The Food of Birds. 143 



guished by the large imnil)er of ants, blackberries and 

 cherries eaten, and by the small number of insects gen- 

 erally, and of Lepidoptera, Coleoptera and Hemiptera in 

 particular ; that the brown thrush is noted for its copropha- 

 gous habit, for the snuill number of caterpillars and Diptera 

 taken, for the large ijercentage of phytophagous Scaraba^i- 

 dfie and the moderate ratio of snuill fruits ; and that the 

 wood thrush differs from the others chiefly in the large per- 

 centage of insects (especially ants, caterpillars and crane- 

 flies), its indifl'erence to Hemiptera and preference for 

 Orthoptera and Myriapoda, and its smaller ratios of fruits. 



The migrants can be properly com^jared only with the 

 residents during the migrating season. I have conse- 

 quently made a table of the percentages of the food of the 

 four resident species for April and May in comparison with 

 the spring food of the three migrants. From this we learn 

 that the hermit thrush is distinguished at this season by 

 the moderate ratio of ants and Coleoptera, the large num- 

 ber of Lepidoptera, HemiiDtera, Orthoptera, spiders and 

 Myriapoda, and the small percentage of Diptera taken. 

 The Alice thrush eats mollusks, an enormous number of 

 ants, a moderate number of Lepidoptera, Diptera and 

 Scarabseidaf, and a small number of Carabida^ and Coleop- 

 tera generally, while Hemiptera are almost wanting in its 

 food. Swainson's thrush takes large ratios of ants, Lep- 

 idoptera and Coleoptera, and small ratios of Hemiptera, 

 Orthoptera, Arachnida and Myriapoda. It is not to be 

 supposed that the number examined of the last two species 

 is sufficient to give more than an approximate and doul)t- 

 ful outline of the food. 



Indeed the reader may not unlikely receive with incre- 

 dulity the i^recise statements made concerning the food 

 characteristics of the resident species, and ask how it can 

 be known that these peculiarities are specific and constant 

 instead of local and accidental. To this very reasonable 

 (luery I am able to make a definite answer. In the paper 

 already frequently cited, I published a comparative table 

 of food of the species of this family, based on the contents 

 of the stomachs of one hundred and forty-nine birds,* up- 



*Trans. 111. Hort. Society, 1879, N. S., Vol. 13, p. 163. 



