EASTERN PAINTED BUNTING 149 



cent of the animal food. Other insects Hsted by McAtee include 

 "grasshoppers, crickets, click beetles, leaf beetles, caterpillars, true 

 bugs, and small hymenopterans. A few spiders and one snail also 

 were taken." 



In the vegetable category, he found that "The vegetable food is 

 remarkable in consisting largely of a single item — the seeds of foxtail, 

 or pigeon grass. This is one of the worst weeds in the United States. 

 The 80 painted buntings made over two-thirds (precisely 67.03 per- 

 cent) of their total food of its seeds. The seeds of other grasses 

 composed 5.88 percent of the food grasses alone, thus furnishing over 

 nine-tenths of the vegetable portion." Other seeds were those of 

 mallow, amaranth, sorrel, and nail grass. 



He sums up by saying that practically all the vegetable food is 

 weed seeds and the animal food almost exclusively injurious insects, 

 more than a fourth being the two greatest pests of the cotton crop. 

 Surely this is an honorable record and one which deserves better 

 knowledge on the part of the farmer, gardener, horticulturist, and 

 bird student. It is easy to wish that the nonpareil's range was 

 greater than it is. 



Caged. — ^In the days when cage birds were in vogue in this country, 

 the nonpareil held front rank in popularity. The practice was an 

 old one, for both Wilson and Audubon comment on it. Wilson (1832) 

 had the following to say concerning it: 



I found these birds very commonly domesticated in the houses of the French 

 inhabitants of New Orleans; appearing to be the most common cage bird they 

 have. The negroes often bring them to market, from the neighbouring planta- 

 tions, for sale; either in cages, taken in traps, or in the nest. A wealthy French 

 planter, who lives on the banks of the Mississippi, a few miles below Bavou 

 Fourche, took me into his garden, which is spacious and magnificent, to show me 

 his aviary; where, among many of our common birds, I observed several non- 

 pareils, two of which had nests, and were then hatching. * * * Many of them 

 have been transported to Europe; and I think I have somewhere read, that in 

 Holland attempts have been made to breed them, and with success. 



Six of these birds, which I brought with me from New Orleans by sea, soon 

 became reconciled to the cage. In good weather, the males sang with great 

 sprightliness, though they had been caught only a few days before my departure. 

 They were greedily fond of flies, which accompanied us in great numbers during 

 the whole voyage; and many of the passengers amused themselves with catching 

 these, and giving them to the Nonpareils; till, at length, the birds became so well 

 acquainted with this amusement, that as soon as they perceived any of the people 

 attempting to catch flies, they assembled at the front of the cage, stretching out 

 their heads through the wires with eager expectation, evidently much interested 

 in the issue of their efforts. 



Though the practice of caging native wild birds has now long since 

 been prohibited, I recall an experience similar to that of Wilson's that 

 I had in New Orleans when I was shown the aviary of a wealthy 



