146 Sanderson, -Food of IVuiiaJc/ies and Chickadees. I April 



early summer for further comparison along this line, but as the 

 birds were becoming very scarce near the college and little time 

 was available for the work, I was unable to do so. Such a series 

 would doubtless give some interesting data. 



Vegetable Food. 



Misled by the name, it has always been stated that Nuthatches 

 feed on the kernels of nuts which they break open. I was fortu- 

 nate enough to secure one specimen while 'hatching' an acorn, 

 which was done at the apex, and secured the fruit. It had been 

 cracked in two, and was quite wormy. Careful analysis of the 

 vegetable matter found in the stomachs — even by microscopical 

 sections — failed to reveal a trace of any acorn meat (but showed 

 that supposedly acorn to be Indian corn), and furthermore it 

 would seem that if that was desired, a sound specimen would have 

 been selected by the bird. In view of these considerations, I am 

 led to believe that the nuts — such as acorns and beechnuts — 

 are sought merely for the insects which they contain. 



During the winter the larger portion of the food was composed 

 of seeds, which gradually decreased as insect life became more 

 abundant. Those determined were : Zea mays in twelve stom- 

 achs, A?}ibrosia artemesiafolia in eight, and two Helianthus sp ? 

 Numerous other seeds were so badly broken as to be undetermin- 

 able. All were digested, and none, whether of noxious or 

 beneficial plants, were consumed in quantities of any economic 

 importance. 



Insect Food. 



A remarkable increase in the per cent of insect food is seen in 

 the second series over the first, it forming 79.5 per cent in the 

 spring, while only 25.7 during the winter. Seeds, on the other 

 hand, were just the reverse, forming 67.4 during the winter and 

 only 13.5 in the spring. The proportion of gravel remained com- 

 paratively constant at 6.2 and 7, as did also the amount of food at 

 an average of .8 c.c. and .84 c.c. for the respective periods. In the 

 latter series all the insects were adult, while in the former almost 

 one-third were eggs or larvee. 



