32 FOOD OF THE FLYCATCHEKS. 



like fleas. In all, 16 families were represented, in the stomachs, but 

 stinkbugs (Pentatomidae) take the lead, being found in 42. Bugs 

 are most sought by this bird in the winter months, probably because 

 in summer other and more appetizing insects can be obtained. Half 

 of all that were eaten were taken from November to February, inclu- 

 sive, but a fair percentage was found in the stomachs of every month. 

 The average for the year is 10.38 per cent. 



Orthoptera (grasshoppers and crickets) form 12.91 per cent of 

 the phoebe's food, but are eaten very irregularly, and while found in 

 the stomachs of every month they vary greatly from one month to 

 the next, and are found in the greatest amount when least expected. 

 January is the month which shows the highest consumption, 24.19 

 per cent, while July is practically the same, 24.15 per cent. August, 

 which with most eastern birds is the great month for eating grass- 

 hoppers, in this case shows only 6.37 per cent, while in June only 

 1.50 per cent were taken. There is no apparent logical reason for 

 this irregularity. It is probably an accident, and a larger amount 

 of material would almost surely give a more even result. Grass- 

 hoppers were found in 125 stomachs, crickets in 23, and locusts in 6, 

 which would seem to indicate a reasonable fondness for this order of 

 insect. The only kind that was specifically identified was the red- 

 legged grasshopper (Melanopus femur-rubrum) , a well-known and 

 very destructive insect. 



Lepidoptera (moths and caterpillars) are eaten much more regu- 

 larly than grasshoppers, but not in such large quantities. They 

 amount to 8.86 per cent of the food of the year, and were found in 

 118 stomachs, of which 47 contained adult moths and 71 held cater- 

 pillars. One stomach was entirely filled with a large moth. June, 

 with 14.90 per cent, was the month of greatest consumption, but all 

 the months show a fair percentage and none of them fall greatly below 

 the average. A few miscellaneous insects, such as dragon flies,, 

 caddis flies, and ephemerids, amount to 2.39 per cent, and while not 

 eaten extensively were taken to some degree in every month. 



Spiders constitute quite a steady article of the phoebe's diet. 

 Ticks and millepeds also are rat en. Xone of these creatures can be 

 taken when they are on the wing, as they can not fly, but spiders may 

 sometimes be picked up when they are sailing through the air upheld 

 by their gossamer threads or they may be found on the top of a tall 

 reed as the bird flies past. But ticks and millepeds must be taken 

 from the ground or some other surface. The aggregate of these 

 creatures for the year is 5.78 per cent. March is the month of greatest 

 consumption with 11.94 per cent, but April stands nearly as high, 

 while every month shows a fair percentage except June, which has 

 but 1 per cent. Spiders were found in 76 stomachs, millepeds in 7, 



