THE WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW 



shy and retiring, but it is much bolder and more conspicu- 

 ous in the far West and often frequents gardens and parks. 

 Like most of its family it is a seed-eater by preference, 

 and insects comprise very little more than 7 per cent, 

 of its diet. Caterpillars are the largest item, with some 

 beetles, a few ants and wasps, and some bugs, among 

 which are black olive scales. The great bulk of food, 

 however, consists of weed seeds, which amount to 74 per 

 cent, of the whole. In California this bird is accused 

 of eating the buds and blossoms of fruit trees, but buds 

 or blossoms were found in only 30 out of 516 stomachs, 

 and probably it is only under exceptional circumstances 

 that it does any damage in this way. Evidently neither 

 the farmer nor the fruit-grower has much to fear from 

 the -vvhite-crowned sparrow. The little fruit it eats is 

 mostly wild, and the grain eaten is waste." 



[157] 



