FOOD OF AMERICAN PHALABOPES, AVOCETS, AND STILTS 19 
Miscellaneous. — Other animal food, amounting to 2.7 per cent, 
included remains of grasshoppers in 3 instances, and crickets, cater- 
pillars, and a tiny frog in 1 each. The grasshoppers and crickets 
may be mentioned as of distinct economic importance and as a 
further indication of the value of the stilt as an insect destroyer. 
VEGETABLE FOOD 
The vegetable food of the black-necked stilt, composing 1.1 per cent 
of the total, has little significance in determining the economic status 
of the bird. It consisted in the main of a few seeds of aquatic or 
marsh plants, with fragments of vegetable debris in a few instances, 
taken as rubbish adhering to other food. The flattened sporocarps of 
Marsilea were found in 1 stomach and seeds of the sago pondweed 
(Potamogeton pectinatus) in 4. Seeds of several species of bulrush 
were encountered in 7 instances and leaves and stems of the sago 
pondweed in 2. The latter is an item in favor with many water birds 
and may be considered nutritious and readily digestible. As most 
of the seeds eaten were hard and firmly surfaced, it is probable that 
like gravel they perform an important function in preparing softer 
food for digestion, in addition to serving as nutriment themselves. 
SUMMARY 
From the foregoing details it seems that the black-necked stilt 
is of somewhat greater importance from an economic viewpoint 
than the avocet. The fact that it eats crawfishes, though in small 
quantity, is one point in its favor. Among the insects taken, a 
great majority are of no particular importance, but attention must 
be called to an evident predilection of stilts for billbugs (Spheno- 
pliorus). The only valuable beetle eaten was a single tiger beetle, 
of which fragments were found in one stomach, an item of small 
weight compared with the destructive beetles consumed. Mosquito 
larvae were found in two instances, an indication of a valuable 
feeding habit which in suitable localities may render these birds 
of importance. The true bugs eaten are of neutral significance, save 
in the case of the waterbugs (Belostoma) , which, being predatory 
on small fry of fishes, must be considered injurious, and they 
form a part of the food to the credit of the bird. Flies and mollusks 
are taken in abundance, but except for the mosquito larvae men- 
tioned, are of neutral significance. The small fishes eaten are tiny 
individuals of species having no particular value. 
Economically the stilt has a decided balance in its favor. It 
apparently has never been considered a game bird, as it is small in 
body and poor in flesh. The lameness and lack of sophistication of 
the birds have often led to their destruction by careless gunners, 
so that they have greatly decreased in numbers or have even dis- 
appeared from more thickly settled regions. As they are conspicu- 
ous in form, and fearless and noisy during the breeding season, they 
attract attention which often is disastrous. They should be pro- 
tected and encouraged generally and under such conditions should 
maintain or even increase their present numbers. Those who chance 
to come intimately in contact with stilts will find that they are not 
only beneficial in their food habits but that they merit observation 
for their many interesting ways. 
