32 



FOOD OF SOME WELL-KNOWN BIEDS. 



Summary. — While the southern butcher bird eats a few birds and 

 some useful insects, its diet is on the whole very much in its favor, 

 as its consumption of grasshoppers far outweighs the harm to birds 

 and beetles. As a feature of the landscape, and as lending anima- 

 tion to rural scenes, the shrike in California is a pronounced success 

 and, while not so numerous in the East, it is just as attractive and 

 is doing the same good by its food habits. — F. E. L. B. 



AUDUBON WARBLER. 



(Dendroica audubont.) 



The Audubon warbler (fig. 15) is well distributed over the western 

 United States east to the Great Plains, breeding in the mountains 



and descending in 

 winter to the val- 

 lej's and plains. It 

 is one of the most 

 abundant of the 

 western species and 

 may be considered 

 as typical of the 

 genus, especially in 

 the matter of food. 

 In the winter sea- 

 son it is a fre- 

 quenter of or- 

 chards, gardens, 

 and dooryards, 

 where it pursues its 

 business of insect 

 hunting with an 

 assiduity worthy of 

 all praise. At this 

 season it is very 

 familiar and easily 

 approached. 



In the investiga- 

 tion of the food of 

 the Audubon war- 

 bler 383 stomachs 

 were examined. The contents were found to be made up of 84.74 

 per cent of animal food to 15.26 of vegetable. 



Animal food. — The largest item of animal food is Hymenoptera 

 (wasps and ants), which aggregate 2G.19 per cent of the whole. By 

 far the greater number of these are ants and, as plant lice were 



50C 



Fig. 15. — Audubon wai'blor. 



