No. 2.] Reprints and Miscellaneous Notes. 87 



small number of stomachs and in limited numbers are eliminated, and 

 only those species are taken into consideration which occur in a 

 large number of stomachs, and most of which are represented by a 

 very large number of specimens ; finally, if we divide the latter 

 class of insects into several convenient groups, each defined by 

 similarity in food habits, we arrive at a certain number of clearly 

 established and characteristic features in the food habits of the 

 American Crow. The writer confidently asserts that, while an exa- 

 mination of several hundred additional stomachs would no doubt 

 greatly increase the list of insects eaten by Crows, it would not alter, 

 in the least, nor materially add to, the characteristic features now 

 arrived at. 



It is possible that in the extreme Southern States, as well as in 

 the Far West, some other features in the food of the Crow would 

 appear besides those enumerated below ; for only a single stomach 

 from Florida and one from Oregon were among those submitted fori 

 examination. There were also only a few stomachs from Kansas 

 and Nebraska. Since all the other stomachs were collected at 

 various places in the region extending from Virginia to Maine, and 

 west to Iowa and Wisconsin, we should expect that the difference in 

 the faunal regions would produce a corresponding difference in the 

 food supply of the Crow. But these differences are of slight im- 

 portance, and with a single exception the main features of the food 

 of this bird remain wonderfully uniform throughout this whole 

 region. 



The following groups of insects representing the principal food 

 supply of the Crow are arranged according to their relative im- 

 portance, but this sequence might undergo some changes if 

 an equal number of stomachs from all parts of the country were 

 available for examination. Of the stomachs submitted, those from 

 Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland greatly outnum- 

 ber those from all other localities combined : — 



I. Grasshoppers (Acridiidae). — During the months of May and 

 June, t'.e.y during the May beetle {Lachnosferna) season, grass- 

 hoppers, mostly of the genus Tetfix, occur in the vast majority of 

 stomachs, but with few exceptions in moderate numbers only. With 

 the disappearance of the May beetles (towards the end of June) 

 specimens of the typical locusts (grasshoppers — Melanoplus and 

 allied genera) increase in number, until in the month of August, and 



* Since this was written 21 additional stomachs from Kansas have been examined by 

 Mr. Schwarz, but without essentially modifying his conclusions. — W. B. B. 



