50 GROUSE AXD WILD TURKEYS OF UNITED STATES. 
of animal matter and 84.43 percent of vegetable matter. The animal 
food consisted of insects — 15.15 j^ercent — and miscellaneous inverte- 
brates, such as spiders, snails, and myriapods — 0.42 percent. Grass- 
hoppers furnished 13.92 percent, and beetles, flies, caterpillars, and 
other insects 1.23 percent. 
The 84.43 percent of the bird's vegetable food was distributed as 
follows: ' Browse,' 24.80 percent; fruit, 32.98 percent; mast, 4.(>0 per- 
cent; other seeds, 20.12 percent; miscellaneous vegetable matter, 1.93 
percent. 
The wild turkey is very fond of grasshoppers and crickets. Wil- 
liam Hugh Robarts has observed a flock of a hundred busily catching 
grasshoppers." Vernon Bailey, of the Biological Survey, killed a 
turkey at Corpus Christi, Tex., in May, 1900, that had eaten a large 
number of grasshoppers and a sphinx moth. During the Nebraska 
invasion of Rocky Mountain locusts. Professor Aughey examined the 
contents of six wild turkey stomachs and crops collected during 
August and September. Every bird had eaten locusts, in all amount- 
ing to 259.^ The wild turkey has been known also to feed on the 
cotton worm^ {Alabama argillacea), the leaf hoppei*s, and the leaf- 
eating beetles {Chrysomela suturalis). The grasshopper {Arnilia 
sp.) and the thousand-legs (Jidus) form part of the turkey's bill of 
fare. Tadpoles and small lizards also are included. 
Besides the bird shot on the Roanoke, already mentioned, the stom- 
achs and crops of four other Virginia turkeys have been examined by 
the Biological Survey. One of these contained only small quartz 
pebbles. Another bird had eaten only a few grapes and flowering 
dogwood berries. A third had made a respectable meal. Ten percent 
of its food was animal matter and 90 percent vegetable. The animal 
part consisted of 1 harvest spider {Phalangichv) ^ 1 centipede, 1 thou- 
sand-legs (Julus), 1 ichneumon fly (Ichneumon unifaskulata)^ 2 
yellow- jackets {Vespa germanica)^ 1 grasshopper, and 3 katydids 
{Cyrtoj)kyllus perspieulatus) . The vegetable food was wild black 
cherries, grapes, berries of flowering dogwood and sour gum, 2 
chestnuts, 25 whole acorns {Quereus pahfsfris and Q. vehitina)^ a few 
alder catkins, seeds of jewel weed, and 500 seeds of tick-trefoil 
(Meihomia nudi flora). Another turkey, also shot in December, had 
eaten a ground beetle, an ichneumon fly, 2 wheel bugs, 10 yellow- 
jackets, a meadow grasshopper, 75 red-legged grasshoppers, a few 
sour-gum berries, some pine seeds (with a few pine needles, })robably 
taken accidentally), several acorns, a quarter of a cupful of wheat, 
and a little corn. 
a Am. Field, vol. 55, p. 42, 1901. 
6 First K<M>. K"t. Com., App. II, p. 4G, 1878. 
c Fourth Kep. Eut. Com., p. 88; 1885. 
