09 



" Birds do not seem to use the berries. As they are so viscid 

 that the famous bird-h'me is made from some species, it is proba- 

 ble that the very viscidity would prevent the free use of the beak 

 in any attempt to use the seeds. But it is believed that by 

 becoming attached to the feet or feathers of birds, the seeds are 

 widely distributed, and that in this way the plant has all the 

 advantage necessary for distribution in the struggle for life." 



Nevertheless, birds do eat the berries of the mistletoe, and 

 do distribute the seeds by their evacuations. The wa.xwing 

 {Ainpc/is ccdroruDi Vieill.) and Phaiiiopcpla {P. nitois Swans.) are 

 particularly fond of them. In North American Fauna (7 : 113. 

 1863), Dr. A. K. Fisher makes the following record concerning 

 the food o( t\\Q Phdinopepla in the Inyo" County deserts : "A 

 fine male was secured at the mouth of Surprise Cafion, April 23. 

 Its stomach was filled with the berries of the mistletoe, which is 

 a parasite on the mesquite. Several were seen at Resting 

 Springs, about the middle of February, feeding on the same 

 berries, which appear to be their principal food." The mistletoe 

 here referred to must have been Phoradendron Californicuvi Nutt., 

 which is common in the desert region on Prosopis jidiflora DC. 

 An ornithological friend informs me that he has shot the wax- 

 wing and the Phai)iopcpla when they were so gorged with the 

 berries that they extruded in handling. 



A careful examination of the deposited seeds will show, in many 

 cases, some sign that they have passed through the stomach of a 

 bird — this is by no means alwa)'s the case, and when the deposit 

 is fresh, it is easily evident that very little of the viscid coating of 

 the seed has been removed in the passage. It would appear that 

 in digestion only the epidermis and little, if any, of the viscid 

 matter, is utilized. This is a fortunate provision, for were this 

 viscid coating digestible, the seeds would be freed from the very 

 substance which serves to glue them to the bark on which they 

 are to germinate. As it is, the passage through the stomach of 

 the bird serves to remove the non-viscid epidermis, and leaves the 

 sticky coating in a condition for performing its office. 



San Bernardino, California. 



