12 BULLETIN 280, U. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
abundant anywhere, and consequently only a few stomachs have been 
received for examination. In all they number but 111 and are very 
irregularly distributed in time. None were taken in August and 
only one in July and two in June. From so scanty and unevenly 
distributed material it is impossible to draw final conclusions, but 
we can get some idea as to the nature of the bird’s food and its 
economic importance. 
The first analysis of the food gives 74.86 per cent of animal matter 
to 25.14 per cent of vegetable. This is the most animal food found 
in the stomachs of any bird of the genus Hylocichla and the largest 
but two of any of the thrushes. 
Animal food.—Beetles collectively amount to about one-third of 
all the food (383.32 per cent). Of these, 2.83 per cent are the useful 
Carabide. The rest belong to harmful families, such as the Scara- 
-beeidee, Elateridxe, and the weevils, or snout beetles. Ants amount 
to 16.34 per cent and are eaten very regularly—the most in the early 
part of the season. Hymenoptera other than ants, as. wasps and 
bees, were eaten to the extent of 5.60 per cent, and with the ants make 
21.94 per cent, placing this food next in rank to beetles. As in the 
case of ants, most of the bees and wasps were eaten in the first three 
months of the season. No honey bees were found. Lepidoptera 
(caterpillars) were third in order of abundance (8.81 per cent). . 
No special pest was discovered, but all caterpillars may be considered 
as harmful. A few grasshoppers were found in the stomachs taken 
in April and May, and more in those collected in September and 
October. They do not appear to be a favorite food and amount to 
only 1.72 per cent. Other insects, as flies, bugs, and a few others, © 
collectively amount to 2.89 per cent. Among these, it is of inter- 
est to note in one stomach the remains of the famous seventeen- 
year locust (72bicen septemdecem), rather large game for so small 
a bird. Spiders are freely eaten by the gray-cheeked thrush in 
spring, and sparingly in fall. For the season they constitute 5.77 
per cent of the food. A few other animals, as crawfish, sowbugs, 
and angleworms (0.41 per cent), complete the animal food. 
Following is a list of the insects identified and the number of 
stomachs in which found: 
HYMENOPTERA. Stelidota 8-maculata 
Byrrhus murinus 
EUcinetus: Morel =) ake ee 
Monocrepidius vespertinus__________— 
AlGUiOtESUUMOSUSa a = eee 
Corymbites signaticollis =- ~~ =~ =e 
2 | Podabrus flavicollis 
ODE TUG, (Spot ee Oe ee 1 
Aphenogaster tennesseense_- 
COLDOPTERA, 
Ovonriuerandrewsie Sek eae 
UC ITALG aS Deore et A hs Bg ad 2 | Telephorus bilineatus 
Dyschirius hispidus—-— i i Onthopnagus Sp) 22 nes 
Hister sedecimstriatis.__—_- = 1 | Atenius strigatus 
Phelister vernus—_— ous a : 1 Atenius ovatulus 
Epurea rufa __--_ Be ey eHS es steers ea = 3 | Atenius sp 
fe fake ee pk pk 
oo 
ee es 
