308 CONNECTICUT GEOL. AND NAT. HIST. SURVEY. [Bull. 



and winter months. That eaten in winter and early spring 

 (March and April), except the small quantity taken from com 

 cribs, must be waste grain, or picked up in places where grain 

 is left in the shock for a long time. No one will begrudge the 

 birds the com gathered from the hog lot or about the cattle crib ; 

 but, when they attack the ripening grain in September, it is a 

 different story, and in cases where the birds are so abundant that 

 they take a large part of the crop, it will be difficult to persuade 

 the unfortunate farmer that they did enough good earlier in the 

 season to pay for his loss. There can be little doubt that in many 

 parts of the country these birds are too numerous for the farmer 

 to realize the best results from their services." (Beal, " Birds 

 that Injure Grain.") 



The Meadowlark (Sturnella magna magna). — "In the 238 

 stomachs examined," Professor Beal says, " animal food (prac- 

 tically all insects) constituted 73 per cent of the contents, and 

 vegetable matter 27 per cent. As would naturally be supposed, 

 the insects were ground species, such as beetles, bugs, grass- 

 hoppers, and caterpillars, with a few flies, wasps, and spiders. 

 A number of the stomachs were taken from birds that had 

 been killed when the ground was covered with snow, but still 

 they contained a large percentage ©f insects, showing the bird's 

 skill in finding proper food under adverse circumstances. 



" Of the various insects eaten, crickets and grasshoppers are 

 the most important, constituting 29 per cent of the entire year's 

 food and 69 per cent of the food in August. It is scarcely neces- 

 sary to enlarge upon this point, but it can readily be seen, what 

 an effect a number of these birds must have on a field of grass 

 in the height of the grasshopper season. 



" Of the 238 stomachs collected at all seasons of the year, 

 178, or more than two-thirds, contained remains of grasshoppers, 

 and one was filled with fragments of 37 of these insects. This 

 seems to show conclusively that grasshoppers are preferred and 

 are eaten whenever they can be procured. The great number 

 taken in August is especially noticeable. This is essentially the 

 grasshopper month, i. e., the month when grasshoppers reach 

 their maximum abundance; and the stomach examination has 

 shown that a large number of birds resort to this diet in August, 

 no matter what may be the food during the rest of the year. ' 



