90 



THE WINTER FOOD OF THE CHICKADEE 



eaten largely of the small bud-like materials already noted, making 58 per 

 cent, of the food in one and 37 per cent, in the other case. The other 

 food elements of the first were aphid eggs, 24 per cent. ; undetermined 

 insects or their allies, 4 per cent., and undetermined material, 14 per 

 cent. The stomach of the second specimen contained very little food, 



a caterpillar making 

 33 per cent., unde- 

 termined insects 8 per 

 cent., grit 5 percent., 

 spiders 4 per cent,, 

 and undetermined 

 material 13 per cent. 



Four chickadees ta- 

 ken Febraary 17th 

 while feeding in a 

 mixed growth of birch 

 and pine had eaten 

 chiefly aphid eggs, 

 these constituting 62 

 per cent, of the en- 

 tire food of the first 

 specimen, 52 of the 

 second, 46 of the 

 third, and 61 of the 

 fourth. In addition, 

 one bird had eaten 

 the eggs of the com- 

 mon American tent 

 caterpillar to the ex- 

 tent of 16 per cent., 

 and another had eaten 

 a few specimens of a 



, c . , , , , small flea beetle 



s or Spiders on loose bark. , 



known to science as 



Prasocuris varipes. (Fig. 9.) The other food elements were certain 



small round bodies of unknown origin, eggs of insects, bud scales, and 



seeds of birch. 



Another chickadee feeding in an apple tree February 17th had eaten 

 60 per cent, of the skins of sumach berries, 28 per cent, of aphid eggs, 



3 per cent, of the eggs of bugs of the family ^ _ 



Reduviidce, and 2 per cent, of bud scales, while feT ^ 7^ 

 7 per cent, was not determined. Still another ' * * fW'' 



killed on the same day in a clump of small pine 

 trees had taken aphid eggs 19 per cent., bud 

 scales 49 per cent., feathers I per cent., a spider, 

 2 per cent., and undetermined material 29 per 

 cent. 



Three chickadees were shot in an apple or- 

 chard February 19th, at 3 : 30 p. m. Their food was estimated as fol- 

 lows : 



Fig. 6. Egg-sa 



THE WINTER FOOD OF THE CHICKADEE 



91 



No. I. Eggs of aphids, .05 ; cocoon and larvae of codling moth (?), 

 .15; spider eggs and egg sac, .28; undetermined insects, .11; unde- 

 termined vegetable matter, .18; undetermined animal matter, .22; 

 grit, .01. 



No. 2. Five codling moth larvae (?) .67; cocoon 

 of codling moth (?) .07; eggs of aphids, .12; small 

 M beetle {Hoplocephala bicornisf) .01 ; eggs of insect. 



.01; eggs of spiders, .01; spider, .02; buds, .05; 

 undetermined material, .04; feathers, trace. 



No. 3. Eggs of aphids, .52; lepidopterous larva:, 

 .28; two spiders and web, .10; bud scales, .03; un- 

 determined, .07. 



The next specimen was killed at 3 p. m. February 

 1 8th while picking at a small twig of a birch tree. It 

 had evidently been eating the eggs of the plant-lice 

 that are so abundant beside the buds of the birch, as 

 74 per cent, of the food consisted of aphid eggs, of 

 which two sizes were present ; — the smaller were prob- 

 ably those of the birch species. In addition there 

 was a caterpillar, making 4 per cent. ; small cocoons 

 apparently of hymenopterous insects, 2 per cent. ; bud 

 scales, 9 per cent. ; undetermined insects, 2 per cent. ; 

 and other material, 9 per cent. 



Another chickadee taken at the same time in a sim- 

 ilar situation contained 52 per cent, of aphid eggs and 

 various other materials. 



Two chickadees were taken at 4 p. m. February 

 26th at Durham Point in a mixed growth of pines and 

 Fig. 8.— Winter birches. One of these had eaten 454 eggs of aphides, 

 cases of a small making 44 per cent, of the food, and an equal percent- 

 caterpillar beside age of material that seemed to be the dried castings 

 apple buds. (Tliey from the old nests of tent caterpillars. In addition 

 sliow as light there were feathers, spiders' eggs, canker worm eggs, 

 spots.) and woody matter, each estimated at i per cent., as 



well as 8 per cent, of undetermined material. The 

 other bird contained the following: A good-sized fly, 11 per cent.; 

 nine spiders — one large, one medium, seven small — 24 per cent. ; two 

 spider egg-sacs, 10 per cent. ; canker worm eggs, 2 per cent. ; 

 a measuring worm {Geometridce), 22 percent. ; feathers, I per 

 cent. ; and undetermined material, 30 per cent. 



Three chickadees were shot on March 4th at about 11 :30 

 a. m. They belonged to a large flock which had been flying 

 from tree to tree through the woods. The first had eaten 42 

 per cent, of aphid eggs, 18 per cent, of buds and bud scales. -^^^ _ 

 9 per cent, spider and web, 2 per cent, of beetles, 6 per cent. 



of sumach fruits, 2 per cent, of oval brown insect eggs, and . „ ,' 

 1 , ■ 1 T . , -, magn i n e d 



21 percent, was undetermmed. The second specimen had 



eaten a large spider making 37 per cent, of the whole, and 



some spider's web making 7 per cent, more ; leaf-hoppers of 



the family Jassids, 4 per cent. ; eggs of fall canker worm, 4 per cent. ; 



(Eaten by 

 chickadee.) 



