TRAFFIC IN CARDINALS. 7 



Referring to the cardinal in particular. Nuttall a makes the state- 

 ment : 



So liiglily were these birds esteemed for their melody that, according to 

 Gemelli Carreri [who wrote in 1699], the Spaniards of Havana, in a time of 

 public distress and scarcity, bought so many of these birds * * * that the 

 sum expended, at ten dollars apiece, amounted to no less that 18,000 dollars. 



The liking of the islanders for this bird has suffered no abatement 

 in later days, according to W. E. D. Scott, 6 who wrote in 1889 : " The 

 cardinal is in great demand as a pet by the Cubans, and on that 

 account is a regular feature of the auction rooms, being supplied 

 from the northern keys and the mainland " [of Florida]. However, 

 recent laws, while they have not wholly put an end to these baneful 

 practices, have greatly restricted them, and the cardinal, along with 

 other insectivorous birds, is nowadays comparatively well protected. 



That from an economic standpoint the bird deserves complete 

 protection, the following discussion of its food habits will make 

 clear. Four hundred and ninety-eight stomachs of this species have 

 been examined. They were collected during every month of the year 

 and in twenty States, the District of Columbia, and Ontario. But 

 for the fact that this material is unevenly distributed, seasonally 

 and geographically, the results obtained from its examination would 

 be perfectly satisfactory. As it is, Texas is much more completely 

 represented than any other State, and May than any month, while 

 the feeding habits for June and October are known only from exam- 

 ination of a very small number of stomachs. These conditions neces- 

 sarily affect the results, but in view of the large number of stomachs, 

 it is believed that a fairly correct idea of the normal food habits of 

 the species has been obtained. As a result of our investigations it 

 appears that, for each of the twelve months, the cardinal averages 

 28.99 percent of animal food and 71.01 percent of vegetable. The 

 maximum percentage of animal food for any one month is 78.4, 

 being the average for 123 birds taken in May. The minimum is 4.9 

 for 41 birds in January. 



Vegetable Food. 



It is generally stated that the cardinal is largely, if not entirely, 

 vegetarian. While this statement is. perhaps too strong, the result 

 of the present investigation leaves no doubt that vegetable prod- 

 ucts compose the redbird's main subsistence at nearly all times of 

 the year. In only one month do they constitute less than half the 

 food, while for the entire year they average 71.01 percent. Grain 

 amounts to 8.73 percent; wild fruit, only the seeds of which are 

 usually eaten, composes 24.17 percent; weed and other seeds 36.38 

 percent, and miscellaneous vegetable substances 1.73 percent. 



a Manual of Ornithology, The Land Birds, 1832, p. 525. 

 6 Auk. VI, 1889, p. 324, quoting Atkins. 



