GENERAL INSECT FOOD OP CUCKOOS. 11 



pletely defoliating them. What this caterpillar has done, many others 

 may do. In the cackoos we probably have one of nature's most efiBl- 

 cieut checks on the increase of these harmful species. It is said that 

 hairy caterpillars are protected by their coats from the attacks of 

 the ichneumon flies; if this be true, the work of the cuckoos in 

 destroying- the hairy species is complementary to that of the ichneu- 

 mons, which help to destroy the smooth-coated caterpillars. Consider- 

 ing the number of grasshoppers, locusts, and other insects that cuckoos 

 eat in addition to caterpillars, it is evident that from an economic point 

 of view these birds are two of our most valuable species, and as they 

 have not been convicted of doing any harm, they should be protected 

 and encouraged in every possible way. 



Besides insects proper, a number of spiders were found in the 

 stomachs examined, most of them the long-legged kinds commonly 

 known as ' daddy longlegs ' or harvestmen (Phalangidce). One 

 stomach contained seven, the mass of tangled legs looking like a bunch 

 of coarse hair. When we consider the disgusting odor of these spiders, 

 their long legs, and the fact that their bodies have the texture of sand- 

 paper, we are again forcibly reminded that ttistes differ. But the most 

 remarkable thing which the cuckoos had eaten was a small tree frog 

 [Hyla) which had been swallowed whole ! 



In view of Audubon's accusation that the yellow-billed cuckoo sucks 

 the eggs of other birds, it may be said that eggshells were found in 

 several stomachs taken in July and August, but only in very small 

 quantities — no more than found in the stomachs of nearly every species 

 that has been examined. It is probable that these were merely empty 

 shells eaten for the sake of the lime they contained. It may be added 

 that one stomach disclosed a snail shell, which was i)robab]y taken for 

 the same purpose. A number of stomachs contained each from one to 

 three bits of gravel, but why the stones were swallowed was not appar- 

 ent. Cuckoos do not eat hard seeds, and even if they did their stomachs 

 are not muscular enough to act as a mill for grinding, as are those of 

 gallinaceous and fringilline birds. 



G-ENERAL INSECT FOOD OF CUCKOOS. 



The beetles found in the stomachs belong to several families, no one of 

 which forms any important percentage of the total food. The stomach 

 taken in Texas in January contained 17 percent of beetles belonging 

 to five different families, all harmful. Beetles constitute 14 percent of 

 the food in May, but later in the season decrease, and after July practi- 

 cally disappear. The useful Garahidce are rarely eaten, which is easily 

 explained by the fact that they live on the ground, while the cuckoos 

 feed mainly in trees. One bird, however, had eaten a specimen of Galo- 

 soma scrutator, one of the largest and most predatory of these beetles, 



