FOOD HABITS OF SOME WINTER BIRD VISITANTS. 



9 



Vacciniaceae. 



Gaylussacia sp. (huckle- 

 berry) 13 



Vacoinium sp. (blueberry) — 11 

 Oleaceae. 



Fraxinus sp. (ash) 7 



Solanaceae. 



Solatium sp. (nightshade) 1 



Caprifoliaceae. 



Lonicera involucrata (bear- 

 berry honeysuckle) 4 



Lonicera sp. (honeysuckle) — 2 



Caprifoliaceae — Continued. 



Symphoricarpos sp. (snow- 

 berry) 68 



Viburnum sp. (blackhaw) — 7 

 Ambrosiaceae. 



Ambrosia elatior ( ragweed )_ 3 



Ambrosia sp. (ragweed) 31 



Cichoriaceae. 



Leontodon taraxacum (dan- 

 delion) 2 



Hieracium sp. (hawkweed)__ 1 



Animal Food. 



Acridiidae (grasshoppers). 



Melanoplus sp 2 



Chrysomelidae ( leaf-beetles ) . 



Syneta sp 1 



Vespidae (wasps). 



Vespula sp 



Formicidae (ants). 



Camponotus sp 



RED CROSSBILL (Loxia cmvirostra). 



(Flatej II.) 



The red crossbill is a northern breeding species, which in the 

 United States nests regularly only in mountains; but more or less 

 irregularly elsewhere, mostly in the Northern States. It is nomadic 

 and may appear in any part of the country at almost any season, but 

 is much more common in winter. While it occurs with a certain 

 degree of regularity only in the Northern and Western States, it has 

 wandered south to Florida and other Gulf States. The dull red 

 (male) or yellow (female) body, dusky wing and tail, and peculiar 

 crossed mandibles make this species conspicuous and easily recog- 

 nized. 



As erratic in its nesting habits as in its winter wanderings, the 

 crossbill breeds at various dates from January to July or later in 

 many widely scattered localities. W. B. Barrows 9 has suggested 

 that the availability of coniferous buds and seeds throughout the 

 year in favored regions makes it possible for this bird to breed at 

 any season. This variation in the breeding season may in some 

 measure account for its unexpected appearance in other localities 

 where it is observed in wandering flocks at irregular intervals. It 

 will usually be found feeding on conifers, the seeds of which are 

 cleverly extracted from the cones by the crossed mandibles. After 

 a few days or weeks thus spent in one locality the birds will suddenly 

 disappear, possibly not to return for many years. 



Little attention has been given to the food of this species, and with 

 one or two exceptions writers have been content merely to refer 

 to its fondness for the seeds of conifers. For this reason it is 

 necessary to depend almost entirely on the examination of stomachs 

 for information on its food habits. Two hundred and forty-three 

 stomachs, collected in 17 States, the District of Columbia, and Can- 

 ada, were examined. They were very irregularly distributed, both 

 seasonally and geographically. New York, the District of Columbia, 

 Virginia, Florida, and Wyoming are well represented, while com- 

 paratively little material is available from the other States. The 

 six months from November to April are represented by 202 stomachs, 



9 Michigan bird life, p. 471, 1912. 

 83500° — 24 2 



