358 CONNECTICUT GEOL. AND NAT. HIST. SURVEY. [Bull. 



to earn fair wages. If left to themselves the Robins would take 

 the greater share of the black raspberries that grow on a planta- 

 tion of more than an acre. Growers in other parts of the coun- 

 try have complained of losses quite as large.' 



" The above accounts relate to the food of the adult Robins. 

 We have next to consider that of the nestlings. Properly to 

 appreciate the importance of the latter, we must remember that 

 as far north as Massachusetts three broods of nestlings are com- 

 monly reared ; that from early spring till late in the summer each 

 pair of old birds is engaged at least half of the time in providing 

 food for four, five, or six ravenous birdlings; and that each of 

 the latter probably requires more food while in the nest than does 

 one of the adults during the same period. It seems to us that 

 the chief claim of the Robin upon man's favor rests upon these 

 facts. 



" In 1884 we examined the stomach contents of six young 

 Robins from Michigan nests. The largest single element of the 

 food consisted of cutworms and related caterpillars, which 

 formed twenty-seven per cent of the total dietary. Among other 

 insects present were seven per cent of beetles, including cur- 

 culios and ground beetles and various undetermined species. 

 There were also present twenty per cent of earthworms, one per 

 cent of snails, three per cent of myriapods, and about thirty per 

 cent of grass blades. The latter seem almost always to be found 

 in the stomachs of nestling Robins ; they may be introduced acci- 

 dentally with the cutworms or possibly may have a dietetic value. 



" The food of fourteen nestlings examined by Beal consisted 

 of caterpillars, locusts, grasshoppers, crickets, and beetles, with a 

 few spiders, snails, and earthworms, and seven per cent of berries 

 of various kinds." (Weed and Dearborn, " Birds in their Rela- 

 tion to Man.") 



" An examination of 330 stomachs shows that over 42 per cent 

 of its food is animal matter, principally insects, while the 

 remainder is made up largely of small fruits or berries. Over 19 

 per cent consists of beetles, about one-third of which are useful 

 ground beetles, taken mostly in spring and fall, when other in- 

 sects are scarce. Grasshoppers make up about one-tenth of the 

 whole food, but in August comprise over 30 per cent. Cater- 

 pillars form about 6 per cent, while the rest of the animal food, 



