Vol. XIV 
afy BEAL, Pood of European Birds. 9 
ment Station at Halle.1 Another paper by Mr. John Gilmour ? 
of Fifeshire, Scotland, treats of the food of the Rook, the Wood 
Pigeon (Columba palumbus) and the Starling (Sturnus vulgaris). 
These two papers are interesting contributions to the literature 
concerning the food of three rather important birds, but they can 
only be considered as giving glimpses of a field in which much 
remains to be done. 
Dr. Hollrung gives the following statement of the food found 
in 131 stomachs of Rooks killed in April, May and June, within a 
narrow limit of territory: Larvae of Zabrus gibbus, 48 ; wire worms 
(Elaterid larvae), 20; grub worms, 253; May beetles, 160; 
weevils (Otiorynchus), 1688; weevils (Zanymecus), 22; snails ; 
mice, 17; grains of wheat, 420; grains of barley, 471; grains of 
Gats, £90); cherries, 22: 
From these examinations Dr. Hollrung has arrived at the fol- 
lowing general conclusions : 
“yz, The Rooks examined have proved on the whole neither 
exclusively useful nor exclusively injurious. While 25 per cent 
of the Rooks’ stomachs contained no vegetable matter, there were 
only two cases in 131 where no animal matter was found. 
‘2. Their food consisted for the most part (about 66 per cent) 
of animal matter, such as mice, larve of the grain-eating Carabid 
(Zabrus gibbus), grub worms (MMelolontha vulgaris), dung beetles 
(Aphodius spec.), and clover weevils (Otiorynchus ligustici). The 
vegetable food was made up of wheat, oats, and barley, and 
cherries. 
“¢3. The harm done by the Rooks on the one hand was per- 
fectly balanced, and even considerably outweighed on the other 
hand by the useful services rendered. 
‘¢ 4, The Rooks feed principally on slowly moving insects.”’ 
In the investigations made by Mr. Gilmour the stomachs of 33 
birds were examined, not counting 19 that were empty. They 
1 Untersuchungen tiber den Mageninhalt der Saatkrahe (Corvus frugile- 
gus L.) Dr. M. Hollrung. 7ter Jahresbericht Versuchs-station f. Pflanzen- 
schutz zu Halle a. S. 1895, pp. 5-26. 
2 An inquiry Concerning the Relations of Certain Birds to the Agricultural 
Interest, as shown by their Diet. John Gilmour. Trans. Highland and Agri. 
Soc. Scotiand, 1896. Fifth Series, Vol. VIII, pp. 21-113. 
2 
