64 BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA AFFECTING FRUIT INDUSTRY. 
adult moths and some pupex, aggregate 33 percent, which is three 
times as many as were eaten by the old birds. They were found in 
22 of the 29 stomachs. The most interesting part of this item is 15 
codling moth pup that were contained in 7 stomachs. Four adult 
stomachs also contained one each of these pupe, but they seem to 
be mostly reserved as tidbits for the young. Grasshoppers and 
crickets were found in 21 stomachs, and aggregate 30 percent of the 
food, more than eight times as much as was eaten by the adults, so 
these insects also are evidently reserved for the nestlings. Spiders 
amount to 11 percent of the food of the young, although less than 1 
percent of the parents’ food. Various other insects and a few snails 
make up the rest of the animal food. 
The vegetable food consists of fruit, grain, and rubbish. Fruit, 
probably cherries, was found in 4 stomachs of one brood. The 
average for each stomach was 43 percent. This was the oldest 
brood taken, and the birds were nearly ready to fly, which probably 
accounts for the large proportion of vegetable food. Oats, found in 
the stomach of one bird about a week old, amounted to about 45 
percent of the contents, and seemed unusual food for so young a 
bird. The other two of the same brood had grass and other rubbish 
in their stomachs. Rubbish is the best term to describe the vegeta- 
ble matter in most of these stomachs. The fruit and grain were all 
that should be called food. 
One can not fail to notice the very pronounced difference in diet 
between these nestlings and the adults. Not only is the animal 
food of the young greatly in excess, but it is practically made up of 
spiders, caterpillars, and grasshoppers. All of these are compara- 
tively soft-bodied creatures, and probably on that account are 
selected for the young. 
SUMMARY. 
In so far as its animal food is concerned, but little fault can be 
found with the Brewer blackbird. The insects eaten are fairly well 
distributed among the various orders, and include only a compara- 
tively small number that are useful. As to fruit, no more is eaten 
than may be considered a fair return for the destruction of insects. 
The weed seed eaten must be set down to the bird’s credit. All 
question, then, in regard to its economic position must rest upon the 
grain it eats. Most of the grain is taken in the months from August 
to February, inclusive. The average amount consumed in those 
seven months is over 75 percent of the food, while the average for 
the other five months is less than 24 percent, yet this last period 
covers the time from sowing to the end of harvest. As matters 
stand at present, probably the bird is doing no harm by eating grain, 
except perhaps under exceptional circumstances. It has a decided 
