FOOD HABITS OF THRUSHES. 17 
Red osier (Cornus stolonifera) __._.__- 1 | Snowberries (Symphoricarpos racemo- 
- Panicled cornel (Cornus paniculata) __ 3 ESI sas FA ARID Ma SN Dl ha eli 2 
Dogwood unidentified (Cornus sp.) ---~- 6 | Dockmackie (Viburnum acerifolium) _~ 1 
Huckleberries (Gaylussacia sp.) ~---__ 1 | Arrowwood (Viburnum gp.)~---_--___ 1 
Three-flowered nightshade (Solanum Black elderberries (Sambucus canaden- 
CULO ier ee one eee ee it SS) RA I ee Se SN Tea Ret Ne 6 
Nightshade unidentified (Solanum sp.) -— 8 | Red elderberries (Sambucus pubens) __ 5 
Black twinberries (Lonicera involu- Blue elderberries (Sambucus glauca)_. 15 
CORREA) yg a ga A pc al a Ze Parweed:) (Madia Sp) sean een 1 
Honeysuckle berries (Lonicera sp.)_—~~ 2! Fruit pulp not further identified______ 17 
Food of young of russet-backed thrush—Before concluding the 
discussion of this species it will be of interest to note the results 
obtained from an investigation of stomachs of 25 nestlings of the 
russet-back taken in June and July when the birds were from two 
to eleven days old. These were from eight broods, ranging from 
three to five nestlings to the brood. The percentage of animal food 
of the young (92.60 per cent) is considerably higher than that of the 
parent birds. 7 
The distribution of the animal food is as follows: Caterpillars 
were found in every stomach but seven and aggregated nearly 27 
per cent; beetles, including the useful Carabidz (7.7 per cent), are 
irregularly distributed to the extent of 22 per cent; other more or less 
harmful species included five families of (Hemiptera) bugs, 13.8 
per cent, viz, stinkbugs, leaf hoppers, tree hoppers, shield bugs, and 
cicadas; ants and a few other Hymenoptera amount to 12 per cent, 
and spiders the same. These latter were mostly harvestmen or daddy 
longlegs (Phalangide). The remainder (6 per cent) included a few 
miscellaneous insects. Only three stomachs contained remains of 
grasshoppers. Carabid beetles were eaten by the young birds to the 
extent of 7.7 per cent, which is more than three times the amount 
eaten by the adults, a remarkable fact when is considered that these 
insects are very hard shelled, thus seemingly unsuited for young 
birds. 
The._vegetable food consisted of fruit (6.8 per cent), mainly black- 
berries or raspberries, found in 11 stomachs, and twinberries in 1, 
and two or three other items, including a seed of filaree and some 
rubbish. From the irregular variety of food in the different 
stomachs, it would seem that the parents make little selection, but 
fill the gaping mouths of their young with the nearest obtainable 
supply. 
In addition to the examination of stomach contents of nestlings 
two nests were carefully and regularly watched, and from these it 
was determined that the parent birds fed each nestling 48 times in 
14 hours of daylight. This means 144 feedings as a day’s work for 
the parents for a brood of three nestlings, and that each stomach was 
filled to its full capacity several times daily, an illustration that the 
digestion and assimilation of birds, especially the young, are con- 
stant and very rapid. Experiments in raising young birds have 
