84 THE RELATION <»K BPABROWS TO AOK [CULTURE. 
mature, though the bird occasionally feeds with others on the ripen- 
ing crop of wild fruits during late summer and aul limn. It lias been 
observed eating elderberries, wild grapes, pokeberries, bayberries, 
and berries of the woodbine; but in spite of this taste and the bird's 
abundance among cultivated berry patches, ii never, to any appre- 
ciable extent, does any damage to cultivated fruit. 
Insects amount to about one-third of the annua! diet, and from 
May to August, inclusive, when they are eaten most freely, compose 
more than half the food. Diptera constitute - percent of tin* year's 
food; Semiptera, 3 percent; Hymenoptera, 4 percent; Lepidoptera, 
6 pel-cent; Orthoptera, 7 percent; Coleoptera, 9 percent, and miscella- 
neous insects, principally Neuroptera, Plectoptera, and Ephemeridse, 
1 percent. 
The kinds eaten are for the most part the same as those taken 
by the chipping sparrow and field sparrow. The greater pari of the 
Diptera are not the common house-flies, but mosquito-like flies belong- 
ing to the families Chironomidse and TipulidsB. They are eaten in 
both the larval and imago stages. Occasionally Lmagos of some 
species of horseflies furnish a part of a meal. The Hemiptera belong 
to both the heteropterous and homopterous divisions of the order. 
The Heteroptera include small bugs of nauseous odor, largely soldier 
bugs, leaf bugs (Capsidse), and assassin bugs, and are usually species 
of little or no economic importance. The Ilomoptera are practically 
all leaf-hoppers (Jassidse). Cercropidge, the little bugs which are 
responsible for the so-called 'frog spit' or ' snake spit/ which is often 
found adhering to grass in early summer, are sometimes eaten. 
Half of the Hymenoptera entering into the food comprise ants 
belonging to both of the principal families Formicidae and Myrmi- 
cida?. It is highly probable that most of the ants are taken while 
flying, as many species of birds secure their ant food in the air. 
One-quarter of the hymenopterous food, amounting to about 1 per- 
cent of the total food for the year, consists of such parasitic species 
as flies (Braconidse), ichneumon Hies (Ichneumonidse), and certain 
wasps (Scoliidffi); the remainder is made up of a few saw-flies, some 
joint-worm (lies, cuckoo flies, and a number of the smaller bees 
(And/rena,) Halictus, and other plant-fertilizing species). 
The Lepidoptera (all moths) are principally Larvae of Noctuidse, 
such as cut worms and army worms. They also include larva' of 
Geometridffi and the occasional pupa of a tineid moth (Coleophora). 
Mr. K. II. Forbush discovered that the song sparrow will eat hairy 
caterpillars, 1 inn none but the smooth kinds have thus far been found 
in the stomachs examined in the Biological Survey. In its destruction 
of Lepidoptera the song sparrow renders considerable service, espe- 
cially during .May and June, when 25 percent of its food consists of 
these pests. At this time it makes a business of hunting on the ground 
Mass. Crop Rept., | \. L899. 
