THE WINTER FOOD OF THE CHICKADEE 



91 



No. I. Eggs of aphids, .05 ; cocoon and larvae of codling moth (?), 

 .15; spider eggs and egg sac, .28; undetermined insects, .11; unde- 

 termined vegetable matter, .18; undetermined animal matter, .22; 

 grit, .01. 



No. 2. Five codling moth larvae (?) .67; cocoon 

 of codling moth (?) .07; eggs of aphids, .12; small 

 beetle [HoplocepJiala bicornis/) .01 ; eggs of insect, 

 .01; eggs of spiders, .01; spider, .02; buds, .05; 



^ 



undetermined material, .04 ; feathers, trace. 



No. 3. Eggs of aphids, .52; lepidopterous larvae, 

 .28; two spiders and web, .10; bud scales, .03; un- 

 determined, .07. 



The next specimen was killed at 3 p. m. February 

 1 8th while picking at a small twig of a birch tree. It 

 had evidently been eating the eggs of the plant-lice 

 that are so abundant beside the buds of the birch, as 

 74 per cent, of the food consisted of aphid eggs, of 

 which two sizes were present ; — the smaller were prob- 

 ably those of the birch species. In addition there 

 was a caterpillar, making 4 per cent. ; small cocoons 

 apparently of hymenopterous insects, 2 per cent. ; bud 

 scales, 9 per cent. ; undetermined insects, 2 per cent. ; 

 and other material, 9 per cent. 



Another chickadee taken at the same time in a sim- 

 ilar situation contained 52 per cent, of aphid eggs and 

 various other materials. 

 \9m Two chickadees were taken at 4 p. m. February 



26th at Durham Point in a mixed growth of pines and 



YiQ, 8. Win ter birches. One of these had eaten 454 eggs of aphides, 



cases of a small making 44 per cent, of the food, and an equal percent- 

 caterpillar beside ^g^ of material that seemed to be the dried castings 

 apple buds. (They froi"'"^ the old nests of tent caterpillars. In addition 

 show as lio^ht there were feathers, spiders' eggs, canker worm eggs, 

 spots.) and woody matter, each estimated at i per cent., as 



well as 8 per cent, of undetermined material. The 

 other bird contained the following : A good-sized fly, 1 1 per cent. ; 

 nine spiders — one large, one medium, seven small — 24 per cent. ; two 

 spider egg-sacs, 10 per cent. ; canker worm eggs, 2 per cent. ; 

 a measuring worm {GeotnetridcE), 22 per cent. ; feathers, i per 

 cent. ; and undetermined material, 30 per cent. 



Three chickadees were shot on March 4th at about 11 130 

 a. m. They belonged to a large flock which had been flying 

 from tree to tree through the woods. The first had eaten 42 



per cent, of aphid eggs, 18 per cent, of buds and bud scales, ^^^ 



9 per cent, spider and web, 2 per cent, of beetles, 6 percent, pigj^^ggtie 

 of sumach fruits, 2 per cent, of oval brown insect eggs, and j^j^o-nlfied 

 21 per cent, was undetermined. The second specimen had /g^ten by 

 eaten a large spider making 37 per cent, of the whole, and (^i^j^^j-adee ) 

 some spider's web making 7 per cent, more ; leaf-hoppers of 

 the family JassidcB, 4 per cent. ; eggs of fall canker worm, 4 per cent. ; 



