96 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis 
assist. Apparently the only other record of rate of feeding visits 
is that of Dibble (1900) who recorded twenty visits in an hour. 
Food of nestlings.—Here is a field where more investigation 
would be profitable. General notions as regards the type of 
food are available but quantitative studies, of any extensive 
scope, are non-existant. I have identified the following food 
being carried to nestlings: Lepidopterous larvae (chiefly ‘‘cut- 
worms’’), earthworms (very frequently), grasshoppers, moths 
and seeds of Setaria. What little weed seed nestlings receive is 
given them in March and April, earthworms are favorites in 
April, cutworms in March, grasshoppers in June and July. 
A few nestlings that had died of exposure in late March and 
April were collected and it was surprising to find their stomachs 
fairly well filled with food, as follows: 
1. March nestling. 
RHE INACEOR es os oe ua SS eee ae cae bee wd 100% 
WORE DUDA Se as eee 30% 
MSOULIO TURE INGNU oe vs ernie cs a es 10% 
2. March nestling. 
MIRC ALOR ee a in Ae ek 100% 
One “‘c EOE eis ae ew Lee as 10% 
eetis (races. es sy eo i ks 30% 
3. March nestling. 
OR EE ns ey ies es ee 100% 
“cut worms”... <. Oe ee cae bb i oa 10% 
CHG TV PUDATIUN oss ies rev li ake 5% 
Heetie: trapmette oo... ce 25% 
4. April nestling, 
MGSIAT IRANI a cs ks ee 100% 
All beetle fragments, 
MecAtee (1905) examined stomachs of ten nestlings, found 
that those obtained earliest and in northern states contained the 
largest amount of vegetable matter. A New York nestling had 
been fed 45 per cent whole wheat grains. Among the vegetable 
matter was green foxtail (Chaetochloa viridis), tumble weed 
(Amaranthus), and yellow sorrel (Oxalis stricta). The grass- 
hoppers predominated in the animal matter, 41.5 per cent of all 
the food. Weevils came next. Other insects were wire Worms 
(Elateridae), white grubs (Scarabaeidae ), leaf beetles (Chry- 
somelidae), and pill beetles (Byrrhidae }. 
e of the most interesting things in connection with the food 
of nestlings is the method the parents, especially the female, 
employs in getting it. Much of it is dug up somewhat in the 
