GRASSHOPPER SPARROW. - 61 



State of New York during an invasion of these pests in 1896. In its 

 destrnction of Orthoptera the savanna sparrow resembles the vesper 

 sparrow, especially in the kinds chosen, though it is somewhat less 

 efficient. Still, it does excellent work, for it takes grasshoppers in 

 quantity from June to August, and in July eats them to such an 

 extent that they constitute 34 percent of its food during that month. 

 Ants amount to about 4 percent of the diet, and include both typical 

 ants (Formicidse) and stinging ants (Myrmicidse). This shows a 

 greater predilection for these insects than is displayed by any other 

 sparrow, with the exception of the white-throat. The Hemiptera 

 taken comprise both true bugs and leaf -hoppers and the Diptera con- 

 sist of crane-flies and small species of horseflies. 



The character of the vegetable food shows the savanna sparrow to 

 be a great consumer of grass seeds. It is not harmful to grainflelds, 

 however, as the grain taken amounts to only about 1 percent of the 

 food, and this consists almost entirely of waste wheat and oats. Dur- 

 ing August, a month in Avhich many birds exhibit a great liking for 

 a cereal diet, a number of savanna sparrows were collected from oat 

 and barley fields, but their stomachs contained nothing but insects. 

 Grass seed, largelj^ pigeon-grass ( Chcetocloa) and panic-grass {Pani- 

 cum), amounts to 31 percent of the food. Other seeds, mainly such 

 weed seeds as are taken by the vesper sparrow, make up practically 

 all of the remaining 22 percent of the vegetable matter, the only 

 exception being a few blueberries found in one of the stomachs. 



It appears from this examination that the savanna sparrow is an 

 exceedingly valuable bird. During the winter, when it is most gra- 

 nivorous, more than half of its food consists of weed seeds ; and from 

 May to August, when it is most insectivorous, beneficial insects form 

 only 3 percent of the food, while insects of the injurious class amount 

 to 45 percent. 



GRASSHOPPER SPARROW. 



(Ammodramus savannarum passerinus and Ammodramus s. perpallidus.^ 



The grasshopper sparrow, also known as the yellow- winged spar- 

 row because of the bright yellow on the outer edge of the wing, is 

 a terrestrial species. It is not in the least degree gregarious, being 

 found onl}^ in pairs, or at most families, in the dry, open, grassy or 

 weedy upland which it frequents. It breeds in suitable localities 

 throughout the entire eastern part of the United States and westwiird 

 to and including the Great Basin, though it is not common west of 

 the Rocky Mountains. But its range does not include the higher 

 altitudes, nor always the higher latitudes, those that belong to the 

 upper part of the Transition zone marking the lowest limit of its 

 absence. Hence it is not found in the mountains or certain parts of 

 the northern border, although in some places a milder climate carries 

 its summer range into Canada. 

 3507— No. 15—01 5 



