NORTHERN PARULA WARBLER 143 



taken on the wing ; and occasionally the bird may be seen feeding on 

 the ground. 



Dr. Wetmore (1916) reports on the contents of 61 stomachs from 

 Porto Rico, which contained 97.7 percent animal matter and only 

 2.3 percent vegetable matter. The latter "consisted of seeds of small 

 berries of the camacey {Miconia prasina) and others." In the animal 

 food, beneficial insects and a large number of spiders amounted to 

 about 35 percent, and the remainder were all harmful pests. "Lantern 

 flies (Fulgoridae) (19.09 percent) were identified in 29 stomachs. 

 * * * Other bugs (3.69 percent) comprise small numbers of leaf 

 bugs, species of the chinch bug family, stinkbugs, and a few preda- 

 ceous assassin bugs. The birds are fond of beetles, and this order 

 supplies 22.53 percent of the food, nearly all being injurious species. 

 Ladybird beetles (1.36 percent) were present in 14 stomachs. Longi- 

 corn beetles (1.68 percent) were taken 11 times, and leaf beetles of 

 several species (7.95 percent) were eaten by 30 of these birds." Other 

 beetles taken included darkling beetles, skin beetles, scarred-snout 

 weevils, coffee leaf-weevils, stalk borers, and curculios. Among other 

 items were a few ants and other small Hymenoptera (3.57 percent) 

 and flies (1.19 percent). Caterpillars were found in 18 stomachs and 

 moths in 4. Spiders (29.53 percent) were identified in 29 stomachs. 

 Stuart T. Danforth (1925), from Puerto Rico, adds berries of Var- 

 ronia angustifolia and fleabeetles, and says that large moth eggs were 

 eaten by two birds, forming 25 percent of their food. Forbush (1929) 

 says that "it feeds much on small hairless inch-worms, such as the 

 fall canker-worm and the spring canker-worm, and on the younger 

 and smaller hairy caterpillars, such as the gipsy and the tent 

 caterpillar." 



Behavior. — The parula warbler is less active in its movements, more 

 sedate and deliberate, than most of the other treetop wood warblers. 



It creeps along the branches and hops from twig to twig, often 

 clinging to the under side of a cluster like a chickadee, an action that 

 led some of the early writers to refer to it as a small titmouse, and 

 it sometimes clings to the trunk of a tree like a nuthatch in its search 

 for food. The birds are fearless and confiding, and are easily ap- 

 proached. Even when their nest is disturbed they come within a few 

 feet of the intruder, making little, if any, protest or demonstration. 

 George B. Sennett (1878) tells the following story, illustrating the 

 confiding nature of the bird : 



Just before we sighted land, imagine our surprise and joy to see a little 

 Blue Yellow-backed Warbler on our mast. It soon flew down to the sail and 

 thence to the deck, where, after a few moments, it felt quite at home. Our 

 sailor caught him, and he was passed around for all to admire and pet. It 

 would nestle in our hands and enjoy the warmth without the least fear. When 



