14 BULLETIN 280;, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



south as southern California. The habits of birds of this species 

 resemble those of others of the genus in living in swamps and wood- 

 lands rather than in gardens and orchards. The russet-back on the 

 Pacific coast, however, seems to have become quite domestic, and 

 wherever a stream runs through or past an orchard or garden, or 

 the orchard is near thick chaparral, this bird is sure to be found 

 taking its toll of the fruit and rearing its young in the thicket be- 

 side the stream. During the cherry season it takes a liberal share 

 of the fruit, but its young, then in the nest; are fed almost entirely 

 on insects. The eastern subspecies, on the contrary, does not come 

 in contact with domestic fruit or any other product of husbandry. 

 A great number of the subspecies nest far north of the region of fruit 

 raising. 



For this investigation 403 stomachs of the olive-backed thrush 

 were available, collected in 25 States, the District of Columbia, 

 and Canada. Florida. Louisiana, and Texas represent the most 

 southern collections and New Brunswick, Ontario, and Northwest 

 Territory the most northern. In California 157 stomachs were ob- 

 tained,- which, with those taken in Oregon and "Washington, fairly 

 represent the Pacific coast region. The whole collection was fairly 

 well distributed over the nine months from March to November. The 

 food consisted of 63.52 per cent of animal matter to 36.48 per cent 

 of vegetable. 



Animal food. — Beetles of all kinds amount to 16.29 per cent. Of 

 these 3.14 per cent are the useful Carabidae. The others belong 

 to harmful or neutral families. Weevils or snout beetles (Rhyn- 

 chophora) amount to 5.29 per cent, a high percentage for such in- 

 sects. One Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) was 

 found in a stomach taken on Long Island. Hymenoptera col- 

 lectively aggregate 21.50 per cent, Of these, 15.20 per cent are ants — 

 a favorite food of Hylocichla. The remainder (6.30 per cent) were 

 wild bees and wasps. No honeybees were found. Caterpillars, which 

 rank next in importance in the food of the olive-back, form a good 

 percentage of the food of every month represented and aggregate 

 10.30 per cent for the season. 



Grasshoppers are not an important element in the food of thrushes, 

 as they chiefly inhabit open areas, while Hylocichla prefers thick 

 damp cover, where grasshoppers are not found. An inspection of 

 the record shows that most of the orthopterous food taken by the 

 olive-back consists of crickets, whose habits are widely different from 

 those of grasshoppers, and which are found under stones, old logs, 

 or dead herbage. The greatest quantity is taken in August and 

 September. The average for the season is 2.42 per cent. 



Diptera (flies) reach the rather surprisingly large figure of 6.23 

 per cent. These insects are usually not eaten to any great extent 



