FOOD HABITS OF SOME WINTER BIRD VISITANTS. 



25 



Verbenaceae. 



Verbena sp 



Caprifoliaceae. 



Symphoricarpos sp. ( snow- 

 berry ) 



10 



Ambrosiaceae. 



Ambrosia, elatior (ragweed). 

 Asteraceae. 



HeJianthus sp. (sunflower)-- 



Animal Food. 



Carabidae (ground-beetles). 



Amara sp. 



Platynus sp. 



Silphidae ( carrion-beetles ) . 



Silpha opaca 



Scarabaeidae (dung-beetles). 



Aphodius inquinatus 



Chrysomelidae (leaf beetles). 



Clwysomela subsulcata _. 



Altica sp 1 



Curculionidae ( weevils ) . 



Sitona hispidulus (clover-root 

 curculio) 



Lophalophus inquinatus 



An thorny iidae. 



Fucellia sp. (kelp fly) 



Ichneumonidae (parasitic wasps). 



Pterocorm us sp 



Agelenidae (spiders). 



Tegenaria derhami 



17 

 9 



SMITH LONGSPUR (Calcarius pictus). 



Only 30 stomachs of the Smith longspur were available for exami- 

 nation. Of these 21 were collected in Illinois in April and 9 at 

 Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories, during May. This number is 

 not large enough to afford data as to the general nature of the 

 food of the species, but when these stomachs and those of Lapland 

 longspurs collected in the same localities during the same months 

 are compared, the feeding habits of the two appear very similar. 

 In these 30 stomachs 37.1 per cent was animal matter and 62.9 per 

 cent vegetable. 



The nine birds taken at Fort Simpson had all been feeding almost 

 exclusively on insects, while those taken in Illinois had fed nearly 

 to the same extent on seeds. Carabids of various species were found 

 in 12 stomachs and formed 21.2 per cent of the food. Six birds 

 had eaten click-beetles, which constituted 3.7 per cent of the food. 

 Other beetles had been taken to the extent of 0.93 per cent of the 

 food. Caterpillars, eaten largely by the birds from Illinois, formed 

 7.47 per cent; other insects (chiefly grasshoppers and crickets). 3.53 

 per cent ; and spiders, 0.27 per cent of the total. 



Seeds of long- leaved rush grass (Sporobolus asper) had been 

 eaten largely by a number of Illinois birds and formed 28.67 per 

 cent of the total food. As with the Lapland longspur, seeds of 

 various grasses seem to be sought, since, in addition to the Sporo- 

 bolus, 12.07 per cent of the food was foxtail (ChaetochToa lutescens 

 and C. viridis), 7.33 per cent witchgrass (Panicum) , and 4.73 per cent 

 the seeds of various other grasses, making grass seeds total 52.8 

 per cent of the food. Weed seeds, chiefly ragweed (Ambrosia 

 elatior), constituted 1.63 per cent of the total; wheat, 4.67 per cent; 

 barley, 6.67 per cent ; and vegetable debris, 3.13 per cent. 



Food items of the Smith longspur, identified to the genus or species, as deter- 

 mined by the examination of 30 stomachs. 



[The figures indicate the number of stomachs in which the items were found.] 



Vegetable Food. 



Poaceae. 



Syntherisma i s chaemum 

 (crabgrass) 1 



Panicum capQlare (witch- 

 grass) 4 



Poaceae — Continued 



Echinochloa crusgalli (wild 



millet) 2 



Chaetochloa lutescens (yellow 

 foxtail) 16 



