GENERAL INSECT FOOD OF CUCKOOS. 11 
pletely defoliating them. What this caterpillar has done, many others 
may do. In the cuckoos we probably have one of nature's most effi- 
cient checks on the increase of these harmful species. It is said that 
hairy caterpillars are protected by their coats from the attacks of 
the ichneumon flies; if this be true, the work of the cuckoos in 
destroying the hairy species is complementary to that of the ichneu- 
inous, which help to destroy the smooth-coated caterpillars. Consider- 
ing the number of grasshoppers, locusts, and other insects tbat cuckoos 
eat in addition to caterpillars, it is evident that from an economic point 
of view these birds are two of our most valuable species, and as they 
have not been convicted of doing any harm, they should be protected 
and encouraged in every possible way. 
Besides insects proper, a number of spiders were found in the 
stomachs examined, most of them the long legged kinds commonly 
known as 'daddy longlegs ' or harvestmen (Phatangidce). One 
stomach contained seven, the mass of tangled legs looking like a bunch 
of coarse hair. When we consider the disgusting odor of these spiders, 
their long legs, and the fact that their bodies have the texture of sand- 
paper, we are again forcibly reminded that tastes differ. But the most 
remarkable thing which the cuckoos had eaten was a small tree frog 
{Eyla) which had been swallowed whole! 
In view of Audubon's accusation that the yellow-billed cuckoo sucks 
the eggs of other birds, it may be said that eggshells were found in 
several stomachs taken in July and August, but only in very small 
quantities — no more than found in the stomachs of nearly every species 
that has been examined. It is probable that these were merely empty 
shells eaten for the sake of the lime they contained. It may be added 
that one stomach disclosed a snail shell, which was probably taken for 
the same purpose. A number of stomachs contained each from one to 
three bits of gravel, but why the stones were swallowed was not appar- 
ent. Cuckoos do not eat hard seeds, and even if they did their stomachs 
are not muscular enough to act as a mill for grinding, as are those of 
gallinaceous and friugilline birds. 
GENERAL INSECT FOOD OF CUCKOOS. 
BEETLES. 
The beetles found in the stomachs belong to several families, no one of 
which forms any important percentage of the total food. The stomach 
taken in Texas in January contained 17 percent of beetles belonging 
to five different families, all harmful. Beetles constitute 14 percent of 
the food in May, but later in the season decrease, and after July practi- 
cally disappear. The useful Carabidce are rarely eaten, which is easily 
explained by the fact that they live on the ground, while the cuckoos 
feed mainly in trees. One bird, however, had eaten a specimen of Calo- 
soma scrutator, one of the largest and most predatory of these beetles, 
