Food Habits of the Thrushes of the United StatesBeal, F. E. L. (Foster Ellenborough Lascelles)
Science
Food Habits of the Thrushes of the United States
Beal, F. E. L. (Foster Ellenborough Lascelles)
Birds; Thrushes -- Food
Thrushes of the genus _Hylocichla_ show a very pronounced taste for
ants, and the average consumption of these insects by the five species
is 12.65 per cent. Few birds other than woodpeckers show so strong a
liking for this highly flavored food. Hymenoptera in general,
including ants, bees, and wasps, are the second largest item of insect
food. Lepidoptera (caterpillars) stand next as an article of thrush
diet, while Orthoptera (grasshoppers), which are a favorite food with
most birds, do not seem to appeal much to the thrushes.
The thrushes are pronounced ground feeders, and may often be seen
picking small fruit that has fallen to the ground. The vegetable
portion of their food (40.72 per cent) is largely composed of fruit,
which constitutes over 34 per cent of the total food. Of this 30.88
per cent is made up of wild berries, which outweigh the domestic
varieties with every species. In all, 94 species of wild fruits or
berries were identified in the stomachs of these birds, although it is
not always practicable to identify such material unless seeds or some
other characteristic parts are present. As this is not often the case,
a considerable portion of the stomach contents must be pronounced
"fruit pulp" without further identification; thus probably many more
species are eaten than are recorded. Moreover, in the case of some
fruits, it is not possible to distinguish species by the seeds, so
that many species go unrecognized except as to genus. Domestic fruits
are eaten so sparingly by the thrushes here considered as to be of no
economic importance.
Note.--This bulletin treats of the economic relations
and value to agriculture of the thrushes of the United States
other than robins and bluebirds. These two forms were discussed
in Department Bulletin No. 171, issued February 5, 1915.
TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE
(_Myadestes townsendi._)
Townsend's solitaire, a bird of the far West, is a resident of high
mountains and lonely gorges. It is partial to running streams and
often builds its nest just above a rushing mountain torrent. It ranges
from Alaska through the Sierras south to San Bernardino, Cal., and
through the Rockies to Arizona and New Mexico, and occasionally
farther east. The species is not evenly distributed over this region,
but is restricted to such high mountainous portions as afford its
favorite surroundings. As long as it retains these habits the bird
will have little or no effect upon the products of husbandry, and its
food can have only a scientific interest. The song of this species is
said to be at times the finest of any of the thrush family.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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