10 BULLETIN 107, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



SAY'S PHCEBE. 



(Sayornis sayus.) 



Only three stomachs of Say's phoebe were available for examina- 

 tion. In one a single adult weevil was found, a dark-colored and 

 much-worn specimen which had hibernated. The remainder of the 

 stomach contents consisted of a varied assortment of flying insects, 

 among which were tabanid flies, a cricket, carrion beetles (Silpha), 

 a blister beetle (Cantharis) , and several Hymenoptera. 



TRAILL'S FLYCATCHER. 



(Empidonax trailli trailli.) 



Traill's flycatcher is found in considerable numbers in willow 

 thickets along streams and ditches in the Salt Lake Valley. Seven 

 birds were obtained when conditions were most favorable for feeding 

 on the weevil, but only two had fed on the insect, a single adult 

 being eaten in each case. The aerial feeding habits of flycatchers 

 as a family naturally limit their consumption of the weevil to the 

 warmest of spring days or to the later season when the brood of the 

 year takes wing. 



The food taken most frequently was Hymenoptera, ants, wild bees, 

 and a few parasitic forms. These were found in each stomach and 

 comprised about 43 per cent of the contents. Flies of various kinds 

 (17.5 per cent) formed the next most important item, and beetles, 

 bugs, and Lepidoptera were eaten in lesser quantities. 



DESERT HORNED LARK. 



(Otocoris alpestris leucolccma.) 



The desert horned lark, a hard}? - little bird of the open country, is 

 an abundant resident throughout the Salt Lake Valley, especially in 

 winter, when it is familiarly known by the name of snowbird. It is 

 one of the earliest species to breed and frequently its eggs may be 

 found when the ground is still white. In early spring horned larks 

 often feed in the wind-swept stubble of alfalfa fields, when they 

 come in contact with hibernating weevils. Though essentially a 

 seed-eating bird, from May to July a considerable proportion of 

 animal food, including the larvse of the weevil, is taken. 



Three of the four birds collected in April had fed on the insect, 

 the adult form in each case, and it formed about 3^ per cent of their 

 food, but only one stomach contained more than one individual. The 

 remaining animal food was characterized by a large proportion of 

 lepidopterous remains, most of which, however, was in a single 

 stomach. The vegetable portion, forming over half of the food, was 

 composed almost entirely of weed seeds. 



