat the hairy species. " In fact, 

 cuckoos eat so many hairy caterpillars that the hairs pierce the 

 inner lining of the stomach and remain there, so that, when the 

 stomach is opened and turned inside out, it appears to be lined 

 with a thin coating of fur." (Beal, " Some Common Birds in 

 Relation to Agriculture.") 



" The insect food of cuckoos consists of beetles, grasshoppers, 

 cicadas, bugs, ants, wasps, flies, caterpillars, and spiders, of which 

 grasshoppers and caterpillars constitute more than three-fourths. 

 The great majority of the insects found in the stomachs were 

 harmful kinds. Caterpillars, katydids, and tree crickets are 

 exactly the prey that cuckoos might be expected to secure, from 

 their peculiar method of hunting in foliage ; while the large num- 

 bers of grasshoppers eaten furnish additional proof of the fact 

 so often illustrated that birds are particularly fond of grass- 

 hoppers, and that species not naturally ground feeders become 

 so during the grasshopper season. 



" It is a matter of common observation that cuckoos feed 

 largely on caterpillars ; and stomach investigations not only con- 

 firm this, but show that, unlike most other birds, they eat freely 

 of hairy and bristly species. Nearly half of the cuckoo's food 

 was found to be caterpillars. An attempt was made to obtain 

 an approximate idea of the actual number in the stomachs by 



