250 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



ficaria), and even acorns. The bird is also credited with 

 the destruction of enormous numbers of wireworms and 

 craneflies, 1200 of the former having been on one occasion 

 taken out of a single crop. Again, in a valuable paper 

 on the food of birds published by Miss Laura Florence in 

 the Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society of 

 Scotland (5th series, vol xxiv., 1912, p. 210), analyses of the 

 contents of four stomachs are given. These contained corn 

 grains, grass, Indian corn, seeds of Birch or Alder, seeds of 

 Hawthorn, and roots and tubers of the Lesser Celandine. 

 There is no mention of any insect remains, so that the 

 analysis given below shows a considerable contrast. 



It should be noted that in enumerating the specimens 

 I have not included mere fragments, such as wings, legs, or 

 detached heads. In the case of the Bibio, I have only 

 counted fairly complete specimens, while the Beetles 

 enumerated had at least the thorax with the elytra attached. 

 To the following numbers, therefore, it would be quite 

 reasonable to add a small percentage : — 



Analysis of Contents-. 



Insects — Diptera : Bibio lepidus,\j\x. . . 2,286 specimens. 



Pollen i a rudis. Fab. . 1 ,, 

 Coleoptera : Lochmaea suturalis. 



Thorns. (Heather Beetle) . 508 ,, 

 Hymenoptera : Myrmica rubra, L. 



(Ant) .... 2 

 Orthoptera : Stenobothrus sp. (Grass- 

 hopper) . . . . 1 ,, 

 Mollusca — Phvwrbis sp. 2 ,, 



Total . . 2,800 



Vegetable remains. — Numerous tubers of Lesser Celandine 

 {Ranunculus ficaria), one seed-capsule of Mouse-Ear 

 Chickweed (Cerasfiunt), fragments of mosses and grasses, 

 small stem with leaves of Heath Bed-straw {Galium 

 saxafile), tiny shoot of Heather {Calluna vulgaris), many 

 fragments of leaves of the Bulbous Crowfoot {Ranunculus 

 bulbosus), and a few leaflets of the Cuckoo-flower (Car- 

 damiuc pratensis). 



