﻿FOOD OF AMERICAN PHALAEOPES, AVOCETS, AND STILTS 19 



Miscellaneous. — Other animal food, amounting to 2.7 per cent, 

 included remains of grasshoppers in 3 instances, and crickets, cater- 

 pillars, and a tiny frog in 1 each. The grasshoppers and crickets 

 may be mentioned as of distinct economic importance and as a 

 further indication of the value of the stilt as an insect destroyer. 



VEGETABLE FOOD 



The vegetable food of the black-necked stilt, composing 1.1 per cent 

 of the total, has little significance in determining the economic status 

 of the bird. It consisted in the main of a few seeds of aquatic or 

 marsh plants, with fragments of vegetable debris in a few instances, 

 taken as rubbish adhering to other food. The flattened sporocarps of 

 Marsilea were found in 1 stomach and seeds of the sago pondweed 

 {Potamogeton pectinatus) in 4. Seeds of several species of bulrush 

 were encountered in 7 instances and leaves and stems of the sago 

 pondweed in 2. The latter is an item in favor with many water birds 

 and may be considered nutritious and readily digestible. As most 

 of the seeds eaten were hard and firmly surfaced, it is probable that 

 like gravel they perform an important function in preparing softer 

 food for digestion, in addition to serving as nutriment themselves. 



SUMMARY 



From the foregoing details it seems that the black-necked stilt 

 is of somewhat greater importance from an economic viewpoint 

 than the avocet. The fact that it eats crawfishes, though in small 

 quantity, is one point in its favor. Among the insects taken, a 

 great majority are of no particular importance, but attention must 

 be called to an evident predilection of stilts for billbugs (Splieno- 

 pJiorus). The only valuable beetle eaten was a single tiger iDeetle, 

 of which fragments were found in one stomach, an item of small 

 weight compared with the destructive beetles consumed. Mosquito 

 larvae were found in two instances, an indication of a valuable 

 feeding habit which in suitable localities may render these birds 

 of importance. The true bugs eaten are of neutral significance, save 

 in the case of the waterbugs (Belostoma), which, being predatory 

 on small fry of fishes, must be considered injurious, and they 

 form a part of the food to the credit of the bird. Flies and mollusks 

 are taken in abundance, but except for the mosquito larvae men- 

 tioned, are of neutral significance. The small fishes eaten are tiny 

 individuals of species having no particular value. 



Economically the stilt has a decided balance in its favor. It 

 apparently has never been considered a game bird, as it is small in 

 body and poor in flesh. The tameness and lack of sophistication of 

 the birds have often led to their destruction by careless gunners, 

 so that they have greatly decreased in numbers or have even dis- 

 appeared from more thickly settled regions. As they are conspicu- 

 ous in form, and fearless and noisy during the breeding season, they 

 attract attention which often is disastrous. They should bo pro- 

 tected and encouraged generally and under such conditions should 

 maintain or even increase their present numbers. Those who chance 

 to come intimately in contact with stilts will find that they are not 

 only beneficial in their food habits but that they merit observation 

 for their many interesting ways. 



