42 BULLETIN 107, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The chat's food habits are strikingly like some of the flycatchers. 

 Hymenoptera form a conspicuous element in its diet, as do also flies 

 and other forms which the bird may secure from its favorite haunt 

 in the tree tops. One bird had eaten six wild bees, aggregating 94 

 per cent of the food, and another had fed on the small cicada {Platy- 

 pedia putnami),. which formed about two-thirds of the stomach 

 contents. 



As a check upon the weevil little can be expected from the long- 

 tailed chat, because of its arboreal habits. Its food is of little eco- 

 nomic importance, much being of a neutral character, while a cer- 

 tain proportion of beneficial insects appears to offset the good it does 

 in the destruction of noxious forms. The inestimable value of its 

 wonderful song, however, is alone sufficient reason for the most 

 careful preservation of the species. 



SAGE THRASHER. 



(Oreoscoptes montanus.) 



The sage thrasher, a bird of the arid regions, arrives in the Salt 

 Lake Valley about the middle of March, and its rather weak song 

 may then frequently be heard about the edges of alfalfa fields bor- 

 dering on sagebrush areas. 



Examination of 10 stomachs showed that the sage thrasher feeds 

 on the weevil to a considerable extent. In bulk it formed about an 

 eighth of the food and was present in seven of the stomachs. The 

 best work appeared to be done in June, when the insect was eaten at 

 the rate of about 3 adults and 6 larvae per bird. One bird had 

 eaten 3 adults and at least 34 larvae, which composed 44 per cent 

 of the stomach contents. 



Ground beetles were present in all but two of the stomachs ex- 

 amined and formed about 30 per cent of the food in June and a 

 lesser amount in April and July. These beetles and a trace of an ant 

 formed the entire contents of one stomach. Darkling beetles of the 

 genera Blapstinus and Eleodes also were frequently eaten, compos- 

 ing a fifth of the food. Hymenoptera, spiders, and caterpillars were 

 other important ingredients. The only vegetable food was a quan- 

 tity of currants found in one stomach. 



The sage thrasher can not be regarded as a very effective enemy 

 of the alfalfa weevil, except when alfalfa fields extend toward its 

 native haunts among the sagebrush. Under ordinary conditions its 

 food habits are strongly in the bird's favor, but occasional com- 

 plaints have been made that it injures small fruits. 



LONG-TAILED CHICKADEE. 



(Penthestes atricapilkis septentrionalis.) 



The long-tailed chickadee was frequently met along the borders 

 of alfalfa fields and in the shrubbery of creek bottoms in irrigated 



