WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. 71 



The bird appears, as well as can be judged by means of this limited 

 material, to be much more insectivorous than the typical white-crowned 

 sparrow. In fact as much as 70 percent of the food contents of the 

 stomachs collected on Saturnia Island consisted of insects. Spiders 

 and sand fleas (Amphipoda) were also eaten. Cutworms and closely 

 allied smooth caterpillars form half of the insect food, while beetles, 

 including ground- and leaf- beetles, weevils (Rhynchophora), scara- 

 bseids, and lampyrids {Podahrus), and such insects as ants and useful 

 wasps make up the remainder of the food. These highly insectivorous 

 habits appear surprising when the date of collection of half of the stom- 

 achs is considered. It is probable, however, that on Saturnia Island 

 insects are obtainable much earlier than at an inland station of the 

 same latitude, because of the comparatively mild climate of the coast. 



The vegetable food proved interesting for two reasons. In the first 

 place only one bird had eaten grain, and in the second place not one 

 had touched grass seed. The latter fact appears in harmony with the 

 habits of all the members of the genus, but the former is unexpected 

 and in striking contrast with the habits of Nuttall's sparrow. The 

 miscellaneous weed-seed element of the food includes chickweed, 

 lamb's-quarters, wild sunflower, polygonum, and dock. A few violet 

 and mallow seeds were also found in the stomachs. 



With regard to the food of Nuttall's sparrow. [Zonotrichia leuco- 

 pJirys nuttaUi) it is possible to speak more authoritatively since 100 

 stomachs of this subspecies have been examined. These were col- 

 lected in California during all the months of the year except August 

 and September. 



The summer food of this bird is of especial interest, as it affords 

 the only clew had to the food habits at this season of the other two 

 subspecies. A dozen stomachs were collected during June and July, 

 which contained 43 percent of animal matter and 57 percent of veg- 

 etable matter. The insect material is distributed as follows : Orthop- 

 tera, together with larval Lepidoptera, 1 percent ; Coleoptera, 9 per- 

 cent; Heteroptera and Jassidge, 7 percent, and Hymenoptera, 23 per- 

 cent. Click-beetles, weevils (Rhynchophora), lampyrids (fireflies and 

 their allies), dung-beetles {Ajjhodius), and leaf -beetles make up the 

 bulk of the beetles. The 23 percent of Hymenoptera, which for any 

 sparrow is unusually large, is composed for the greater part of useful 

 parasitic species, and so must be counted heavily against the bird. 



During cold weather this bird becomes a seed eater. In fact, from 

 October to February nine-tenths of its nourishment is derived from 

 grain, weed seed, and the seeds of plants of little economic impor- 

 tance. As with the preceding species, no grass seed is eaten. Owing 

 to this apparent distaste for grass seed and to the absence of rag- 

 weed from its habitat, it seems to be forced into eating the seeds of 

 lamb's-quarters and amaranth, w^hich are usually a second choice 

 with sparrows. So freely does it eat the seeds of these two weeds 



