NO. 7 PROTECTIVE ADAPTATIONS McATEE 99 



to 199 ; two additional above 200 ; one more above 300 ; besides the 

 following with greater numbers of records ; English sparrow, 420 ; 

 Eastern meadowlark, 425; crow blackbird, 621; starling, 631; and 

 crow, 722. Some of the larger counts of spiders taken at a meal 

 were 25 by a Say's phoebe, 33 by a greater yellow-legs, 46 by a 

 wood duck, 58 by a Louisiana heron. 187 by a starling, and 300 by 

 a hairy w^oodpecker. 



A rather small proportion (less than 8 per cent") of spiders found 

 in bird stomachs were identified, but results obtained along this 

 line show the determinations are distributed to cryptically colored 

 groups as the Epeiridae (30 records) and Thomisidae (28) ; more 

 brilliant forms as the Attidae (158) and to the formidable Ly- 

 cosidae (370), in a way that would indicate availability to be the 

 principal factor in choice. There are two records of Syneinosina 

 formica, the most antlike of our spiders, a small and rather un- 

 common form that one would expect no more frequently regardless 

 of its " protected " status. As noted in the last section, however, 

 resemblance to an ant is no protection whatever against predators. 

 There are 134 records of the cocoons or egg-cases of spiders being 

 eaten showing that even these quiescent stages do not escape the birds. 

 In bulk spiders do not ordinarily form any considerable percentage 

 of the total food of liirds. but the proportion runs as high as 6 per 

 cent and 8 per cent of the annual diet in the case of certain song 

 thrushes and petty flycatchers. 



There are 34 records in our tabulations of ticks being eaten, and 

 224 of mites. Of interest in connection with the latter are the finding 

 of 100 Parasitidae in the stomach of a r^d-eyed vireo ; 320 mites 

 further unidentified in the stomach of a pipit ; 535 w^ater mites in the 

 gizzard of a green- winged teal, and 594 of the same group in the 

 stomach of a pied-liilled grel)e. 



Such geographically restricted and relatively uncommon forms as 

 the scorpions, pedipalps, and solpugids, even though having only a 

 small number of records each, would seem, nevertheless, to be amply 

 represented, considering their availability. Pseudoscorpions are 

 present throughout our area but lead chiefly concealed lives ; the 80 

 records are distributed among 22 species of birds. 



The daddy-long-legs, or Phalangida, with 478 determinations cer- 

 tainly have not been slighted; 10 of the birds taking them have 10 to 

 19 records each ; two others over 20 records ; and one each additional, 

 the yellow-billed cuckoo, 34 ; and crow blackbird, 60. Large numbers 



