CATBIRD 333 



number of grasshoppers dwindles to insignificance. The number of 

 May beetles eaten increases from the first to the twentieth of June, 

 but after this time they are also replaced by fruits. By August the 

 percentage of insects eaten drops to 1 percent but rises again in Sep- 

 tember. The examination of 213 stomachs reveals that beetles and 

 ants form the most important food of the catbird, though smooth cater- 

 pillars play no insignificant part. Crickets and grasshoppers are 

 relished and come next in importance. The less important though 

 constant parts of the fare are thousandlegs, centipeds, bugs, and 

 spiders. In addition to the insects revealed by stomach examinations, 

 field observations indicate that many and diverse kinds of insects are 

 eaten. 



J. C. "Wood (1905) observed catbirds catching and eating the large 

 cecropia, prometheus, and sphinx moths, which were also fed to the 

 young. H. B. Wood (1930) reports seeing a catbird capture and eat a 

 large number of honeybees that had invaded a summer cottage. Henry 

 Mousley (1932) found the catbird to be one of the most important 

 destroyers of Japanese beetles. E. H. Forbush (1907) states that he 

 saw catbirds eating plant lice for hours at a time. He also reports 

 seeing them feed extensively on gypsy and browntail moth larvae. 

 K. S. Deck (1928) observed them feeding on dragonflies. Jennie K. 

 Macoubrie (1932) gives an interesting account of a catbird that en- 

 tered a basement laboratory through an open window to feed on 

 museum pests, dermestid beetles. For a period of two weeks it made 

 frequent visits in and out, each time carrying one of the beetles to its 

 young. Perhaps the most unusual departure from the usual food hab- 

 its of the catbird was reported by Dr. John C. Phillips ( 1927) , who saw 

 the birds wading in shallow water at the Sutton fish hatchery, where 

 they were deftly catching and swallowing trout fry about II/2 inches 

 long. According to the superintendent of the hatchery it was a com- 

 mon habit among several pairs of catbirds that nested close b3^ W. L. 

 McAtee ( 1926a) , in his study of the relation of birds to woodlots, men- 

 tions the following insects eaten by the catbird that have not been 

 previously mentioned. "Among the ants are numerous carpenter ants 

 which are given to hollow^ing out trees. The beetles include numer- 

 ous forms detrimental to the forest, as leaf chafers, goldsmith beetles, 

 junebugs, nut weevils, bark beetles, and other weevils. * * * 

 Other injurious beetles taken are the round-headed wood borers, in- 

 cluding the ash borer {Necolytus capraea) , leaf beetles, including the 

 grapevine flea beetle {Fidia mticida) and the locust leaf miner 

 {Odontota dorsalis) . Plant lice, leaf hoppers, tree hoppers, psyllids, 

 cicadas, sawflies, and white ants are additional enemies of trees that 

 the Catbird consumes." Francis H. Allen has observed the catbird 

 feeding among the dead leaves on the ground. Quoting from his cor- 

 respondence : "Catbirds throw the leaves aside with their bills. The 



