ACADIAN FLYCATCHER 191 



Animal food. — Beetles are eaten to the extent of 13.7G per cent of the whole 

 food. Of these 1.66 per cent are of the three prominently useful families (Cara- 

 bidse, Cicindelidte, and Coccinellidse). The others were of more or less harmful 

 families and include such well known pests as spotted cucumber beetle {Diabro- 

 tica 12-punctata) , rose beetle (Macrodacti/lus subspinosa), rice weevil {Calandra 

 oryza), and a scolytid. Beetles were found in 76 stomachs and were eaten 

 quite regularly till October, when none were taken. 



Wasps, bees, and ants amounted to 39.93, or practically 40, per cent of the 

 bird's food, and are eaten so regularly that no month's consumption falls much 

 below the average. They were found in 76 stomachs, or 84 percent of all, 

 and four were entirely filled vrith them. Ants were contained in 29 stomachs 

 and parasitic species in 13, but some of the latter may have been overlooked^ 

 owing to their broken condition. Hymenoptera as a whole are the largest item 

 of animal food with this as well as most other flycatchers. Flies (Diptera) 

 amount to 8.15 percent of the food, and are not taken as regularly as Hymenop- 

 tera and in October are not eaten at all. They were noted in 39 stomachs and 

 were the sole contents of 1. Most of them are of the housefly family, but a few 

 long-legged crane flies were found in 5 stomachs. Bugs are eaten still less than 

 flies. They amount to 6.03 percent, but are not taken very regularly and not 

 at all in October. They were contained in 29 stomachs and consisted of such 

 families as the leaf hoppers, tree hoppers, stinkbugs, and assassin bugs. 



Orthoptera were found in 1 stomach taken in Florida in April and 2 collected 

 in Pennsylvania in September, but the percentage in each of these 3 stomachs 

 was so great that the amount for the whole season is 6.38 per cent of the food, 

 or more than the last item. The contents of the Florida stomach could not be 

 determined further than that they were orthopterous, but the contents of the 

 other 2 were identified as (Ecanthus niveus, the snowy tree cricket, known in 

 some places as the August bird. As these creatures are rather nocturnal in 

 their habits and not much given to flying at any time, it is rather surprising to 

 find that a flycatcher had nearly filled its stomach with them. 



Moths, in both the adult and larval form (caterpillars), are second in 

 importance in the animal food. They are taken pretty regularly in every 

 month, but with some falling off in July. The amount for the whole season is 

 18.87 per cent. They were found in 38 stomachs, of which 31 contained cater- 

 pillars and 8 held moths; 3 contained no other food. No special pest was 

 observed among them. A few miscellaneous insects, such as dragon flies, 

 scorpion flies, and a few insects not identified, amount to 0.99 per cent, and 

 have no special interest. Spiders and millepeds were eaten in moderate quan- 

 tities from April to August. They amount to 2.94 per cent and complete the 

 quota of animal food. As usual, many of them were the long-legged harvestmen 

 or daddy longlegs. . . . 



Vegetable food. — Fruit was found in 5 stomachs and vegetable refuse in 1. 

 There were a few seeds of blackberries or raspberries, and these were the only 

 things that could have been the product of cultivation. The rest was wild 

 fruit of no economic value. 



Summary. — The habits of the Acadian flycatcher do not lead it to the garden 

 or orchard, and its food has little direct economic interest. It does not catch 

 many useful insects and, as it does not prey upon any product of cultivation. 

 it may well be considered as one of those species whose function is to help 

 keep the great flood of insect life down to a level compatible with the best 

 interests of other forms of life. 



It is a well-established result of observation that an animal and its 

 environment are accommodated to each other as hand and glove; 



