BIRDS OF PORTO RICO. 



63 



is very destructive in coffee plantations, where it makes canals in the pith of 

 the new shoots of the coffee trees. When mature the shoots are frequently 

 weakened so that they break when bent down by the pickers, injuring the trees 

 and damaging the crop in many cases. One bird had eaten 81 of these ants, an- 

 other 100, and others contained smaller numbers. A few caterpillars amount to 

 2.49 per cent and spiders to 1.37 per cent. The little arboreal tree toad or coqui 

 (Eleutherodactyhis sp.) was eaten by seven birds, and small lizard remains 

 occurred in five stomachs, together forming 6.17 per cent. Miscellaneous animal 

 matter (1.55 per cent) was made up of a single scorpion, whose sting was found 

 in the stomach, a centipede, a wood louse, and two snails. Thus the animal 

 food seems to consist almost entirely of material taken from the trunks of 

 trees. 



The following were identified in the stomachs examined : 



CRUSTACEA. 



Cul)aris sp 1 



EUPLEXOPTERA. 



Phaulex alMpes 2 



ORTHOPTERA. 



Leucophcea surinamensis 1 



HEMIPTERA. 



Proarno hilaris. 

 Curixa sp _. 



COLEOPTERA. 



Tropisternus sp. 



Atcenius sp 



Leptostylus sp_. 

 Myochrous sp _. 

 Temnochila sp_. 

 Tenebrioides sp . 



coleoptera — continued. 



Platydema si 



Helops sp 



Platypus sp. 



Hl'MENOPTERA. 



Solenopsis sp 



Myrmelachista sp 



Myrmelachista ambigua ramulorum. 



Cardiocondyla emeryi 



Monomorium floricola 



Camponotus ustus 



ARACHNIDA. 



Oxyopes salticus 



VERTEBRATA. 



Eleutherodactylus sp. 



Anolis sp 



Anolis krugi 



Vegetable food. — Seeds and small fruits form 24.93 per cent of the food and 

 vegetable rubbish, composed almost entirely of bits of wood, 9.24 per cent. The 

 berries of various palms and small fruits borne by rubiaceous shrubs, many of 

 which could not be identified, seem to be most relished. Fruits of the camacey 

 (Miconia sp.) and palo moro (PsycJiotria sp.) were discovered by field observa- 

 tions to be favorites, and below El Yunque one bird was seen picking at the 

 scales at the base of the fronds of a tree fern or jelecho (Cyathea arbor ea). 

 None of the fruits or seeds eaten are of commercial value. 



The following seeds were identified : 



Arecaceae 



Palm (Coccothrinax sp.) 



Palma de Sierra (Acrista sp.). 



Wild fig (Ficus sp.) 



Fresa (Rubus sp.) 



Espino (Xanthoxylum sp.). 



Euphorbiacese sp 



Moral (Cordia sp.) 



Compositae sp 



Summary. — In some localities the woodpecker damages coconut palms by 

 digging nesting holes in them. Water gathers in these holes and the trunk 

 decays until finally the tree is broken by the wind. As it takes these palms five 

 to seven years to mature, this means considerable loss. However, it was found 

 that woodpeckers occurred in the palm groves only where areas of lowland 



