SPARROW FAMILY. 91 



is about the same. June shows a higher percentage than either May 

 or July, which indicates that some of the grain was gathered from 

 the harvest field. Oats were the favorite kind, found in 140 stom- 

 achs. Barley was contained in 34, wheat in 16, and corn in 6. Six- 

 teen stomachs were filled with grain alone, most of them with oats, 

 but several with barley and one with corn. 



The towhee is another of those species whose standard food is weed 

 seed. It amounts to nearly 51 percent of the yearly diet. Even in 

 June, the month of least consumption, it amounts to one-fifth of the 

 food, while in December it reaches its maximum, 83.6 percent; but 

 a good percentage is eaten in every month, no matter what other food 

 is at hand. 



Weed seed was found in 304 stomachs, and 46 contained nothing 

 else. The quantity of this seed consumed by the towhees of Cali- 

 fornia in one year must be enormous. The following are the species 

 identified and the number of stomachs in which each was found: 



Sunflower (Helianthus sp.) 1 



Lesser tarweed (Hemizonia fasciculata) 7 



Tarweed ( Madia sativa) 34 



Mayweed (Anthemis cotula) 6 



Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) 1 



Bur thistle ( Centaur ea melitensis) 39 



Burweed (AmsincJcia tesselata) ' 4 



Nightshade (Solarium nigrum) 22 



Plantain (Plantago lanceolata) 1 



Lupine (Lupinus sp.) 19 



Clover ( Trifolium sp.) 9 



Legumes not further identified 39 



Turkey mullein (Eremocarpos setigerus) 5 



Poison oak (Rhus diversiloba) 7 



Alfilaria (Erodium cicutarium) 55 



Geranium (Geranium dissectum) 1 



Yellow sorrel (Oxalis corniculata) 4 



Mustard (Brassica nigra) 10 



Poppy (Eschscholtzia californica) 2 



Miners' lettuce ( Montia perfoliata) 26 



Red maids ( Calandrinia menziesi) 4 



Pigweed ( Chenopodium album) I 1 



Rough pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus) 77 



Spurry (Spergula arvensis) 2 



Chickweed (Stellaria media) 27 



Catchfly (Silene sp.) 5 



Knotweed (Polygonum sp.) 40 



Sorrel (Rumex acetosella) 10 



Brome grass (Bromus sp.) 5 



Wild oats (Avenafatua) 33 



Canary seed (Phalaris canariensis) 1 



Panic grass (Panicum sp.) 1 



Unidentified 77 



Mast, in the shape of acorn meat, was taken to a slight extent. It 

 reaches about one-half of 1 percent for the year. Vegetable rubbish 

 aggregates 2.4 percent. 



