﻿50 
  GROUSE 
  AND 
  WILD 
  TURKEYS 
  OF 
  UNITED 
  STATES. 
  

  

  of 
  animal 
  matter 
  and 
  84.43 
  percent 
  of 
  vegetable 
  matter. 
  The 
  animal 
  

   food 
  consisted 
  of 
  insects 
  — 
  15.15 
  percent 
  — 
  and 
  miscellaneous 
  inverte- 
  

   brates, 
  such 
  as 
  spiders, 
  snails, 
  and 
  myriapods 
  — 
  0.42 
  percent. 
  Grass- 
  

   hoppers 
  furnished 
  13.92 
  percent, 
  and 
  beetles, 
  flies, 
  caterpillars, 
  and 
  

   other 
  insects 
  1.23 
  percent. 
  

  

  The 
  84.43 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  bird's 
  vegetable 
  food 
  was 
  distributed 
  as 
  

   follows 
  : 
  ' 
  Browse,' 
  24.80 
  percent 
  ; 
  fruit, 
  32.98 
  percent 
  ; 
  mast, 
  4.60 
  per- 
  

   cent; 
  other 
  seeds, 
  20.12 
  percent; 
  miscellaneous 
  vegetable 
  matter, 
  1.93 
  

   percent. 
  

  

  The 
  wild 
  turkey 
  is 
  very 
  fond 
  of 
  grasshoppers 
  and 
  crickets. 
  Wil- 
  

   liam 
  Hugh 
  Robarts 
  has 
  observed 
  a 
  flock 
  of 
  a 
  hundred 
  busily 
  catching 
  

   grasshoppers. 
  Vernon 
  Bailey, 
  of 
  the 
  Biological 
  Survey, 
  killed 
  a 
  

   turkey 
  at 
  Corpus 
  Christi, 
  Tex., 
  in 
  May, 
  1900, 
  that 
  had 
  eaten 
  a 
  large 
  

   number 
  of 
  grasshoppers 
  and 
  a 
  sphinx 
  moth. 
  During 
  the 
  Nebraska 
  

   invasion 
  of 
  Rocky 
  Mountain 
  locusts, 
  Professor 
  Aughey 
  examined 
  the 
  

   contents 
  of 
  six 
  wild 
  turkey 
  stomachs 
  and 
  crops 
  collected 
  during 
  

   August 
  and 
  September. 
  Every 
  bird 
  had 
  eaten 
  locusts, 
  in 
  all 
  amount- 
  

   ing 
  to 
  259. 
  b 
  The 
  wild 
  turkey 
  has 
  been 
  known 
  also 
  to 
  feed 
  on 
  the 
  

   cotton 
  worm 
  c 
  (Alabama 
  argillacea), 
  the 
  leaf 
  hoppers, 
  and 
  the 
  leaf- 
  

   eating 
  beetles 
  (Chrysomela 
  suturalis). 
  The 
  grasshopper 
  (Arnilia 
  

   sp.) 
  and 
  the 
  thousand-legs 
  (Julus) 
  form 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  turkey's 
  bill 
  of 
  

   fare. 
  Tadpoles 
  and 
  small 
  lizards 
  also 
  are 
  included. 
  

  

  Besides 
  the 
  bird 
  shot 
  on 
  the 
  Roanoke, 
  already 
  mentioned, 
  the 
  stom- 
  

   achs 
  and 
  crops 
  of 
  four 
  other 
  Virginia 
  turkeys 
  have 
  been 
  examined 
  by 
  

   the 
  Biological 
  Survey. 
  One 
  of 
  these 
  contained 
  only 
  small 
  quartz 
  

   pebbles. 
  Another 
  bird 
  had 
  eaten 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  grapes 
  and 
  flowering 
  

   dogwood 
  berries. 
  A 
  third 
  had 
  made 
  a 
  respectable 
  meal. 
  Ten 
  percent 
  

   of 
  its 
  food 
  was 
  animal 
  matter 
  and 
  90 
  percent 
  vegetable. 
  The 
  animal 
  

   part 
  consisted 
  of 
  1 
  harvest 
  spider 
  (Phalangidce) 
  , 
  1 
  centipede, 
  1 
  thou- 
  

   sand-legs 
  (Julus), 
  1 
  ichneumon 
  fly 
  (Ichneumon 
  unifasiculata) 
  , 
  2 
  

   yellow- 
  jackets 
  (Vespa 
  germanica), 
  1 
  grasshopper, 
  and 
  3 
  katydids 
  

   {CyrtophyUus 
  perspiculatus) 
  . 
  The 
  vegetable 
  food 
  was 
  wild 
  black 
  

   cherries, 
  grapes, 
  berries 
  of 
  flowering 
  dogwood 
  and 
  sour 
  gum, 
  2 
  

   chestnuts, 
  25 
  whole 
  acorns 
  (Quercus 
  palustris 
  and 
  Q. 
  velutina), 
  a 
  few 
  

   alder 
  catkins, 
  seeds 
  of 
  jewel 
  weed, 
  and 
  500 
  seeds 
  of 
  tick-trefoil 
  

   (Meibomia 
  nudi-fiora). 
  Another 
  turkey, 
  also 
  shot 
  in 
  December, 
  had 
  

   eaten 
  a 
  ground 
  beetle, 
  an 
  ichneumon 
  fly, 
  2 
  wheel 
  bugs, 
  10 
  yellow- 
  

   jackets, 
  a 
  meadow 
  grasshopper, 
  75 
  red-legged 
  grasshoppers, 
  a 
  few 
  

   sour-gum 
  berries, 
  some 
  pine 
  seeds 
  (with 
  a 
  few 
  pine 
  needles, 
  probably 
  

   taken 
  accidentally), 
  several 
  acorns, 
  a 
  quarter 
  of 
  a 
  cupful 
  of 
  wheat, 
  

   and 
  a 
  little 
  corn. 
  

  

  a 
  Am. 
  Field, 
  vol. 
  55, 
  p. 
  42, 
  1901. 
  

  

  i 
  First 
  Rep. 
  Ent. 
  Com., 
  App. 
  II, 
  p. 
  46, 
  1878. 
  

  

  c 
  Fourth 
  Rep. 
  Ent. 
  Com., 
  p. 
  88, 
  1885. 
  

  

  