IO 



The Food of Some British Wild Birds. 



endeavour to rightly estimate the status of a particular species 

 before it is either reduced in numbers or encouraged to increase. 



In almost every case where general complaints are made of the 

 damage done by birds, careful enquiry has shown that only a very 

 few species were to blame, the cause in each case being: "too* 

 many individuals of the same species in one locality eating the same 

 things." It is frequently happening that a bird which by the nature 

 of its food is beneficial, on becoming abundant becomes to be 

 regarded as an injurious species, our own starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 

 is an instance, but a more striking one is the house finch or linnet 

 (Carpodacus mexicanus frontalis) of California. 



Although orchardists have been loud in their condemnation of 

 this bird, careful inquiry shows that it is essentially a seed-eater. 

 An investigation of 1,206 stomachs, including 46 of nestlings, taken 

 during the whole of the months of the year, from localities well- 

 distributed over the State of California, showed that the greater 

 portion of its food consisted of the seeds of weeds, the total con- 

 sumption for the year working out at 86.2 per cent. Fruit was 

 found in only 297 stomachs, or 24 per cent, of the whole number, 

 and of these only 38, or 3 per cent, of all, were entirely filled with 

 it. In short, 909 stomachs contained no fruit, and there were only 

 63 stomachs that did not contain weed seeds. 



The table of percentage of food for each month in the year is 

 given below : 



