Vol. XXII 

 1905 



Wheelock, Regurgitative Feeding of Nestlings. 6 1 



In the thrasher family records were made of the Brown Thrasher 

 {Toxostoma rufum) and the Catbird (Galeoscoptes carolinensis) . 

 The nesting habits of these two species are very similar. The 

 difference lies chiefly in the large amount of fruit eaten by the 

 Catbird. This was especially apparent in the crops of the nest- 

 lings, even in the first two days when feeding was entirely by regur- 

 gitation. The young Thrashers had been fed upon ants and spiders 

 chiefly, while the Catbird nestlings, recorded at the same date, 

 May 30, showed traces of strawberries, beetles, and larvae of 

 insects. 



As if to assist in my collection of hitherto inaccessible data, a 

 pair of Baltimore Orioles {Icterus galbula) swung their cradle over 

 a third story balcony of a residence occupied by interested friends 

 who at once notified me. The house stood on one of Chicago's 

 busiest residence streets, but the birds reared their brood unmo- 

 lested by anyone save a meddlesome bird lover who insisted upon 

 knowing all that took place in the nursery and exactly what food 

 was given the young orioles. On the first day, feeding by regur- 

 gitation took place at intervals averaging twenty minutes for each 

 nestling. As the nest was not more than three feet from the win- 

 dow, it was possible to watch just what was being done and to 

 make examination of the young as often as seemed expedient. 

 One particularly noticeable fact was that the female came to the 

 nest much more freely than the male, and fully twice as often. 

 Also, she invariably turned her back to the observer, shielding the 

 young from sight with her body, while the male alighted as far 

 from the window as possible and fed by little pecks with one eye 

 constantly on us. The food given was the soft part of grasshop- 

 pers and dragon flies, and the larvae of different species of insects 

 mixed with green leaves, — all thoroughly macerated and partially 

 digested. No traces of fruit were found. On the third day, the 

 male was seen to give the soft part of a dragon fly, having removed 

 the wings in full view of the observer, without first swallowing it 

 himself. After the fourth day all food recorded was given in a 

 fresh condition. In the case of this brood no fruit was fed the 

 nestlings, possibly because of the difficulty of procuring it. 



Among other members of this family, Brewer Blackbirds {Eu- 

 phagus cyanocephalus) in California and both Red-winged {Age/a/us 



