TRAFFIC IN CARDINALS. 7 
Referring to the cardinal in particular. Nuttall’ makes the state- 
ment: 
So highly were these birds esteemed for their melody that, according to 
Gemelli Carreri [who wrote in 1699], the Spaniards of Havana, in a time of 
public distress and scarcity, bought so many of these birds * * * that the 
sum expended, at ten dollars apiece, amounted to no less that 18,000 dollars. 
The liking of the islanders for this bird has suffered no abatement 
in later days, according to W. E. D. Scott,” who wrote in 1889: “ The 
cardinal is in great demand as a pet by the Cubans, and on that 
account is a regular feature of the auction rooms, being supplied 
from the northern keys and the mainland ” [of Florida]. However, 
recent laws, while they have not wholly put an end to these baneful 
practices, have greatly restricted them, and the cardinal, along with 
other insectivorous birds, is nowadays comparatively well protected. 
That from an economic standpoint the bird deserves complete 
protection, the following discussion of its food habits will make 
clear. Four hundred and ninety-eight stomachs of this species have 
been examined. They were collected during every month of the year 
and in twenty States, the District of Columbia, and Ontario. But 
for the fact that this material is unevenly distributed, seasonally 
and geographically, the results obtained from its examination would 
be perfectly satisfactory. As it is, Texas is much more completely 
represented than any other State, and May than any month, while 
the feeding habits for June and October are known only from exam- 
ination of a very small number of stomachs. These conditions neces- 
sarily affect the results, but in view of the large number of stomachs, 
it is believed that a fairly correct idea of the normal food habits of 
the species has been obtained. As a result of our investigations it 
appears that, for each of the twelve months, the cardinal averages 
28.99 percent of animal food and 71.01 percent of vegetable. The 
maximum percentage of animal food for any one month is 78.4, 
being the average for 123 birds taken in May. The minimum is 4.9 
for 41 birds in January. 
VEGETABLE Foop. 
It is generally stated that the cardinal is largely, if not entirely, 
vegetarian. While this statement is perhaps too strong, the result 
of the present investigation leaves no doubt that vegetable prod- 
ucts compose the redbird’s main subsistence at nearly all times of 
the year. In only one month do they constitute less than half the 
food, while for the entire year they average 71.01 percent. Grain 
amounts to 8.73 percent; wild fruit, only the seeds of which are 
usually eaten, composes 24.17 percent; weed and other seeds 36.38 
percent, and miscellaneous vegetable substances 1.73 percent. 
¢Nanual of Ornithology, The Land Birds, 1832, p. 525. 
> Auk. VI, 1889, p. 324, quoting Atkins. 
