1914] Bryant: Economic Status of the Western Meadowlark 413 



digestion, most of them requiring from one to four hours only 

 to digest a meal. All evidence of food had disappeared from 

 the excreta of a crow within two and one-half hours after feeding. 

 Professor Treadwell showed that juvenile robins digested a meal 

 every two to four hours. 



All evidence, therefore, points to the fact that four hours 

 can be considered a .sufficient period of time to assure the diges- 

 tion of the stomach contents of a western meadowlark. The 

 contents of the stomach at the time the bird is killed must have 

 been taken within four hours previous to the collection of the 

 bird. The daily eon.sumption must, therefore, be considered 

 about three times the capacity of the bird's stomach. As the 

 birds start each day with an empty stomach and with the addi- 

 tional stimulus of hunger, the greater amount consumed during 

 early morning hours compensates for the smaller amount taken 

 during the middle of the day. 



EXAMINATION OF THE STOMACH CONTENTS 

 Collection and Preservation of Material 



Birds in sufficient numbers to furnish reliable data, collected 

 every two weeks during a year, and from over twenty different 

 localities in the state, have been made available through the co- 

 operation of the deputies of the Fish and Game Commission. 

 Each bird was tagged with data as to date, time of day, locality, 

 kind of field or orchard, and collector. Dependable data re- 

 garding abundance of food were not available as a general rule. 

 The birds were then preserved in formalin. On the arrival of 

 shipments at the laboratory the stomach (gizzard) was removed 

 and data as to the species and sex of the different birds added. 

 The tag bearing complete data was then wrapped with the 

 stomach in a small cloth, and preserved in ten per cent formalin 

 until microscopically examined. 



In determining the localities where collections have been made 

 an attempt was made to select well-settled parts of the state 

 representative of the different agricultural sections. The fol- 

 lowing instructions were sent to each deputy: 



