No. 20.] THE BIRDS OF CONNECTICUT. 33 T 



" Some grass seed is consumed, principally seeds of such trou- 

 blesome species as pigeon-grass, crab-grass and other panicums, 

 and Johnson grass. This element forms about 5 per cent of the 

 total food, and is taken chiefly during September, when it amounts 

 to 24 per cent of the food of the month. A little amaranth and 

 lamb's-quarters are eaten ; and gromwell, chickweed, wood sorrel, 

 sedge, violet, and sheep sorrel are all represented in the diet. 

 But the principal weed seeds found in the stomachs are those of 

 ragweed and different polygonums. As a destroyer of ragweed 

 this sparrow seems to have no equal among finches, and the Song 

 Sparrow is its rival as a consumer of polygonums. The two 

 weeds form 25 per cent of the food for the year, of which rag- 

 weed furnishes 9 per cent, and the polgonums 16 per cent. Dur- 

 ing October ragweed alone constitutes 45 per cent of the month's 

 food. 



" The White-throated Sparrow may be regarded as a valua- 

 ble bird on the farm; it has a good record as a weed destroyer, 

 its fruit eating is largely confined to wild berries, and it does little 

 damage to grainfields." ( Judd, " The Relation of Sparrows to 

 Agriculture.") 



The Tree Sparrow {Spizella monticola monticola) remains 

 with us all winter, gathering weed seed in the fields and the 

 thickets along the brooks. " Five hundred and seventeen stomachs 

 have been examined, collected at points ranging from Massa- 

 chusetts to the District of Columbia, and westward as far as 

 Iowa and Kansas, and during the period from October to May. 

 As indicated by these examinations, the food of the Tree Sparrow 

 during its stay in the United States is almost entirely made up 

 of seeds, which amounts to 98 per cent of the total food contents 

 of the stomachs examined. The bird shows an essential difference 

 from its associates, however, in its large consumption of grass 

 seed, fully half of its food consisting of this element, panicums, 

 pigeon-grass, and allied grasses being apparently preferred." 

 (Judd, " The Relation of Sparrows to Agriculture.") 



• " The Snowbird (Junco hyemalis) and Tree Sparrow (Spiz- 

 ella monticola) are perhaps the most numerous of all sparrows. 

 The latter fairly swarms all over the northern states, in winter, 

 arriving from the north early in October and leaving in April. 

 Examination of many stomachs shows that in winter the Tree 



