6 IOWA STUDIES IN NATURAL HISTORY 



FOOD AND FEEDING HABITS 



Perhaps the most interesting part of the entire study was 

 concerned with the food and feeding habits. Probably the 

 larger share of all the food fed to the young was gleaned within 

 a few yards of the nest. 



On the writer's appearance near the blind at 7:30 a. m. of 

 July 31 the male from a near by tree gave a sharp call, and 

 three minutes later a rustling in the leaves on the side of the 

 nest away from the blind betrayed his approach. The brood- 

 ing female turned her head upward and backward and accepted 

 a bit of food from him. It was impossible to identify this food 

 for the male inserted his bill well down into the wide open 

 mouth of the female. This was the first and, with two excep- 

 tions, the only time that one adult bird was observed to feed 

 the other. 



The following tables, chronologically arranged, will servo to 

 show the principal details regarding the feeding of the young 

 by the parents as well as to give data on nest sanitation. A 

 word of explanation concerning the characters and abbrevia- 

 tions employed in the tables may be opportune ac this poiiit. 



Lepid. larva indicates a lepidopterous larva of some kind. 



Acridiid refers to any of the several species of short-horned 

 grasshoppers which formed a substantial part of the diet of the 

 young. 



Gryllid refers to whatever species of cricket may have been 

 served as food. 



Ad. refers to one of the adults, sex undetermined. 



Juv. refers to one of the nestlings. 



? inserted in the "Kind of food" column indicates that the 

 food which was brought could not be determined either from 

 lack of ability to see it sufficiently or to properly identify it. 



A blank space in any colmn indicates that such part of the 

 observation was not made. 



The usual signs 6 (male) and 9 (female) are used freely. 



