The Food of B'n'ds. 139 



instead of insects proper as in the species already discussed. 

 This bird apparently contrasts more directly with the 

 brown thrush in food than with any other member of the 

 family. The lar^e percentage of Orthoptera is misleading, 

 being due to the fact that a single bird had taken nothing 

 but grasshoppers and locusts. Tiiis species seems to do more 

 good and less harm than the preceding thrushes, having the 

 lowest fruit ratio and eating the highest number of insects, 

 with only the average of predaceous si^ecies. Its advanc- 

 es, therefore, are to ])e cordially encouraged ])y the garden- 

 er and farmer — a fact which must be especially agreeable 

 to every lover of bird music, who has learned to recognize 

 the full, clear, rich and exquisite strains of this songster. 



Hyloctchla pallasi, Cab. Hermit Thrush. 



The hermit thrush is strictly a migrant, passing us in 

 May and October. It is reported by Mr. Ridgway as a 

 rare winter resident in southern Illinois, but otherwise 

 appears in the state only during its passage to and fro. 

 Considering the fact, however, that all these birds travel 

 slowly the whole length of the state, merely keeping pace 

 with the advancing and retreating seasons, and also that 

 the species is a very abundant one at the period of the mi- 

 grations, it will 1)0 seen that its food has great economic 

 significance. There is reason to suppose that these mi- 

 grants, in passing north and south, follow, year after year, 

 about the same route ; do not vary, that is, far to the east or 

 west. Consequently, occupying as we do a state that lies in 

 five and one-half degrees of latitude, we can do much to 

 protect this si)ecies in its wanderings, or can, if we choose, 

 almost entirely eliminate that part of it passing over 

 our territory. Twenty-one hermit thrushes were taken 

 during the year, two in October and the remainder during 

 the spring migrations. All but five of these birds were 

 shot in extreme northern Illinois, atWaukegan, Evanston 

 and Blue Island. Eighty-four per cent, of the food con- 

 sisted of insects, four per cent, of spiders and twelve per 

 cent, of thousand-legs. Ants amounted to fifteen per cent., 

 Lex>idoptera to nineteen per cent., including a few PhaLnen- 

 idae, andDiptera only to three — chiefly the larvie of Bibio. 



