18 



BULLETIN 1249, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Conclusions. — The evidence from stomach examination is strongly 

 in the pine siskin's favor. Buds are occasionally eaten locally, but 

 the vegetable food appears to be made up largely of seeds of weeds 

 and other noncultivated plants. In its destruction of aphids, scale 

 insects, and caterpillars the bird renders such valuable service as to 

 entitle it to higher rank economically than most of the species treated 

 in this bulletin. 



Food items of the pine siskin, identified to the genus or species, as determined 

 by the examination of 291 stomachs. 



[The figures indicate the number of stomachs in which the items were found.] 



Vegetable Food. 



Pinaceae. 



Pinus virginiana (scrub 

 pine) 



Tsuga canadensis (hemlock) _ 



Pseudotsuga muoronata 



(Douglas fir) 



Poaceae. 



Chaetochloa sp. (foxtail 



grass) 



Betulaceae. 



Betula sp. (birch) or 



Alnus sp. (alder) 



Ulmaceae. 



Ulmus sp. (elm) 2 



Polygonaceae. 



Polygonum* sp. (smartweed)_ 1 

 Amaranthaceae. 



Amaranthus sp. (pigweed) 4 



Silenaceae. 



Alsine sp. ( chickweed ) 3 



Silene sp. (catchfly) 1 



1 



J 46 



Portulacaceae. 



Monti a sp. ( water - chick- 

 weed) 2 



Rosaceae. 



Rubns sp. (blackberry) 1 



Fabaceae. 



Trifolium sp. (clover) 1 



Geraniaceae. 



Erodium sp. (alfilaria) 7 



Oleaceae. 



Syringa vulgaris (lilac) 1 



Ambrosiaceae. 



Ambrosia elatior 27 



Meuthaceae. 



A 7 epeta cataria (catnip) 1 



Asteraceae. 



Helianthus sp. (sunflower) 2 



Senecio sp. (ragwort) 29 



Animal Food. 



Coccidae (scale insects). 



Saissetia oleae (black olive 



scale) . 7 



Aphididae (plant-lice). 



Siphocoryne sp. (grain 

 aphid) 1 



Curculionidae (weevils). 



Phytonomus posticus (alfalfa 

 weevil) 1 



SNOW BUNTING (Plectrophenax nivalis). 



(Plate IV.) 



The snow bunting, or snowflake, is an easily recognized winter 

 sparrow in northern United States, the distinct black-and-white or 

 brown- and- white appearance being totally unlike any other member 

 of the family. It breeds in the far North and appears regularly in 

 winter only in the Northern States, where it is often found asso- 

 ciated in flocks with shore larks and longspurs. 



Very little has been written concerning the food of the snow 

 bunting, writers usually confining themselves to the statement that 

 the bird is fond of weeds or grass seeds. Doctor Judd's account 

 of the food of this bird 19 was based on an examination of 46 



19 The relation of sparrows to agriculture : U. S. Dept. Agr., Biol. Surv. Bull. No. 15. 

 pp. 5_'-. r )3, 1001. 





