iloofe ^etos: anH 9^etotetD6 



A Determination of the Economic 

 Status of the Western Meadowlark 

 (Sturnella neglecta) in Cali- 

 fornia. By Harold Child Bryant. 

 University of California Publications 

 in Zoology, Vol. ii, No. 14, pp. 377- 

 510, pis. 21-24, 5 text figs. Feb. 27, 

 1914. 



This paper of 126 pages, devoted to 

 a study of the food of the Western 

 Meadowlark, at once takes its place 

 among the most important contribu- 

 tions to the subject of economic orni- 

 thology that have yet appeared. It is 

 based on the examination of nearly two 

 thousand stomachs of this species from 

 all parts of California, collected in every 

 month of the year. 



Of the total amount of food taken 

 throughout the year, sixty-three per cent 

 was found to be animal, and thiry-seven 

 per cent vegetable. Beetles and Orthop- 

 tera (crickets and grasshoppers) each 

 constitute one-lifth of the total quantity. 

 In summer and fall, Orthoptera form a 

 large percentage of the food — eighty- 

 five per cent of the whole amount in 

 August. Cutworms and caterpillars also 

 constitute an important item. The only 

 non-insect animal diet comprises a few 

 sow-bugs, snails, earthworms, and milli- 

 pedes. Of the vegetable food, grain con- 

 constitutes seventy-five per cent, or nearly 

 thirty-one per cent of the total; but nearly 

 one-half of the entire amount of grain is 

 consumed in November, December, and 

 January, when little insect food is avail- 

 able. 



As the author states: "Few people have 

 any realization of the great quantities 

 of insects consumed by birds," and he 

 computes that in the great valleys — the 

 Sacramento and San Joaquin — alone, the 

 young Meadowlarks in the nest require 

 343/^ tons of insect food each day! 



Of the charges brought against this 

 species, only one of any importance is 

 sustained. Its depredations in fields of 

 young grain are sometimes serious, due 

 to its habit of boring down beside the 



(i 



sprout and pulling off the kernel. The 

 author believes, however, that this 

 damage is more than balanced by the 

 good done by the destruction of harmful 

 insects, and does not warrant wholesale 

 killing of the Meadowlark. He advises 

 certain preventive measures and frighten- 

 ing the birds from the fields during the 

 short period necessary. 



Ten reasons are given why the Meadow- 

 lark should be a protected non-game bird, 

 among the number being its esthetic 

 value, and the author concludes that it 

 "has been shown to be distinctly bene- 

 ficial to agricultural interests as a whole, 

 and thus to all the people of the state." 



In the introductory matter, Mr. Bryant 

 discusses the History of Methods in 

 Economic Ornithology, and a comparison of 

 the various methods. Supplementary sec- 

 tions include miscellaneous data secured in- 

 cidentally, to the examination of the large 

 series of birds, as parasitism, malforma- 

 tion, albinism, molt, etc., and several 

 pages are devoted to the important 

 question of whether protective adapta- 

 tions of insects protect them from the 

 attacks of birds, and of availability as a 

 factor in the kind and quantity of food. 



A bibliography and four plates illus- 

 trating food and feeding habits conclude 

 the paper.— W. DeW. M. 



A Study of a Collection of Geese of 

 THE Branta canadensis Group 

 From the San Joaquin Valley, Cali- 

 fornia. By Harry S. Swarth. Uni- 

 versity of California Publications in 

 Zoology, Vol. 12, No. i, pp. 1-24, pis. 

 1-2, 8 text. figs. Nov. 20, 1913. 



As one of the earliest tokens of return- 

 ing spring-time, the Wild Geese are of 

 interest to everyone; while the ornitholo- 

 gist finds in their variations in size, form 

 and color, scarcely paralleled among birds, 

 fruitful material for study in evolution. 



Mr. Swarth, in an endeavor to deter- 

 mine the exact status of the Canada Geese 

 of California, examined numbers of each 



20) 



