90 



THE WINTER FOOD OF THE CHICKADEE 



eaten largely of the small bud-like materials already noted, making 58 per 

 cent, of the food in one and }^'] per cent, in the other case. The other 

 food elements of the first were aphid eggs, 24 per cent. ; undetermined 

 insects or their allies, 4 per cent., and undetermined material, 14 per 

 cent. The stomach of the second specimen contained very little food, 



a caterpillar making 

 33 per cent., unde- 

 termined insects 8 per 

 cent., grit 5 percent., 

 spiders 4 per cent., 

 and undetermined 

 material 13 percent. 

 Four chickadees ta- 

 ken February 17th 

 while feeding in a 

 mixed growth of birch 

 and pine had eaten 

 chiefly aphid eggs, 

 these constituting 62 

 per cent, of the en- 

 tire food of the first 

 specimen, 52 of the 

 second, 46 of the 

 third, and 61 of the 

 fourth. In addition, 

 one bird had eaten 

 the eggs of the com- 

 mon American tent 

 caterpillar to the ex- 

 tent of 16 per cent., 

 and another had eaten 

 a few specimens of a 

 small flea beetle 

 known to science as 

 Prasocuris varipes. (Fig. 9.) The other food elements were certain 

 small round bodies of unknown origin, eggs of insects, bud scales, and 

 seeds of birch. 



Another chickadee feeding in an apple tree February 17th had eaten 

 60 per cent, of the skins of sumach berries, 28 per cent, of aphid eggs, 

 3 per cent, of the eggs of bugs of the family 

 RediiviidcB , and 2 per cent, of bud scales, while 

 7 per cent, was not determined. Still another 

 killed on the same day in a clump of small pine 

 trees had taken aphid eggs 19 per cent., bud 

 scales 49 per cent., feathers i per cent., a spider, 

 2 per cent., and undetermined material 29 per 

 cent. 



Three chickadees were shot in an apple or- 

 .chard February 19th, at 3 : 30 p. m. Their food was estimated as fol- 

 lows : 



Fig. 6. Egg-sacs of Spiders on loose bark. 



Fig. 7. 



The Codling 

 Moth. 



