BED-HEADED WOODPECKER. 41 



HEMIPTEBA. 



Nezara hilaris. ■ Tibicen sp. 



Sinea diadema. Eulecanium cerasifex. 



Tibicen septendedm. 



LEPIDOPTBRA. 



Wheat-head army worm {Heliophila albilinea). 



Vegetable food. — Some grain is eaten by the redhead from May to 

 September. In August and September it amounts to 21.73 and 

 19.67 per cent, respectively. The average for the year is 4.25 per 

 cent. Corn was identified in 64 stomachs and oats in 2. The 

 former was in most cases immature or in the milk, and was more or 

 less mixed with corn silk. Domestic fruit was found in 175 

 stomachs — that is, if the seeds of blackberries and raspberries and 

 the pulp without seeds were all of domesticated varieties. Black- 

 berries and raspberries were identified in 42 stomachs, domestic 

 cherries in 15, strawberries in 7, and apples in 9. Cultivated fruit 

 was all taken in the months from April to September, inclusive, with 

 the maximum of 16.76 per cent in July. The average for the year 

 is 3.30 per cent. The above account undoubtedly does the bird 

 great injustice, as probably most of the Rubus fruit (blackberries 

 and raspberries) was obtained from wayside thickets, and it is almost 

 certain that much of the unidentified pulp contained in 102 

 stomachs was from wild species. The strawberries also were as 

 Ukely to be wild as cultivated. Wild fruits were found in 100 

 stomachs, and 17 species were identified. They were eaten in 

 every month, the most in the colder ones. February appears to be 

 the month of maximum consumption with 50 per cent, but the 

 record is based on only 9 stomachs. The average for the year is 

 16.90 per cent. Anthers of flowers should perhaps be included in 

 this item. They were found in 4 stomachs. 



Mast is evidently a favorite food of the redhead. It appears in 

 the stomachs of every month except March, but as only 3 were 

 taken then the exception is probably accidental. The most was 

 eaten in the four months from October to January, inclusive, and 

 the average for those months is 55.22 per cent, and for the year 

 23.26 per cent. The great bulk of this is acorns, but some other 

 nuts and large seeds are included. This record for mast eating is, 

 as far as known, exceeded by only a few birds, notably the Cali- 

 fornia woodpecker and the jays. 



Miscellaneous vegetable matter amounts to 18.30 per cent. This 

 is made up of cambium, found in 5 stomachs, poison-ivy seeds in 7, 

 several other Rhus seeds, and a number of weed seeds. The great 

 bulk of this item, however, is a mass of hard woody granules of 

 very irregular shape and undetermined origin. They were found 



