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Sin Bae te ; ie A il i ket Wale: ure Py : a —_— i : pentane Anes erst || UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE | ae BULLETIN No. 862 he a Contribution from the Bureau of Biological Survey ‘ E. W. NELSON, Chief ; \ : | washington, D.C. PROFESSIONAL PAPER December 30, 1920 ie
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FOOD HABITS OF SEVEN SPECIES OF |}
AMERICAN SHOAL-WATER DUCKS sas By yy se < DOUGLAS C. MABBOTT, Assistant in Economic Ornithology ! < ee Z CONTENTS | | Page Page = zs Introduction . . . 1. 2 ss 2 eee 1 | Blue-winged Teal... . . . - . ss _ 22 ae Reeth de nee tive atishas ia rar tekie 2) CmnamonFeall.2 2 i.) a vvenreo ems « 28 ‘a PENAL) eevee 6 ch aes gies sirte!,« 1O7 Pinta ssa Sons stot rap iwtletvenite 31 age eR European Widgeon ... ...s: - 16 | Wood Duck... .)- « 2's « st 2e Sits Vaeeni Green-winged Teal . sates ies 4's 17 % f ‘ z WASHINGTON - GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE Ps ; 1920 aes 4 } 4
BULLETIN No. 862
Contribution from the Bureau of Biological Survey E. W. NELSON, Chief
Washington, D. C. PROFESSIONAL PAPER. December 30, 1929
FOOD HABITS OF SEVEN SPECIES OF AMERICAN | SHOAL-WATER DUCKS.
By Dovetas C. Massort,! Assistant in Economic Ornithology.
CONTENTS. Page. | Page INN PROCKORIN SU ase hocsoccos sadocnosencEosGe 1 | Bilue-wingedspealees a tse saa ss eee eee 22 Gachylie fens ede pane cere anaenduaeemnaetoS iP Cabavav yaenvorade) (55 eee asaEBeMat eS aoSoaG aS 28 Ball dipatieeeres ase sissies sce eee icin S 2 acieeieis 10 | PUN Gat eee ere ars alee ce nals Sina ta aoe 31 OIC OEY A Walken = ph oneceGacnonEeocpeecac 16 | WiOOCUAUICKEGS Smee. Jel taitclnicts ciate eee aes 37 Green-winsedut calle emactec csc recterc wee cocci 17 INTRODUCTION.
The wild ducks of the United States belong to three main groups: The mergansers (Merginae), known also as fish ducks or sawbills; the river ducks (Anatinae), called also shoal-water, puddle, plash, or. tipping ducks; and the sea ducks (Fuligulinae), otherwise known as. deep-water or diving ducks. This bulletin treats of the food habits of eight species ? of shoal-water ducks, one of which, the European widgeon, is only a straggler in the United States. Wild ducks are our most important game birds, their value to the people of the
1 Douglas Clifford Mabbott, author of this bulletin, was a member of the heroic Sixth Regiment, United States Marine Corps, and participated in all the hard fighting done by that organization at Bouresches, Belleau Wood, Soissons, and in the St. Mihielsalient. He was killed in action September 15, 1918, while taking part in an advance in the battle of St. Mihiel, and was buried near the village of Xammie, near Thiaucourt, France. He was born at Arena, Wis., March 12, 1893, and became a member ofthe staff ofthe _ Biological Survey, December 1, 1915.— EDITOR.
2 Three other species, the mallard, black duck, and southern black duck, are treated in Bull.720, U.S. Dept. Agr., Food Habits of the Mallard Ducks of the United States, by W. L. McAtee, pp. 35, pl. 1, Dec. 23, 1918.
Notre.—This bulletin presents a technical study of the food habits of seven species of American shoal- water ducks: The gadwall, the baldpate, the green-winged, blue-winged, and cinnamon teals, the pintail and the wood duck; and includes a brief note on the European widgeon, which is a straggler in the United States. The vegetable food preferences exhibited willserve as guide to certain wild-duck foods that may - be propagated when it is sought to increase the numbers of these valuable game ducks either in the wild state or in domestication. For specific information on this topic, see Bull. 205, U. S. Dept. Agr., Eleven Important Wild-duck Foods, in which are discussed musk grass, duckweeds, frogbit, thaJia, water elm, swamp privet, eelgrass, widgeon grass, watercress, waterweed, and coontail; pp. 25, figs. aS, May 20, 1915; also Bull. 465, Propagation of Wild-duck Foods, in which are discussed wild rice, wild celery, pondweeds, delta potato, wapato, chufa, wild millet, and banana waterlily; pp. 40, figs. 35, Feb. 23, 1917.
179375°—20——1
2 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
United States totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some of the species covered by this bulletin are among the most valuable, as the pintail, gadwall, baldpate, and green-winged teal.
The ducks here discussed have not thus far been utilized in duck farming to so great an extent as the mallard and black ducks, but the wood duck and the green-winged teal have proved to be adapted to such use, and possibly further experiments will result as success- fully with some of the other species. Information presented in the following pages shows the preferences of these ducks among vege- table foods, matters which should be heeded in attempting to estab- lish the more or less natural conditions which probably will be found necessary for success in the propagation of some of the species in inclosures.
GADWALL. (Chaulelasmus streperus. )
Prank
The gadwall, or gray duck, as it is sometimes called, is almost cosmopolitan in its distribution, breeding commonly in Europe, Asia, and North America and ranging south in winter to southern Asia, some distance into Africa, and in North America to the southern end of Lower California and to southern Puebla. East of the Mississippi River, however, and north of North Carolina, the bird is rare, and in New England is found only as a straggler. It breeds in most of the western United States and in southern Canada, but its principal breed- ing range for North America is in the prairie district extending from Manitoba and western Minnesota to the Rocky Mountains, south to Nebraska, and north to Saskatchewan.
The adult male gadwall is distinguished particularly by the scale- like markings on the breast, each feather on the lower neck and breast being black with a white crescent and a white border, producing a peculiar mottled or barred etfect. The bird has a prominent white speculum or wing patch, bordered in front by black, with an area of chestnut-brown on the forepart of the wing, comprising the middle wing coverts. The remainder of the plumage is chiefly gray or brownish, streaked with black. The female lacks the chestnut wing coverts, and the breast and sides are buffy with the barred appear- ance less distinct.
FOOD HABITS.
In habits the gadwall resembles the mallard, feeding either on dry land or in shallow water near the edges of ponds, lakes, and streams, where it gets its food by ‘‘tiltng’’ or standing on its head in the water. The food of both the gadwall and the baldpate, however, is quite different in some respects from that of the mallard. These two feed to a very large extent upon the leaves and stems of water
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FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. 2
plants, paying less attention to the seeds, while the mallard feeds indiscriminately on both or even shows some preference for the seeds. In fact, in respect to the quantity of foliage taken, the gadwall and the baldpate are different from all other ducks thus far examined by the Biological Survey. They are also more purely vegetarian, their diet including a smaller percentage of animal matter than that of any of the other ducks.
- For a determination of the food habits of the gadwall 417 stomachs? were available. These were from 19 States and Canada, and their collection extended over a period of 31 years. Only 24 were taken
-during the five months from April to August and their contents
were not included in computing the average percentages, so that the results thus obtained apply only to the fall and winter months. Considerably more animal food is taken in summer than in winter, owing, of course, to the fact that more is available at that time of year. The percentage of animal food for the summer months is higher also because there are included in the averages analyses of numerous stomach contents of ducklings, which feed to a great extent upon insects. All of the 11 stomachs collected during the month of July (9 from North Dakota and 2 from Utah) were ot young ducklngs. A computation of the average contents of this series produced the followmg results: Water bugs, 56.18 per cent;
beetles, 7.09; flies and their larvae, 2; nymphs of dragonflies and
damselflies, 0.27; other insects, 2; total animal food, 67.54 per cent. Pondweeds, 12.55 per cent; grasses, 5.09; sedges, 2; water milfoils, 0.55; smartweeds, 0.09; miscellaneous, 12.18; total vegetable food, 32.46 per cent. ;
Of the remaining 13 stomachs collected in summer, all but two were from mature birds. Their contents averaged 11.17 per cent animal food and 88.83 per cent vegetable; 5.28 per cent, or nearly half the animal food, consisted of snails. Thus it will be seen that, so far as can be judged from the contents of such a limited number of stomachs, the summer food of the adult birds does not differ greatly from their winter food.
A rather large proportion of the total number of stomachs (131) was from birds taken in Louisiana. These furnished the bulk of the collections for November, February, and March, but averaged much the same as those from the other States, the principal items con- sisting of sedges, pondweeds, Sagittaria tubers, grasses, some culti- vated rice, and mollusks. Arkansas contributed 57 stomachs: Utah, 53; North Carolina, 30; North Dakota, 22; and Florida, 20: the remainder being scattered.
3 Seventy-six of these were examined by W. L. McAtee.
- BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
VEGETABLE Foon.
As computed from the contents of 362 stomachs collected during the six months from September to March, 97.85 per cent of the food of the gadwall consists of vegetable matter. This is made up-as follows: Pondweeds, 42.33 per cent; sedges, 19.91; algae, 10.41; coontail, 7.82; grasses, 7.59; arrowheads, 3.25; rice and other culti- vated grain, 1.31; duckweeds, 0.61; smartweeds, 0.59; wild celery and waterweed, 0.53; waterlilies, 0.52; madder family, 0.37; and miscellaneous, 2.61 per cent.
PONDWEEDS (NAIADACEAE), 42.33 PER CENT.
Of the 417 gadwalls whose stomachs were examined, 155 had eaten true pondweeds (Potamogeton spp.), 112 widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima), 20 horned pondweed (Zannichellia palustris), 17 bushy pondweed (Najas flexilis), 3 eelgrass (Zostera marina), and 8 pond- weeds which were too far advanced in the process of digestion to be further identified. In nearly all cases the pondweed food consisted
chiefly of leaves and stems, and sometimes buds and tubers. Seeds |
were often present, sometimes in considerable numbers, but as a rule they appeared to be merely incidental. Pondweeds are undoubtedly the favorite food of this species, as well as of the baldpate, and they are eaten very greedily. The gullet of one gadwal! taken in Texas in November contained a mass of the foliage of small pondweed (Potamogeton pusillus) the size of a billiard ball. A series of 26 stomachs taken in North Carolina in December contained practically nothing but the leaves and stems of pondweeds, inciuding true pond- weeds, bushy pondweed, and widgeon grass. Many of these stomachs were crammed. Often a few of the seeds were present, and three stomachs contained in addition a few sedge seeds. Other rather large series of gizzards containing chiefly foliage of pondweeds were taken in Florida, Louisiana, Utah, and North Dakota.
SEDGES (CYPERACEAE), 19.91 PER CENT.
The sedges, second in favor among the food items of the gadwall, constitute an important exception to this bird’s rule of feeding upon the leaves and stems of plants rather than upon the seeds, for the leaves and stems of practically all the sedges are coarse, fibrous, or even woody, and do not make choice morsels. On the other hand, the seeds are a favorite item of food among most fresh-water ducks. The sedge seeds most often eaten by the gadwall were those of three- square (Scirpus americanus), by 150 birds; prairie bulrush (S. palu- dosus), by 27; salt-marsh bulrush (S. robustus), by 24; unidentified bulrushes (Scirpus spp.), by 47; saw grass (Cladium effusum), by 68; and chufas (Cyperus spp.), by 31. A considerable number of birds from the Mississippi Delta, Loujsiana, had been feeding during
)
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. 5
January and February almost exclusively on the seeds of three- square. Some had eaten also the rootstocks of bulrushes, probably of the same species as the seeds; others from the same general region had varied their diet by feeding to some extent upon the delta potato (tubers of Sagittaria platyphylla), and a few snails. Bulrush seeds, however, usually constituted the bulk of the stomach contents.
Several gizzards contained no fewer than 1,800 to 3,000 seeds.
ALGAE, 10.41 PER CENT.
It is not surprising that in a duck which feeds so freely upon the foliage of aquatic vegetation, aleae formed more than one-tenth of the total stomach contents. These were eaten most freely in spring, the maximum consumption being 21.67 per cent of the total food for the month of March, and the minimum, 1.64 per cent in December. Most of the algae eaten consisted of musk grass (Chara spp.), but several other kindg were present.
COONTAIL (Ceratophyllum demersum), 7.82 PER CENT.
So far as known, the gadwall is the only duck which feeds to any extent upon the foliage of coontail, which gets its common name from a fancied resemblance in the shape of its finely branching stems and leaves to the tail of a raccoon. It is also called hornwort, hornweed, and morassweed. Many other species of ducks commonly feed upon the hard, horny coated seeds of the plant, but a series of 50 gadwalls taken in December, 1909, along the Mississippi River in northwestern Arkansas, had eaten large quantities of the leaves and tips of the stems, many to the exclusion of all other food.
The contents of these 50 stomachs averaged as follows: Coontail, 87.72 per cent; duckweeds, 3.88; seeds of buttonbush, 1.66; pond- weeds, 1.6; algae, 1; sedges, 0.16; miscellaneous vegetable matter, 3.24; statoblasts of fresh-water bryozoa, 0.6; and water bugs, 0.14 per cent. It is possible that if stomachs of the baldpate had been available from the same region, this bird also might have shown a taste for the foliage of coontail. However, three other gadwall stom- achs (one from Colorado and two from Louisiana) contained con- siderable quantities of the plant, while only one of the entire collec- tion of baldpates had eaten it to an appreciable extent.
GRASSES (GRAMINEAE), 7.59 PER CENT; AND CULTIVATED GRAINS, 1.31 PER CENT.
Considerable quantities of grass were found in stomachs collected during the spring months, especially March, when the tender young shoots are plentiful throughout the greater part of the ducks’ winter range. This consisted largely of the shoots and young leaves of switchgrass (Panicum repens and others of the same genus), but there were also present meadow grass (Poa sp.), saltgrass(Distichlis spicata),
6 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
little barley (Hordeum pusillum), crab grass (Syntherisma sanguinalis), wild millet (Echinochloa crus-galli), foxtail (Chaetochloa glauca), cut- grass (Zizaniopsis miliacea), rice cut-grass (Homalocenchrus oryzoides), salt-marsh grass (Spartina sp.), manna grass (Panicularia sp.), Mon- anthochloé littoralis, and a few others, unidentified. Several of these
were represented only by the seeds, and then they usually consti-.
tuted a comparatively small part of the stomach contents.
The cultivated grain was tabulated separately from the remainder of the grasses because of the economic interest attached to it. It con- sisted, however, almost entirely of rice found in the gizzards of several Louisiana birds taken in February, and was undoubtedly waste grain. Onestomach taken in Oregon in January was crammed with grains of barley; and another, from North Carolina in February, con- tained several kernels of corn. Obviously these also were of no eco- nomic importance. The rice, barley, and corn together amounted to 1.31 per cent of the contents of the whole nunvber of stomachs.
WATER PLANTAIN FAMILY (ALISMACEAE), 3.25 PER CENT.
One of the favorite items of food among many species of ducks in the lower Mississippi Valley during the fall and winter months is the delta potato, as the starchy tubers of a species of arrowhead (Sagit- taria platyphylla) are called. These constitute an especially impor- tant food item among ducks wintering on the Mississippi Delta, Loui- siana, Where the tubers grow in great abundance and-the variety of duck food is not great. Many gadwall stomachs from this region contained only oe items of food, which also have been found to be the typical diet of several other species when wintering on the Delta: these were the seeds of three-square (Scirpus americanus), the delta potato, and a species of snail (Neritina virginea), very abun- dant there: The stomach contents of a series of 27 gadwalls taken near the end of the Delta in November averaged as follows: Seeds of three-square (with a few of salt-marsh bulrush), 44.55 per cent; delta potato, 20.89; pondweeds, 13.78; and snails, 7.11 per cent: sev- eral minor items, as algae, coontail, duckweeds, and a few insects made up the remainder.
DUCKWEEDS (LEMNACEAE), 0.61 PER CENT.
It is rather surprising that a duck which shows such a marked preference for the foliage of aquatic vegetation as the gadwall should not have eaten duckweeds to a greater extent. These are small floating plants, often present in such abundance in ponds, lakes, and Soest streams as completely to cover large areas of their surfaces. The little plants are luscious and tender, and afford a favorite article of food for many species of duck. Large numbers of the gadwall
4 Bull. 465, U. S: Dept. Agr., pp. 21-24, 1917.
Penta My
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. 7
stomachs examined were collected in the swamps of Louisiana, Arkansas, and other localities where duckweeds abound, but the majority failed to disclose any duckweeds. Only 17 of the total number of ducks had eaten duckweeds (Lemna spp.), and some of these only in very limited quantities.
SMARTWEEDS (POLYGONACEAE), 0.59 PER CENT.
_ The Polygonaceae is one of the families of plants of which the seeds alone furnish an important article of food for birds. Thisvery probably is the reason why smartweeds are only one of the minor items in the food of the gadwall. The following species were identified from the stomachs examined: Dock-leaved smartweed (Polygonum lapathi- folium), found in 5 stomachs; water smartweed (P. amphibiwum), in 3; and knotweed (P. aviculare), Pennsylvania smartweed (P. pennsylvanicum), water pepper (P. hydropiper), lady’s-thumb (P. persicaria), mild water pepper (WP. hydropiperoides), and prickly smartweed (P. sagittatum), in 2 each. Seeds of black bindweed (Polygonum convolvulus) and another species (P. opelousanum) were present in 1 each, unidentified smartweeds in 2, and seeds of dock (Rumex spp.) in 2. Smartweed seeds were present usually in small numbers, but the gullet of one bird taken in Montana was crammed with sant 3,000 seeds of water pepper, in addition to a few of dock- leaved amnantanee
FROGBIT FAMILY (HYDROCHARITACEAE), 0.53 PER CENT.
Wild celery (Vallisneria spiralis) was found in the stomachs of 3 birds shot on Mobile Bay, Alabama, and waterweed (Philotria spp.) had been eaten in generous quantity by a bird from southern Wisconsin. Wild celery is a very important food item of some species of ducks. |
WATERLILY FAMILY (NYMPHAEACEAE), 0.52 PER CENT.
Two gadwall stomachs collected in Florida were filled with the seeds of. a white waterlily (Castalia sp.), one containing about 1,100 and the other 1,200 seeds. Another from the same State contained 28 of the hard ovoid seeds of water shield (Brasenia schrebert).
MADDER FAMILY (RUBIACEAE), 0.37 PER CENT.
Twenty-three gadwalls had eaten seeds of buttonbush (Cepha- lanthus occidentalis). These seeds are narrowly wedge shape and are borne like miniature sycamore balls in spherical clusters on the ends of the branches of the plant, which is a shrub or small tree growing in wet places. They had been eaten by few of the ducks in any great numbers, but in some instances they constituted the greater part of the stomach contents.
8 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. MISCELLANEOUS VEGETABLE FOOD, 2.61 PER CENT.
A large number of miscellaneous items made up the remainder of the gadwall’s vegetable food. The stomach of one duck from the mouth of Bear River, Utah, was filled with remains of the stems, leaves, and seeds of picklegrass (Salicornia ambigua). A young duck from the same region had made a meal of willow catkins (Saliz sp.). Several gizzards from the wooded swamps of Arkansas contained fragments of scales from the cones of bald cypress (Taxodium dis- tichum), and one was entirely filled with galls from cypress leaves. Many from this region also contained the seeds, or fragments of seeds, of grapes (Vitis sp.), hackberry (Celtis sp.), holly (/lex sp.), and sumachs (Rhus spp.). Seeds of beggar ticks, or bur marigold (Bidens sp.), water milfoil (Myriophyllum sp.), bottle brush (Hip- puris vulgaris), crowfoot (Ranunculus sp.), water pennywort (Hydro- cotyle sp.), dodder (Cuscuta sp.), myrtle (Myricasp.), bur reed (Sparga- nium sp.), helotrope (Heliotropium indicum)}and many others, eaten in small quantities, completed the vegetable food of the species.
Anmrat Foon.
As has been stated previously, the proportion of animal food taken by the gadwall is very small, amounting to only 2.15 per cent of the contents of the stomachs examined, exclusive of the few scattered items taken during the months from April to August. In these the presence of several stomachs of ducklings caused the average percentage of animal food to run considerably higher. The ficures given were compiled from the contents of the 362 stomachs collected during the fall and winter months, from September to March. .
MOLLUSKS (MOLLUSCA), 1.6 PER CENT.
About three-fourths of the animal food of the gadwall, or 1.6 per cent of the total, consisted of mollusks. In 6 April stomachs (not included in this average) they amounted to 15.83 per cent of the monthly food. In the fall and winter months they ranged from nothing in September to 4 per cent in January. Eight species of snails were identified, while there were unidentified fragments of snails in 5 stomachs and unidentified bivalves in 3. The most important snail was Neritina virginea, which is very common on the Mississippi Delta and constitutes one of the principal items of food of many species of ducks wintering in that region. This had been eaten by 25 gadwalls and ranged from a mere trace to 70 per cent of the food present.
INSECTS (INSECTA), 0.39 PER CENT.
Insects amounted to only 0.39 per cent of the total food. These consisted of caddisflies and their larvae (Phryganoidea), 0.19 per cent; fles and their larvae (Diptera), 0.07; bugs (Hemiptera), 0.05;
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. 9
beetles (Coleoptera), 0.04; dragonflies and damselflies and their nymphs (Odonata), 0.01; and other insects, 0.03 per cent.
One Oregon bird had made almost a full meal of adult caddisflies in October, and the tube-shaped larval cases were found in the stomachs of 8 others.
The Diptera usually consisted of larvae or pupae, but occasion- ally of adult flies. Six families were represented, as follows: Crane- flies (Tipulidae), found in 1 stomach; midges (Chironomidae), in 10; soldierflies (Stratiomyidae), in 2; horseflies (Tabanidae), in 1; Borboridae, in 3; and Ephydridae, in 8. !
The bugs taken were chiefly aquatic. Water boatmen (Corixidae) had been eaten by 25 gadwalls, creeping water bugs (Naucoridae) by 6, and water striders (Gerridae) by 4, while shorebugs (Saldidae), stink bugs (Pentatomidae), and plant hoppers (Fulgoridae) were taken by 1 each.
The most common Coleoptera were water scavenger beetles (Hydrophilidae), predacious diving beetles (Dytiscidae), ground beetles (Carabidae), leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae), and weevils (Rhynchophora). Other families represented were rove _ beetles (Staphylinidae), larder beetles (Dermestidae), ladybugs (Coccinel- lidae), pill beetles (Byrrhidae), leaf chafers (Scarabaeidae), darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae), flower beetles (Anthicidae), and blister beetles (Meloidae). Of the 362 birds taken during the fall and winter months, only 23 had eaten beetles, and these never amounted to more than 4 per cent of the stomach contents. Of 11 ducklings taken in July, however, all but one had eaten beetles; in three instances these amounted to 15 per cent, and constituted 7.09 per cent of the food of all.
Two gadwalls had eaten nymphs of dragonflies (Anisoptera), two those of damselflies (Zygoptera), and one an odonate nymph, too badly ground to be identified.
The miscellaneous insects consisted of a few ants, ichneumons, etc. (Hymenoptera), and a caterpillar (Lepidoptera). Together they amounted to only 0.03 per cent.
CRUSTACEANS (CRUSTACEA), 0.08 PER CENT.
Crustaceans evidently are not much sought after by the gadwall. Twenty-one birds had eaten very small bivalved crustaceans (Ostra- coda), usually in small numbers. Three gizzards contained the fingers of crabs, two the remains of crawfish, and one a sowbug (Oniscus asellus). Altogether. crustaceans furnished only 0.08 per cent of the gadwall’s food.
MISCELLANEOUS ANIMAL FOOD, 0.08 PER CENT.
The stomach of a gadwall from an open lake in northeastern Arkansas contained several hundred of the small reproductive buds,
10 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
or statoblasts, of fresh-water Bryozoa. These are simple animal organisms which grow in colonies resembling masses of jelly, attached to submerged brush. Bits of hydroids (animals closely related to the corals) were found in 2 stomachs; spiders, in 3; water mites (Hydrachnidae), in 3; and the teeth or scales of small fish, in 2.
BALDPATE. Mareca americana.
Prate IT.
Roughly speaking, the range of the baldpate, or American widgeon, includes practically all of North America. Its breeding range extends from Lake Michigan and Hudson Bay west to the Pacific Ocean and from Wisconsin, Colorado, and Oregon north to central Alaska, the Mackenzie Valley, and Fort Churchill. It does not breed commonly, however, east of Minnesota or south of North Dakota. Along the Atlantic Coast it is common in migration as far as Chesapeake Bay, and is only a straggler in New England and eastern Canada. In winter it is found as far south as Florida, Cuba, and Guatemala, and rarely in Costa Rica, Jamaica, Porto Rico, and Trinidad. Many individuals winter as far north as southern British Columbia, Utah, New Mexico, Illinois, and Chesapeake Bay, and a few occasionally remain in southern New England.
The adult baldpate is distinguished by the following characters: There is a large area of white on the wings in front of the speculum, which is black with a narrow green area near its front edge; the top of the head, including the forehead, is white, producing the bald appearance which gives the bird its name. Just below the ‘‘bald spot,” covering each side of the head from the eye back to and includ- ing the nape of the neck, is a broad stripe of glossy green; below this the head and neck are mottled gray, the upper breast and sides pinkish brown, lower breast and belly white, under tail-coverts and outer upper tail-coverts black; the back is finely barred with black and gray or buff, and the rump is mostly white. The female lacks the white crown and green headband; the back is more coarsely mottled and streaked, and the white of the wings is less prominent.
FOOD HABITS.
The feeding habits of the baldpate are in general very similar to those of the gadwali. In some respects the similarity of the results obtained by computing the average percentages of certain elements of food in a large number of stomachs of each species is quite remark- able. For instance, the average proportion of pondweeds (Naiada- ceae) found in the gadwall stomachs was 42.33 per cent, while in the case of the baldpate it was 42.82 per cent. There are a few slight differences in the food habits of the two species, however. The bald-
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FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. dak
pate appears to be even less of a seed eater than the gadwall. Sedges (Cyperaceae), consisting almost entirely of seeds, amounted to 19.91 per cent of the food of the gadwall, but to only 7.41 per cent of the food of the baldpate. The baldpate also ate more wild celery (Vallisneria spiralis), grasses, and water milfoils (ippuris vulgaris and Myriophyllum sp.), but much less coontail (Ceratophyllum demersum).
Investigation of the food habits of the baldpate consisted chiefly of an examination of the contents of 255 stomachs,* collected (all but 4) during the months from September to April, inclusive, from 25 States, 4 Canadian Provinces, Alaska, and Mexico. With the excep- tion of series of 53 from Utah, 50 from Oregon, and 29 from North Carolina, they were very evenly distributed in numbers among the different States and Provinces. Four stomachs of birds shot in May and June, together with 22 others which were too nearly empty to allow accurate estimates of percentages of food contents, were not included in the computation, so that the results given are from the remaining 229 stomachs. In the list of food items, however, material from all stomachs is included.
VEGETABLE Foop.
The vegetable food of the baldpate for the 8 months from September to April averaged 93.23 per cent. This consisted of the following items in the order of their importance: Pondweeds, 42.82 per cent; grasses, 13.9; algae, 7.71; sedges, 7.41; wild celery and waterweed, 5.75; water milfoils, 3.48; duckweeds, 2.2; smartweeds, 1.47; arrow- grass, 0.36; waterlilies, 0.26; coontail, 0.24; and miscellaneous, 7.63 per cent.
PONDWEEDS (NAIADACEAE), 42.82 PER CENT.
Pondweeds are by far the most important item of food of the bald- pate, as well as of the gadwall and several other species of ducks. Of the 229 baldpate stomachs, 157, or more than two-thirds, con- tained pondweeds in some form or other. True pondweeds (Pota- mogeton spp.) were found in 102 stomachs, widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima) in 92, eelgrass (Zostera marina) m 10, bushy pondweed (Najas flexilis) in 9, and horned pondweed (Zannichellia palustris) in 8. Asin the case of the gadwall, the parts of the pondweeds eaten by the baldpate were almost exciusively leaves and stems, with com- paratively few seeds, and birds taken from several different localities evidently had been feeding upon pondweed foliage almost exclusively. One of the plants of this family (Ruppia maritima) seems to be well entitled to its common name ‘‘widgeon grass,’’ as its foliage is fed upon by the widgeon even more extensively than by the gadwall.
5 Sixty-four of these were examined by W. L. McAtee.
12 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
Several ‘‘widgeons”’ shot on the shores of Long Island Slough, south- western Washington, had eaten considerable quantities of the leaves — and rootstocks of eelgrass (Zostera marina) , a few of the stomachs containing no other food
GRASSES (GRAMINEAE), 13.9 PER CENT.
The principal grasses taken were switchgrass (Panicum spp.), by 11 widgeons, wild rice (Zizania palustris), by 5, and saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), by 5; rangegrass (Panicum obtusum), a little bar- ley (Hordeun pusillum), and cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) were eaten by one each; and in 16 stomachs were grasses which were not identi- | fied. Six full stomachs collected in south central Louisiana in March contained practically nothing besides the remains of tender young shoots of switchgrass. Several from other localities were filled with erass fibers and root stocks, and some contained grass seeds. One from Oregon held more than 1,200 seeds of switchgrass in addition to about 2,800 seeds of another grass which was not determined. The only cultivated grain found was a small quantity of rice taken from a stomach collected in Louisiana in January, when the grain could hardly have been anything but waste. The widgeon has been accused of doing considerable damage to fields of growing grain in spring, but such complaints are not borne out by the present investi- gation. It is very probable that flocks of the ducks do some little harm in this way, but such depredations are the exception rather
than the rule. : ALGAE, 7.71, PER CENT:
Algae, consisting chiefly of musk grass, were found in the stomachs — of 25 baldpates. More than two-thirds of this food was taken during the months of April and September, by ducks shot in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota, probably in migration.
SEDGES (CYPERACEAE), 7.41 PER CENT.
The sedges do not play so important a part in the food of the baldpate as with the gadwall and several other ducks, probably be- cause the seeds are the only parts usually eaten, and oie duck evi- dently cares little forseeds. The sedges eaten iby the baldpate were: Three-square (Scirpus americanus), by 37; prairie bulrush (S. palu- dosus), 12; river bulrush (S. fluviatilis), 5; unidentified bulrushes (Scirpus spp.), 24; spike rush (Hleocharis sp.), 19; chufa (Cyperus sp.), 5; saw grass (Cladium effusum and C. mariscovles), 6; sedges of the genus Carer, 12; Fimbristylis, 4; and unidentified sedges, by 20. One duck shot in Chihuahua, Mexico, had swallowed no less than 64,000.seeds of spike rush. As a rule the baldpate does not take sedge seeds freely where pondweeds and other aquatic plants with tender foliage are available.
«
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. 1a
FROGBIT FAMILY (HYDROCHARITACEABE), 5.75 PER CENT.
The plants of the frogbit family eaten by the baldpate consisted of wild celery (Vallisneria spiralis), which was found in 12 stomachs, and waterweed (Philotria canadensis), in 1. Wild celery is a favorite food of the canvas-back, redhead, and other deep-water ducks, but as a rule it is not often found in the stomachs of ducks which do not dive. However, the stomachs of baldpates from several different
‘localities were filled with wild celery leaves. This is very probably
due to a peculiar habit which the baldpate has of following the diving ducks and feeding upon the leaves which they bring to the surface. This habit was noted by Wilson and Bonaparte® as early as 1831, and has been widely quoted by various writers since then. According to these early ornithologists, ‘‘The widgeon is the constant attendant of the celebrated canvass-back duck, so abundant in various parts of the Chesapeake Bay, by the aid of whose labour he has ingenuity enough to contrive to make a good subsistence. The widgeon is extremely fond of the tender roots of that particular species of aquatic plant on which the canvass-back feeds, and for which that duck is in the constant habit of diving. The widgeon, who never dives, watches the moment of the canvass-back’s rising, and, before he has his eyes well opened, snatches the delicious morsel from his mouth and makes off.” It is probable that these observa- tions are not entirely accurate, as the canvas-back is known to feed chiefly upon the rootstocks of the plant; the baldpate merely avails itself of the leaves thus cut off, brought to the surface, and
‘discarded by the canvas-back.
WATER MILFOILS (HALORAGIDACEAE), 3.48 PER CENT.
Water milfoil ( Myriophyllum sp.) had been eaten by 24 of the baldpates, and bottle brush (Hippuris vulgaris) by 18. Many species of ducks feed upon the seeds of these plants in small numbers, but the baldpate so far as known is the only duck which shows any particular fondness for their foliage. Several stomachs were found to contain the seeds also, and in a very few instances they predomi- nated over the foliage, but the bulk of the food derived from this family of plants consisted of the tender leaves and stems. A series of baldpates from Klamath Falls, Oreg., especially, had partaken of the foliage of Myriophylium in considerable quantities.
DUCKWEEDS (LEMNACEAE), 2.2 PER CENT.
Like the gadwall, the baldpate shows less partiality toward the duckweeds than do some other ducks. The stomachs of three
individuals, one each from Wisconsin, Utah, and Oregon, were
6 Wilson, Alexander, and Charles Lucian Bonaparte, Amer. Ornith., III, p. 198, 1831.
14 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
nearly filled with the small individual plants, or thalli, of a duck- weed (Lemna sp.). These plants are very abundant in many of the localities from which the baldpates were taken, but for some reason other foods seemed to appeal to them more strongly.
SMARTWEEDS (POLYGONACEAE), 1.47 PER CENT.
The seeds of water smartweed (Polygonum amphibium) were pres- ent in 11 baldpate gizzards, those of dock-leaved smartweed (P. lapathifoltum) in six. Others identified were knotweed (P. avicu- lare), water pepper (P. hydropvper), and lady’s-thumb (P. persicaria), each in two, and mild water pepper (P. hydropiperoides) and black ~ bindweed (P. convolvulus), each in one. The fact that the seeds of smartweeds are the only edible parts of these plants probably is the reason that they form so small an item of the baldpate’s diet.
ARROW-GRASS FAMILY (JUNCAGINACEAE), 0.36 PER CENT.
The arrow-grass family was represented in two baldpate stomachs. from the State of Washington; both were nearly full of the seeds of arrow-grass (T7’riglochin maritima). These plants are quite closely related to the pondweeds, but, unlike the pondweeds, their seeds are the only parts eaten by birds.
WATERLILY FAMILY (NYMPHAEACEAE), 0.26 PER CENT; AND HORNWORT FAMILY (CERATOPHYLLACEAE), 0.24 PER CENT.
One stomach from Oregon was nearly filled with 50 of the large seeds of spatterdock (Nymphaea sp.) and fragments of many more. Two others contained seeds of watershield (Brasenia schrebert), and one the seeds of another waterlily (Castalia sp.).
As already stated, the baldpate seems to lack the gadwall’s taste for the foliage of coontail (Ceratophyllum demersum). Only one bird (taken in Oregon in December) had its stomach full of this plant, and two others had taken a few of the seeds.
MISCELLANEOUS VEGETABLE FOOD, 7.63 PER CENT.
The stomach of one baldpate from lower Chesapeake Bay con- tained the remains of about 400 seeds of beggar-ticks, or ‘ pitch- forks’? (Bidens sp.). In another from Texas were over 500 seeds of a wild hehotrope (Heliotropium indicum), which are often taken by ducks in much smaller numbers; in this instance they furnished 80 per cent of the contents. A stomach from Virginia was filled with the remains of a great many small tubers of arrowhead (Sagittama sp.); one from Massachusetts contained quantities of the leaves of pipewort (Hriocaulon sp.); and one from Utah was from a duck which had made a meal of the foliage and seeds of picklegrass (Salicornia ambigua). Among other items found in small quantities were bits of the scales from cones of cypress (Zaxodiuwm distichum), seeds of bur
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. 15
reed (Sparganium sp.), myrtle (Myrica sp.), saltbush (Atriplex sp.), purslane (Portulaca sp.), crowfoots (Ranunculus spp.), brambles (Rubus spp.), clovers ( Melilotus sp. and Medicago denticulata), spurge (Croton sp.), sumac (Rhus sp.), holly (Ilex sp.), water hemlock (Cicuta sp.), and many others.
ANIMAL Foop.
Animal food amounted to 6.77 per cent of the contents of the 229 baldpate stomachs included in the computation. Even this figure is probably unduly large, because the greater part of the animal matter consisted of snails found in the gizzards of a series of ducks from southern Oregon, the only lot of birds found feeding almost exclu- sively upon such food. More than nine-tenths of the animal food (6.25 per cent of the total) consisted of mollusks, the remainder being made up of insects (0.42 per cent) and miscellaneous matter (0.1 per cent).
MOLLUSKS (MOLLUSCA), 6.25 PER CENT.
Fragments of small bivalves were found in 6 stomachs, and snails (univalves) in 29. As already stated, the greater part of the mol- lusks were from a number of Oregon ducks, taken along the shores of the Klamath River. Many of them had gorged themselves upon snails, and these constituted practically 100 per cent of the contents of 13 out of the 17 stomachs in the series, of which 7 contained nothing else. Two other baldpates, one from Lake Michigan near Chicago, and the other from Lake Manitoba, Canada, had fed largely upon
mollusks. INSECTS (INSECTA), 0.42 PER CENT.
Insects which amounted to only 0.42 per cent of the food of bald- pates included in our investigation probably are eaten to a greater extent during the summer months, especially by the ducklings. No ducklings of this species were available, but there can be little doubt that, like the young of the gadwall, they feed largely upon the adults and larvae of aquatic insects.
More than two-thirds of the insects eaten by the baldpate (0.29 per cent of the whole) were beetles. These included water scavenger beetles (Hydrophilidae), found in 8 stomachs; predacious diving beetles (Dytiscidae), in 2; leaf chafers (Scarabaeidae), in 2; leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae), in 3; weevils (Rhynchophora), in 2; Derme- stidae, in 2; and unidentified fragments of beetles,in 16. One gizzard contained about 85 individuals of a species of rove beetle (Staphylin- idae), a small, elongated, soft-bodied insect, which is usually very common about decaying animal matter.
Flies and their larvae and pupae furnished 0.09 per cent of the food. Twelve baldpates had eaten midges (Chironomidae); 9, ephydrid fies (Ephydridae); 3, craneflies (Tipulidae); 1, flies of the family
16 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
Muscidae; and 1 contained fly remains which were not identified. The larvae of midges are found in immense numbers in stagnant water in many localities, and are often an important food item for water birds.
The remaining insects, amounting to only 0.04 per cent, consisted of a few caddisfly larvae (Phryganoidea), bugs, chiefly water boat- men (Corixidae), a dragonfly nymph, remains of small crickets (Nemobius sp.), a small aquatic caterpillar, a few small ants, and unidentified eggs, larvae, and adults of other forms.
MISCELLANEOUS ANIMAL FOOD, 0.1 PER CENT.
Crustaceans furnished less than 1 per cent of the food of the bald- pate. They consisted of sand fleas (Amphipoda), bivalved crusta- ceans (Ostracoda), and a few unidentified forms. One stomach from St. Paul Island, Alaska, was half full of the remains of sand fleas, and contained nothing else. These, together with bits of hydroids, a few spiders and water mites, and the teeth and scales of small fish, made up the remainder of the animal food.
EUROPEAN WIDGEON. (Mi areca penelope. )
The European, or red-headed, widgeon is an Old World species but has been noted occasionally at a number of points on the Atlantic eoast of North America, and in the North Central and Lake States. There are also several scattered records of its occurrence on the Pacific coast. In appearance the male European widgeon is similar to the baldpate except that the crown is creamy buff instead of white and the remainder of the head and upper part of the neck are reddish brown, with a black area on the chin and throat.
FOOD HABITS.
Not a great deal is known of its food habits in the United States. Sanford,’ discussing it, says that, ‘‘unlike the American baldpate,” it is frequently seen on salt water, feeding almost entirely on the short grass growing on the bottom. However, the baldpate also is known to feed commonly in salt water. Only five stomachs of the European widgeon were available for examination. Two of these were from Back Bay, southeastern Virginia; one contained fohage of widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima) and eelgrass (Zostera marina); the other, only widgeon grass. The third was from the flats of the Susquehanna River near its mouth in northeastern Mary- land and contained rootstocks of pondweeds (Potamogeton sp.), bits of stems and a few seeds of dodder (Cuscuta sp.), and a few seeds of bur-reed (Sparganium sp.). The fourth stomach, from the vicin-
7 Sanford, L. C., L. B. Bishop, and T. 8S. Van Dyke, The Waterfowl] Family, p. 91, 1903.
PLATE III.
Bul. 862, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.
io9ela
‘qj0[ UO OTeUot {4Y StI WO O[Vy
(ASNANINIOYVD NOILLAN) WAL GADNIAA\-NaSayuy)
MEN Vas ee Pe
bale es oh a Soares
a
<2
ms
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. iy
ity oO Currituck Sound, North Carolina, contained leaves of eelgrass.
The fifth, from Ipswich, Mass., contained only seeds of salt-marsh bul- rush (Scirpus robustus). Thus it will be seen that in all probability the food of the European widgeon does not differ materially from that of its American cousin, the baldpate.
GREEN-WINGED TEAL. (Nettion carolinense).
Prats ITI.
The green-winged teal, variously known to sportsmen as green-wing,
‘mud teal, winter teal, or red-headed teal, has a very wide distribution,
being found in the breeding season from New York, northern Penn- sylvania, Michigan, Nebraska, Colorado, and New Mexico northward to the edge of the Barren Grounds; from near Fort Churchill, Hud- son Bay, to Kotzebue Sound; and nearly to Point Barrow, Alaska. The main breeding grounds are in west central Canada from Manitoba to Lake Athabaska, and the bird breeds only rarely in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. It winters commonly in Mexico and the Bahamas, and rarely in Cuba, Jamaica, and Honduras; occasionally south to Tobago. It is also very common in winter in the Southern States, and many individuals remain throughout the winter as far north as they can find open water. It is one of the early ducks to migrate in spring, usually reaching the latitude of New York City during the first week in April, and arriving at the northern limits of its breeding range by about the first of May.
The adult male green-winged teal can best be distinguished by its dark brown head with a patch of metallic green on each side, includ- ing the eye, and extending into a crest at the back of the head. It has also a white crescent in front of the wing and a metallic green speculum or wing patch. This wing patch is not so distinct on the female and young. Any of the teals can be distinguished from most of the other ducks by their small size, the green-wing measuring 124 to 15 inches in length, the blue-wing 144 to 16 inches, and the cinnamon teal about 17 inches.
FOOD HABITS.
The green-winged teal feeds largely upon the seeds of pondweeds, bulrushes, and other aquatic plants, although it takes also a smaller proportion of such animal food as insects, small crustaceans, and snails. When much disturbed during the daytime, the flocks feed largely at night. The flesh of the green-wing is very palatable, being considered among the best of American ducks, although it is said soon to become less palatable when the birds have been driven to the seashore and feed upon snails and salt-water crustaceans. On
179375°—20——_2
18 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
account of the fact that the birds have little suspicion of man and fly in compact flocks, affording opportunities for pot shots, the green- winged teal has een greatly reduced in numbers. It is one of our most desirable game birds and should be carefully cuarded against
further depletion.
VEGETABLE Foop.
Of the contents of 653° green-winged teal stomachs examined, more than nine-tenths (90.67 per cent) consisted of vegetable matter. By far the largest item of food contributed by any one family of plants came from the sedges, and this amounted to nearly two-fifths (38.82 per cent) of the total food. Next to the sedges, pondweeds are the favorite food supply, contributing 11.52 per cent, while grasses follow closely with 11, then smartweeds 5.25, algae 4.63, duckweeds 1.9, water milfoils 1.11, arrow-grass 0:91, and bur reed 0.85 per cent. The remaining 14.68 per cent is made up of a great number of smaller items.
SEDGES (CYEERACEAE), 38.82 PER CENT.
The sedges form a very constant item of food for the oreen-winged teal, being found in some form in 530 of 653 stomachs and forming the sole content of 51. Usually the seeds are taken, but practically all ~ parts of the plants are eaten when young and tender. Seeds of bul- rushes (Scirpus spp.) form the largest item among the sedges, being found in the greatest number of stomachs and represented by several species. Unidentified bulrush seeds were found in 205 stomachs. The most commonly identified species was three-square (Scirpus americanus) from 121 stomachs. Seeds of prairie bulrush (Scirpus paludosus) were found in 46 stomachs, those of salt-marsh bulrush (Scirpus robustus) in 40, Scirpus cubensis in 13, and river bulrush (Scirpus fluviatilis) in 5. Other genera of sedges represented were Fimbristylis, found in 90 stomachs, Carex in 72, Cyperus 48, spike rush (Eleocharis) 45, beaked rushes (Rhynchospora) 5, saw grass (Cladium) 91, and unidentified sedge seeds in 44. No fewer than 30,000 seeds of a Cyperus were found in one stomach and 25,000 in another, while Eleocharis and Fimbristylis seeds also occasionally reached as high as 1,000 per stomach.
PONDWEEDS (NAIADACEAE), 11.52 PER CENT.
The pondweed group includes the true pondweeds (Potamogeton spp.), ditch or widgeon grass (Ruppia marituma), horned pondweed — (Zannichellia palustris), eelgrass (Zostera marina), and bushy pond- weed (Najas spp.), all of which were found in stomachs of the ereen-winged teal, and seem to form a very important element of their diet. In most cases the seeds alone are taken, but the ducks
8 Two hundred and sixteen of these were examined by W. L. McAtee.
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. 19
often eat also the stems, leaves, buds, and tubers of some species of Potamogeton, leaves and rootstocks of ditchgrass, and parts of the foliage of bushy pondweed, eelgrass, and horned-pondweed. Pota- mogeton (usually seeds) was found in 250 stomachs. In a few in- - stances the species were identified, the most common being sago pondweed (Potamogeton pectinatus); but usually it was useless to attempt to identify species by the seeds, as they are so much alike as to be indistinguishable in the worn condition in which they are found in the stomachs. Seeds of this genus, however, even when present in small fragments, are easily distinguished from other seeds by the peculiar curved shape of the cavity which contains the em- bryo. The seeds of widgeon grass were found in 108 gizzards, and fragments of the leaves were identified from three. Seeds of eelgrass were present in 3 stomachs, bushy pondweed in 27, and horned pond- weed in 10. One of the latter stomachs contained more than 1,300
~ seeds.
GRASSES (GRAMINEAE), 11 PER CENT.
Kighteen species of grass seeds were identified from the birds . examined, and unidentified grass seeds were taken from 19 stomachs. Those of the genus Panicum were most commonly eaten, being.
_ found in 59 gizzards, often constituting a large proportion of the con-
tents, and reaching as high as two or three thousand in number. Another favorite seed was that of barnyard grass, or wild millet (Echinochloa crus-galli), which was found in 14 stomachs, and usually formed the bulk of the food whenever it oecurred. One duck taken in Louisiana in January had eaten 6,000 seeds of jungle rice (Echinochloa colona), both the stomach and gullet being crammed full. Other grass seeds eaten by this teal were wild rice (Zizamia palustris), taken by 18 birds; cut-grass (Zizaniopsis miliacea), by 8; foxtail grasses (Chaetochloa glauca and other species), 9; and Monan- thochloé littoralis, 16. A few kernels of corn had been taken by one bird, and rice by 21. However, all these ducks were collected during the winter months, and the rice and corn were undoubtedly waste orain. | SMARTWEEDS (POLYGONACEAE), 5.25 PER CENT.
Next in order of importance in the food of the green-winged teal come the smartweeds, which form one of the principal items of food of a great many birds. Thirteen species of smartweed were iden- tified, the most important being water smartweed (Polygonum amphibium), found in 35 stomachs; dock-leaved smartweed (P. lapa-
thifoiium), in 29; Opelousas smartweed (P. opelousanum), 14; water
pepper (P. hydropiper), 12; and mild water pepper (P. hydropiper- odes), 10. The other smartweeds were found in only a few stomachs each, and those taken from 22 other birds were not identified. One
20 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
duck had eaten 1,630 seeds of knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare). Seeds of dock (Rumez spp.), another plant of the smartweed family, had been taken by 5 birds. :
ALGAE, 4.63, PER CENT.
Musk grass (Chara sp.) forms the bulk of the algae taken by the ereen- winged teal, being found in 89 of the 96 stomachs which contained algae. All parts of the plant are eaten freely, but the ducks seem to be especially fond of the odgonia, very small spherical or egg-shaped objects which form part of the reproductive apparatus and are attached to the whorled leaves. They are usually coated with lime and are rather hard, and consequently often remain in the stomach after all other parts of the plant are digested. Stomachs were found containing thousands of them, and occasionally they constituted the total contents. Musk grasses, of which there are many species, have a very wide distribution, and have been found in duck stomachs from practically all parts of North America. |
DUCKWEEDS (LEMNACEAE), 1.9 PER CENT.
The duckweeds, the simplest and smallest of flowering plants, form a rather important element in the food of nearly all ducks which live on plant matter. These plants, at least in the typical genera, con- sist of merely a frond or leaf floating freely upon the water, with one or more small roots dangling below. The fronds are fleshy and tender, and are scooped up greedily by the ducks. They had been taken by 44 of the 653 green-winged teal examined, and averaged 1.9 per cent of the total food.
| WATER MILFOIL FAMILY (HALORAGIDACEAE), 1.11 PER CENT.
_ The water milfoil family is represented in North America by three genera: Water milfoil (J/yriophyllum), mermaid-weed (Proserpinaca), and bottle brush (Hippuris). The seeds of all three of these were present in the series of gizzards examined. Water milfoil seeds had ‘been eaten by 58 birds, those of bottle brush by 16, and those of mermaid-weed by only one.
Antmat Foon.
Insects formed 4.57 per cent of the total food of the green-winged teal, the remainder of the animal food consisting of mollusks, 3.59 per cent; crustaceans, 0.92; and miscellaneous, 0.25; the total amounting to 9.33 per cent.
INSECTS (INSECTA), 4.57 PER CENT.
The largest item of insect food eaten by these ducks was flies (Diptera), which constituted 2.07 per cent of the total. Nearly all of these were in the form of larvae or pupae, the adult flies seldom being caught. Probably those found had been taken from the sur- face of the water, as it does not seem likely that a duck would be
)
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS, 21
adept at fly-catching. The larvae of midges (Chironomidae) were found in 61 stomachs, sometimes in very large numbers, and formed the bulk of the dipterousfood taken. They are abundant in shallow, standing water and slow streams almost everywhere, feeding upon decayed vegetable matter, and evidently are eagerly sought by the ducks. The larvae and pupae of craneflies (Tipulidae), soldierflies (Stratiomyidae), and Ephydridae were also commonly taken.
Although beetles (Coleoptera) formed only 0.65 per cent of the total food, they were represented by a larger number of families and genera than the flies. ‘Those most commonly taken were predacious diving beetles (Dytiscidae), water scavenger beetles (Hydrophilidae), crawling water beetles (Haliplidae), snout beetles and other weevils (Rhynchophora), and ground beetles (Carabidae).
Next in order of importance in the insect food of this teal come the bugs (Hemiptera), with 0.54: per cent, including both the true bugs (Heteroptera) and the cicadas, leafhoppers, etc. (Homop- tera). Of the true bugs, water boatmen (Corixidae) were found in 32 stomachs, sometimes in very large numbers; back swimmers (Notonectidae) in 4 stomachs; water striders (Gerridae) in 4; and unidentified bugs in 6. The Homoptera were represented by a single jassid, or leafhopper.
Caddisflies (Phryganoidea) furnished 0.31 per cent of the total food of the birds examined. ‘These were taken in the form of the larvae, or caddis worms, which abound in creeks and ponds, or anywhere in shallow water containing the vegetation upon which the fly lar- vae feed. ‘They live within silk cases or hollow cylinders made by themselves and covered with a variety of materials, such as grains of sand, bits of leaves or rushes, or pieces of mollusk shell. These cases are open at each end, and the larva pulls itself along by means of three pairs of legs which, with the head, can be protruded from one end. Caddis larvae or cases were found in 46 stomachs, never in very large numbers.
The remaining insect food (1 per cent) was made up of damsel- flies (Zygoptera), dragonflies (Anisoptera), stoneflies (Plecoptera), bird lice (Mallophaga), grasshoppers (Orthoptera), ant-lions (Neurop- tera), moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera), ants, bees, and wasps . (Hymenoptera), and a number of miscellaneous unidentified insects and their eggs, pupae, and larvae. Probably the largest single item among these miscellaneous orders of insects was the nymphs of damselflies and dragonflies, identified from 23 stomachs.
MOLLUSKS (MOLLUSCA), 3.59 PER CENT.
Next to insects, mollusks furnished the largest item of animal food for this teal, 3.59 per cent of the total. They were usually found broken, although whole snails were sometimes present. Empty
22 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
shells or bits of shell probably are often taken by ducks in lieu of gravel to help grind the food, but there is no doubt that the mollusks themselves, and especially snails, are relished by the birds and form an important element in their food. Three genera of snails were identified: Physa, Neritina, and Planorbis. Unidentified snails were taken from 44 stomachs, and bivalves from only 3. Broken mollusk shells, unclassified, were found in 90 gizzards.
CRUSTACEANS (CRUSTACEA), 0.92 PER CENT. ©
Small crustaceans, which are abundant in numbers and variety in nearly all streams and bodies of water, whether salt or fresh, are sought by nearly all ducks. They furnished 0.92 per cent of the total food of the green-winged teal, or approximately one-tenth of the animal food. Chief among these were the ostracods, small bivalved crustaceans which might easily be mistaken for minute mollusks. Small shrimplike crustaceans known as amphipods were taken in some numbers, and in one stomach the claws of an unidentified crab
were found. MISCELLANEOUS ANIMAL FOOD, 0.25 PER CENT.
A few spiders and mites (class Arachnida), centipeds (Myriapoda), fish scales, minute aquatic animalculae, and other insignificant items form the remainder of the green-winged teal’s animal food.
BLUE-WINGED TEAL. (Querquedula discors.) PLATE EV:
The blue-winged teal, blue-wing, or summer teal is slightly more restricted in its distribution than the green-wing. Although it has been recorded as breeding in Rhode Island, Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Quebec, Ontario, and New York, and as far south as northern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, northern Nevada, and central Oregon, it is not common east of the Allegheny Mountains nor on the Pacific slope. Its principal summer home is in. the interior of North America between the Rocky Mountains and the Great Lakes, from northern Illinois and Nebraska north to Saskatchewan. Its principal range extends north to British Columbia, and it occurs also rarely north to Alaska, Alberta, and about Great Slave Lake. In winter, blue-winged teals are found throughout northern South America south to Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile; they occur abundantly in Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies; and in the United States they are found near the Gulf, and as far north as North Carolina, and (sparingly) southern Indiana and southern Illinois. Unlike the green-winged teal, this is one of the least hardy of our ducks, migrating late in spring
PLATE IV.
Bul. 862, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.
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FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. Ds:
and early in fall. It usually arrives in central Iowa during the last week in March, and at Aweme, Manitoba, about a month later. In the fall migration it reappears throughout the northern half of the United States during the month of August and reaches the Gulf of Mexico about the middle of September. In habits it is very similar to the green-winged teal, and like that bird its numbers have been ereatly diminished in recent years on account of its slight fear of man and the consequent ease with which it may be shot by even inex- perienced sportsmen. It is especially rare in most of the States east of the Alleghenies, and great care should be taken in some localities to see that it is not entirely wiped out.
In general appearance the blue-winged teal is similar to the green- wing, having also a green speculum, which, however, is supplemented by a light-blue shoulder patch, separated from the green by a narrow white line. The adult male also lacks the white mark before the wing, which is present in the green-winged teal, but has a large white » crescent on each side of the face in front of the eye.
FOOD HABITS.
To determine the food habits of the blue-winged teal, 319 ° stomachs were examined, collected from 29 States and 4 Canadian Provinces during a period of 31 years, and in every month but January. As might be expected, the greatest numbers were col- lected in the fall, during the months of September, October, and November, making the average percentages of various kinds of foods for those months more accurate than for the remainder of the year. | Rather large series were collected in Wisconsin (58), Florida (46), Maine (40), and North Dakota (36); the remaining stomachs were fairly evenly distributed. The character of the contents of the stom- achs from the States furnishing the largest numbers was not such as .
to influence unduly the final averages.
VEGETABLE Foon.
About seven-tenths (70.53 per cent) of the blue-winged teal’s food consists of vegetable matter. Of this about three-fourths is included in four families of plants. Sedges (Cyperaceae), with 18.79 per cent; pondweeds (Naiadaceae), 12.6; grasses (Gramineae), 12.26; and the smartweeds (Polygonaceae), 8.22. The remainder of the plant food is made up of algae, 2.95 per cent; waterlilies (Nymphaeaceae), 1.37; rice and corn, 0.98; water milfoils (Haloragidaceae), 0.71; bur eats Eoanentiinesse), 0.38; madder family (Rubiaceae), 0.35; and miscellaneous, 11.92 per cam
9 Ninety of these were examined by W. L. McAtee.
94 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. SEDGES Coe 18.79 PER CENT.
The sedges are grasslike or rushlike plants which grow in marshes or on the borders of ponds and streams. Ducks are especially fond of their seeds, which usually are small and hard and have a starchy interior. The family of sedges is a very large one, comprising about 3,200 species, widely distributed. The seeds most often found in duck stomachs are those of the bulrushes (Scirpus spp.), and the case of the blue-winged teal is no exception to this rule. Unidentified bulrush seeds were found in 184 stomachs, those of river bulrush (S. fluviatilis) m1 18, three-square (S. americanus) in 10, prairie bulrush (S. paludosus) in 7, and great bulrush (S. validus) and salt- marsh bulrush (S. robustus) in 2 each. Other sedges taken were those of the genus Carex, found in 59 stomachs; saw grass (Cladiwm ef- fusum and C. marvscoides), in 55; chufa (Cyperus spp.), in 45; spike rush (Eleocharis spp.), in 33; beaked rush (Rhynchospora sp.), in 2; and sedges of the genera Pimbristylis, in 40; and Dulichiwm, in 2. Unidentified sedge seeds or bits of the plants were taken by 27 birds.
PONDWEEDS (NAIADACEAE) 12.6 PER CENT.
In 33 of the stomachs examined the seeds or other parts of pond- weeds formed from 95 to 100 per cent of the total food contents. The true pondweeds (Potamogeton spp.) had been taken by 151 birds, widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima) by 87, bushy pondweed (Najas flexilis and N. marina) by 18, eelgrass (Zostera marina) by 3, and horned pondweed (Zannichellia palustris) by 2. One stomach held over 700 of the hard black seeds of widgeon grass. Most ducks feed upon all parts of pondweed plants, and the “plue-winged teal seems to pay much attention to the leaves and stems as well as the seeds.
GRASSES (GRAMINEAE), 12.26 PER CENT.
Of the 319 blue-winged teals examined, only 13 had eaten culti- vated grain. One of these, obtained in Kansas in April, had its gizzard filied with 19 kernels of corn and fragments of more, but corn taken at that time of year could hardly have been anything but waste. The other 12 birds had eaten rice, and as all were collected in Florida in November, this, too, was undoubtedly waste grain. Of the wild grasses the favorites were wild rice (Zizania palustris), taken by 22 birds; switchgrass (Panicum sp.), by 18; the foxtails (Chaetochloa glauca, C. viridis, and others), by 14; rice cut-grass (Homalocenchrus oryzoides), by 9; and Monanthochloé littoralis, by 13. Other species less often taken were meadow grass (Puccinellia nutialliana), barn- yard grass (Echinochloa crus-galli), cut-grass (Zizaniopsis miliacea), rushgrass (Sporobolus sp.), and salt-marsh grass (Spartina sp.).
yo
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. 25
SMARTWEEDS (POLYGONACEAE), 8.22 PER CENT.
Two of the blue-winged teals had eaten seeds of dock (Rumez sp.). All other seeds of this family taken were of the true smartweeds (Polygonum spp.). These were represented by 9 species, and 16 stomachs contained unidentified smartweed seeds. Mild water pepper (Polygonum hydropiperoides), which was found in 31 stomachs; water smartweed (P. amphibium), in 27; and dock-leaved smartweed (P: lapathifolium), in 26, were the kinds most often found. Other species taken were prickly smartweed (P. sagittatum), lady’s-thumb (P. persicaria), water pepper (P. hydropiper), Opelousas smartweed (P. opelousanum), Pennsylvania smartweed (P. pennsylvanicum), and dense-flowered smartweed (P. portoricense).
ALGAE, 2.95 PER CENT.
The greater part of the seaweeds taken consisted of musk grass (Chara spp.). Several stomachs collected in Wisconsin, North Da- kota, and Florida were nearly full of this alga, chiefly the oédgonia, or reproductive cells. Altogether, musk grass was found in 31 stomachs, and unidentified marine algae, or seaweeds, in 4.
WATERLILIES (NYMPHAEACEAE), 1.37 PER CENT,
Waterlily seeds had been taken by 27 of these teals. Fourteen had eaten seeds of white waterlilies (Castalia sp.), and the other 13 had eaten those of the small purple waterlily known as water shield (Brasenia schreberi). Most of the white waterlily seeds were found in the stomachs of a series of ducks collected in Florida. One of these, together with the bird’s gullet, which was also full, contained 1,600 seeds and fragments of many more.
WATER MILFOILS (HALORAGIDACEAE), 0.71 PER CENT,
The plants of the family Haloragidaceae have a very wide geo- graphic distribution. They are chiefly aquatic, and have hard, nutlike seeds which persist for some time in bird stomachs. The three North American. genera were represented in the stomachs examined, bottle brush (Hippuris vulgaris) in 8, mermaid weed Pave sp.) in 5, and water milfoil liioabntane sp.) in 44.
BUR REEDS (SPARGANIACEAE), 0.38 PER CENT.
The seeds of bur reed (Sparganium sp.) had been eaten by 39 of the blue-winged teals examined, but usually were found in small numbers.
MADDER FAMILY (RUBIACEAE), 0.35 PER CENT. - The madder family was rather sparingly represented by seeds of buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), found in 5 stomachs; bed- straw, or cleavers (Galium sp.), in 10; and rough buttonweed (Diodia teres) in 1.
26 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
MISCELLANEOUS VEGETABLE FOOD, 11.95 PER CENT.
A large number of minor items of vegetable food were classified as miscellaneous. Probably the largest of these consisted of plants of the duckweed family (Lemnaceae). Although found in only 14 stomachs, they constituted nearly 100 per cent of the contents of several. Hach of three stomachs collected in Iowa in August con- - tained more than a thousand of the small plants of a duckweed (Lemna sp.). Twenty-eight other families of plants were represented, the most important being the aster family (Compositae), the water plantain family (Alismaceae), the parsley family (Umbelliferae), crowfoot family (Ranunculaceae), borage family (Boraginaceae), myrtle family (Myricaceae), rose family (Rosaceae), hornwort family (Ceratophyllaceae), and the vervain family (Verbenaceae).
Anima Foon.
Animal matter constitutes 29.47 per cent of the total food of the blue-winged teal, which is more than three times the percentage of animal food eaten by the green-wing. Over half of this (16.82 per cent) is mollusks, the remainder being made up of insects, 10.41 per cent; crustaceans, 1.93, and miscellaneous, 0.31 per cent.
MOLLUSKS (MOLLUSCA), 16.82 PER CENT.
The ate part of the shellfish found in the stomachs some! probably consisted of snails, although small bivalves also had been commonly taken, and in a senor of cases the shells had been so thoroughly crushed by the powerful gizzards of the ducks as to make it impracticable to distinguish between the fragments of bivalves and univalves. However, 15 species of the latter were identified, and 2 of the former. Unidentified univalve shells were found in 31 stomachs and unidentified bivalves in 2, while fragments of mollusk shells taken from 106 stomachs were not classified. The full stomach of a duck collected in an Iowa swamp in August, 1907, contained thousands of snail eggs, amounting to 54 per cent of Le contents.
INSECTS (INSECTA), 10.41 PER CENT.
The items of insect food of the blue-winged teal, in the order of their importance, are caddis larvae (together with their cases), beetles and their larvae, dragonflies and damselflies (chiefly in the nymph stage), bugs, flies (chiefly larvae), and a small percentage of miscellaneous insects.
The larvae of caddisflies (Phryganoidea) or their cases were found in 37 stomachs, and amounted to 4.5 per cent of the total food. The greater part of these were found in.a series of stomachs collected in Florida, some of which were over half filled with the fragments of caddis cases.
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. Dil
Beetles (Coleoptera) amounted to 2.62 per cent of the food of the blue-winged teal, or less than one-tenth of the total animal matter eaten. Ten species of predacious diving beetles (Dytiscidae) were noted, 7 of ground beetles (Carabidae), 5 of water scavenger beetles (Hydrophilidae), 4 of crawling water beetles (Haliplidae), 3 of leaf. chafers (Scarabaeidae), 3 of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae), 2 each of snout beetles (Curculionidae) and bilibugs (Calandrinae), and 1 each of whirligig beetles (Gyrinidae), shining carrion beetles (Histeridae), pill beetles (Byrrhidae), and mud beetles (Heteroceridae); while many individuals of most of these families were found which, on account of their fragmentary condition, could not be further identi- fied. Unclassified beetle remains were found in 50 stomachs.
The nymphs or young of damselflies (Zygoptera) and dragonflies (Anisoptera) live in the water and afford delicate morsels for ducks. Twenty-two of the blue-winged teals had eaten nymphs of dragon-
flies and two those of damselflies, while three stomachs contained
remains of nymphs which were not identified.
Bugs (Heteroptera’* and Homoptera) constituted 0.86 per cent of the birds’ diet. These represented 10 families, besides the remains of a few bugs which were not identified. Water boatmen (Corixidae) had been eaten by 43 birds, creeping water bugs (Naucoridae) by 15, back swimmers (Notonectidae) by 12, water striders (Gerridae) and broad-shouldered water striders (Veliidae) by 2 each, and negro
‘bugs (Corimelaenidae), stink bugs (Pentatomidae), giant water bugs
(Belostomatidae), planthoppers (Fulgoridae), and leafhoppers (Jas- sidae) by 1 each.
Only 0.65 per cent of the blue-winged teal’s food consisted of two- winged flies and their larvae and pupae. Six families were repre- sented, and unidentified larvae or pupae were taken from 8 stomachs. The larvae of soldierflies (Stratiomyidae) and midges (Chironomidae) were present in 11 gizzards each, while those of flower flies (Syr- phidae) had been eaten by 4 birds, and Anthomyiidae, Ephydridae, and black flies (Simuliidae) by 1 each.
_ The miscellaneous insect food consisted of unidentified fragments
of insects, a grasshopper or two, 3 small moth cocoons, a few ants,
insect eggs, ete. CRUSTACEANS (CRUSTACEA), 1.93 PER CENT.
Crustaceans furnished 1.93 per cent of the contents of all the blue-winged teal gizzards examined, and consisted of beach fleas, scuds, etc. (Amphipoda), found in 7 stomachs; small bivalved crustaceans (Ostracoda), in 8; and stalk-eyed crustaceans (Decapoda), in 2. The last-mentioned order includes the claw of a crab found in one stomach and a sand shrimp (Crangonyx gracilis) in the other. Two North Carolir.a stomachs collected in March were nearly filled
28 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
with beach fleas, or amphipods. Crustaceans which had been taken by 5 other teals were too fragmentary for identification.
MISCELLANEOUS. ANIMAL FOOD, 0.31 PER CENT.
The miscellaneous animal food, which amounted to only 0.31 per cent, consisted principally of the remains of a few minnows and other small fishes, a few spiders, and several tiny water mites, or hydrachnids. : CINNAMON TEAL.
Querquedula. cyanoptera. 2
PLATE V.
The cinnamon teal is a western bird, its breeding range in North America extending from eastern Wyoming and western Kansas west to the Pacific coast, and from southern British Columbia and south- western Alberta south to northern Lower California, northern Mexico, southern New Mexico, and central western Texas. Its distribution is very remarkable in that it not only breeds in the Northern Hemisphere, but also over a large area in South America, the two colonies being separated by a zone about 2,000 miles wide in which the species is practically unknown. The cinnamon teal of North America migrates in winter only a short distance south of its breeding range in Mexico and is found at this season as far north as Browns- ville, Tex., central New Mexico, southern Arizona, and Tulare Lake, California. The South American birds migrate slightly northward after nesting, but the breeding seasons of the two colonies are, of course, reversed.
The male cinnamon teal differs from the blue-wing in appearance ‘in having a blackish area on the top of the head, and chestnut or cinnamon brown on the remainder of the head, neck, and underparts, giving it the local name of red-breasted teal.
FOOD HABITS.
Only 41 stomachs of the cinnamon teal were available for examina- tion. These were collected during the eight months from March to October, and from the States of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Montana, Oregon, and California, the bulk being from Utah and California. Although the number is too small to furnish an accurate estimate of the percentages of various foods taken, nevertheless the results are of value in showing that this species probably does not differ materially in habits from the other two North American teals.
VEGETABLE Foop.
Like the green-wing and the blue-wing, the cinnamon teal lives mainly upon vegetable food, this comprising about four-fifths (79.86 per cent) of the total contents of the stomachs examined. And like the other teals its two principal and most constant items of food are the
PLATE V.
Bul. 862, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.
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FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. 99
seeds and other parts of sedges (Cyperaceae) and pondweeds (Naiada- ceae). These two families of plants furnished 34.27 and 27.12 per cent, respectively, of the bird’s entire diet. The grasses (Gramineae) amounted to 7.75 per cent; smartweeds (Polygonaceae), to 3.22; mallows (Malvaceae), 1.87; goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae), 0.75; water milfoils (Haloragidaceae), 0.37; and miscellaneous, 4.51.
SEDGES (CYPERACEAE), 34.27 PER CENT.
Twelve birds had eaten seeds of prairie bulrush (Scirpus paludosus), 3 those of three-square (S. americanus), and the stomachs of 17 con- tained seeds of unidentified bulrushes. Seeds of spike rush (leo- charis sp.) had been taken by 10, seeds of Carex by 5, and unidentified sedges by 7. ;
PONDWEEDS (NAIADACEAE), 27.12 PER CENT.
The pondweeds eaten consisted of seeds of true pondweeds (Potamo- geton spp.), found in 33 stomachs; widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima), in 16; and horned pondweed (Zannichellia palustris), in 10. One duck had eaten over 400 large seeds of Potamogeton, and another 950 seeds of widgeon grass.
GRASSES (GRAMINEAE), 7.75 PER CENT.
The seeds of Monanthochloé littoralis were identified from 5 stomachs. Other grass seeds and bits of grass fiber were found in 3.
SMARTWEEDS. (POLYGONACEAE), 3.22 PER CENT.
Seeds of smartweed (Polygonum lapathifolium) had been eaten by 3 of the cinnamon teals, those of lady’s-thumb (P. persicaria) by 1, and unidentified smartweeds by 3. Two birds had taken seeds of dock (Rumex sp.).
MALLOW FAMILY (MALVACEAE); GOOSEFOOT FAMILY (CHENOPODIACEAE); AND WATER MILFOIL FAMILY (HALORAGIDACEAE), 2.99 PER CENT.
Two stomachs contained unidentified seeds of the mallow family, amounting to 1.87 per cent of the whole. Another contained frag- ments of several hundred seeds of a pigweed (Chenopodium sp.), furnishing 0.75 per cent. Three birds had eaten seeds of bottle brush (Hippuris vulgaris) and 2 those of water milfoil (J/yriophyl- lum sp.), together amounting to 0.37 per cent of the total.
MISCELLANEOUS VEGETABLE FOOD, 4.51 PER CENT.
A few seeds each of bur reed (Sparganium sp.), amaranth (Ama- ranthus sp.), yellow water-crowfoot (Ranunculus delphinifolius), bur clover (Medicago denticulata) and other clovers (Medicago sp. and Trifolium sp.), California sumach (Rhus laurina), heliotrope (Helio- tropwum iwndicum), and cleavers (Galiwm sp.), and traces of musk grass (Chara sp.), made up the remainder of the bird’s vegetable food.
30 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
. ANIMAL Foon.
The 41 cinnamon teals examined had made of animal matter 20.14 per cent of their food. This consisted of insects, 10.19 per cent: mollusks, 8.69 per cent; and a few small miscellaneous items, 1.26 per cent.
INSECTS (INSECTA), 10.19 PER CENT.
Over half the insect food of the series of cinnamon teals (5.4 per cent of the whole) consisted of beetles (Coleoptera). Disregarding several unidentified fragments, only four families were represented, the predacious diving beetles (Dytiscidae), water scavenger beetles (Hydrophilidae), leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae), and snout beetles (Curculionidae).
The bugs (Heteroptera) amounted to 2.97 per cent, and sonaieten entirely of water boatmen (Corixidae). These are small brown or oray mottled bugs, with oarlike legs well fitted for swimming; they frequent the lakes, ponds, and streams throughout the greater part of North America, and are commonly eaten by many species of water birds. As they are very good swimmers, it must require quick work on the part of the ducks to catch them. They were found in 11 of the 41 stomachs.
Remains of dragonflies (Anisoptera) were found in two gizzards, and a nymph of a dragonfly or a damselfly in another. The dragon- flies and damselflies (Zygoptera) together constitute the superorder Odonata, which furnished 0.92 per cent of thefood of thecinnamon teal.
The flies (Diptera) taken were mostly larvae, and amounted to 0.62 per cent. Flies of at least four families—the midges (Chirono- midae), soldierflies (Stratiomyidae), flower flies (Syrphidae), and brine flies (Ephydridae)—were included. <A few insect eggs, bits. of the cases of caddis larvae (Phryganoidea), two small hymenop- terous cocoons, and the remains of an ant, together amounting to 0.28 per cent, made up the remainder of the insect food.
MOLLUSKS (MOLLUSCA), 8.69 PER CENT.
Four of the cinnamon teals had fed upon snails and two upon small bivalves, and the stomachs of 15 contained fine fragments which were not classified. Altogether, mollusks amounted to 8.69 per cent of the bird’s diet, a proportion considerably greater than that of the green-winged teal, but only about half as great as that of the blue-wing.
MISCELLANEOUS ANIMAL FOOD, 1.26 PER CENT.
The stomach of a young bird collected near Great Salt Lake, Utah, in July, was half filled with fine feathers. These, together with afew water mites (Hydrachnidae), bivalved crustaceans (Ostracoda), and a small quantity of unidentified matter from other stomachs, all of which amounted to 1.26 per cent, made up the remainder of the animal food of the species.
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FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. ak
PINTATIL. (Dafila acuta.) PLATE VI.
The pintail breeds abundantly along the northern border of the United States from Lake Superior almost to the Pacific, and north- ward to the Arctic coast northwest of Hudson Bay and west to Alaska. It is uncommon as a breeder east of a line drawn from the western side of Hudson Bay to the western shore of Lake Michigan, and south of the northern tier of States except on the Great Plains. It breeds also south to northern Illinois, southern Colorado, and southern California, winters as far south. as Cuba and Panama, and abundantly in the southern half of the United States: The species breeds also in the northern portions of the Old World and migrates south in winter to-northern Africa and southern Asia.
The pintail is easily recognized by its long neck as well as by the long, pointed middle tail feathers from which it derives most of its common names. In addition to ‘‘pintail’”’ it is sometimes known locally as ‘‘sprig,” ‘‘sprig-tail,”’ ‘‘sharp-tail,” and ‘‘spike-tail.’”?’ A cinnamon- brown wing bar, present in both sexes, also is distinctive. The adult male has a very dark brown head, a white stripe on each side of the neck, and the sides and back finely marked with -black and white wavy lines.
FOOD HABITS.
In its general habits the pintail quite closely resembles the mal- lard, although it probably spends less time feeding on dry land remote from the water. It is not particularly. adept at diving, but never- theless obtains much of its food from under the surface and often from the bottom in shallow water, by tipping-up for it. It nests in low meadows or sloughs, frequently some distance from water. The female is very solicitous in the care of her young, attempting to decoy an intruder away from them by playing wounded, or to distract his attention by circling around and quacking loudly. In autumn, pintails usually gather in good-sized flocks either by themselves or with other shallow-water ducks, and are much sought after for their flesh, which is very palatable.
The stomachs of 790 *° pintails, collected from practically all parts of North America from Alaska and Hudson Bay to California, Texas, and Florida, were available for this investigation. The largest num- bers were taken in the States of Louisiana (172), Washington (139), Texas (110), Utah (91), Florida (44), and North Carolina (42), the remainder being well scattered. Of the total number, data on the contents of 769, representing the months from September to March, inclusive, were used in computing averages.
‘10 Two hundred and thirty-seven of these were examined by-W. L. McAtee.
32 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
VEGETABLE Foop.
Vegetable matter constitutes about seven-eighths (87.15 per cent) of the total food of the pintail. This is made up of the following items: Pondweeds, 28.04 per cent; sedges, 21.78; grasses, 9.64; smartweeds and docks, 4.74; arrowgrass, 4.52; musk grass and other algae, 3.44; arrowhead and water plantain, 2.84; goosefoot family, 2.58; waterlily family, 2.57; duckweeds, 0.8; water milfoils, 0.21; and miscellaneous vegetable food, 5.99 per cent.
PONDWEEDS (NAIADACEAE), 28.04 PER CENT.
The pondweed, the family of plants which furnishes the largest item of food for the pintail, is the favorite also of several other species of ducks, including the gadwall and the baldpate. The latter two species, however, partake very largely of the leaves and stems of the plants, while the pintail prefers the seeds. Of the whole number of stomachs of the pintail, 254 contamed seeds or other parts of widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima), at least four of them with from 1,000 to 1,300 seeds each. Two others contained about 2,800 seeds each of unidentified species of true pondweed (Potamogeton), and another held over 2,000 seeds of horned pondweed (Zannichellia palustris). Seeds of sago pondweed (Potamogeton pectinatus), small pondweed (P. pusiilus), leafy pondweed (P. jfoliosus), and curly pondweed (P. diversifolius) were identified m a few instances, but - pondweed seeds of which the species could not be determined were found in 271 stomachs. Seeds of horned pondweed were present in 18 stomachs, those of bushy pondweed (Navas flexilis) in 23, while the seeds, and occasionally leaves, of eelgrass (Zostera marina) were found in 93, and amounted to 4.03 per cent of the pintail’s total food. This item was most abundant in the stomachs of a series of birds from the southwestern coast of Washington.
SEDGES (CYPERACEAE), 21.78 PER CENT.
The seeds of sedges are second only to the pondweeds in importance in the food of the pintail. The plants of this family often are semisubmerged, or grow in marshy situations. Probably most of the seeds are taken from the water after they have ripened and fallen, although no doubt a great many are picked from the shorter plants and those which are bent low over the water. Seeds of the common three-cornered bulrush, or three-square (Scirpus amer- canus), were identified from 155 of the pintail stomachs, those of prairie bulrush (8. paludosus) from 84, salt-marsh bulrush {S. ro- bustus) from 29, Scirpus cubensis from 8, river bulrush (S. fluviatilis) from 3, and unidentified bulrushes from 154. Seeds of saw grass (Cladium effusum), spike rush (Eleocharis sp.), chufa (Cyperus sp.), beaked rush (Rhynchospora sp.), and sedges of the genera Fvm-
Bul. 862, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.
BI26cM
female on left,
PINTAIL (DAFILA ACUTA), Male on right;
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FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. ‘ao
bristylis and Carex also were taken very frequently by these ducks. As many as 1,500 seeds of beaked rush, 3,000 of the three-square, 3,600 of spike rush, and 9,000 of Scirpus cubensis were counted from various single stomachs, while one contained more than 150 of the large, horned seeds of beaked rush (Rhynchospora corniculata).
GRASSES (GRAMINEAE), 9.64 PER CENT.
Grass remains in the pintail’s food consist also very largely of seeds. Many of the stomachs contained the seeds of switchgrass (Panicum sp.), barnyard grass or wild millet (Zchinochloa crus-galli), wild rice (Zizania palustris), cut grass (Zizamopsis miliacea), salt grass (Dis- tichlis spicata), and foxtail (Chaetochloa sp.), often in very large num- bers. One was found to contain 11,500 seeds of barnyard grass, and another held nearly 4,000 of switchgrass. Included in the grass family are cultivated rice (Oryza satwa) and other grains. Rice was — found in 52 of the pintail stomachs—24 of them from Texas, 18 from Louisiana, and 10 from Florida. Many were crammed with rice kernels, and contained nothing else, but all were taken during the months of November, December, and February, so there can be no doubt that it was all waste grain. Of the other cultivated grains, corn was found in 3 stomachs, wheat in 3, barley in 3, and oats in 1. This also probably was waste grain, with the exception of oats, taken in North Dakota in June, and a few grains of wheat taken in Colorado in March.
SMARTWEEDS AND DOCKS (POLYGONACEAE), 4.74 PER CENT.
Many of the plants of the family Polygonaceae grow in or near water and their seeds are eaten by a great many different kinds of birds. The seeds of mild water pepper (Polygonum hydropiperoides), found in 29 stomachs, and of water smartweed (P. amphibwum), in 23, seem to be the favorites with the pintail. Several also had taken seeds of prickly smartweed (P. sagittatum), knotweed (P. aviculare), Pennsylvania smartweed (P. pennsylvanicum), water pepper (P. hydropiper), and other smartweeds (P. lapathifoluum, P. persicaria, and P. opelousanum). About 12,500 seeds of a smartweed, Poly- gonum punctatum, were found in the crammed gullet and gizzard of one pintail from Alabama. Seeds of dock (Rumezx sp.) were
present in 7 gizzards.
ARROW-GRASS (Triglochin maritima), 4.52 PER CENT.
Arrow-grass is a plant of the marshes, muddy shores, or low meadows near salt water. The seeds are borne on erect spikes, and are the only parts of the plants commonly eaten by the birds. Eighty- eight pintail stomachs, all from the Pacific coast of Washington,
179375°—20——3
34 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
contained these seeds. They were often present in large masses, and together with the seeds of eelgrass formed the bulk of the contents of the stomachs from that region, all of which were taken during the months of October, November, and December.
MUSK GRASS (Chara) AND OTHER ALGAE, 3.44 PER CENT.
The stomachs of 49 pintails held at least traces of musk grass, and 8 contained other algae. A few were filled with algae alone. The fact that a duck has been feeding upon musk grass often can be detected by the presence of the small, hard reproductive cells (o6gonia) which persist in the stomach after all other parts have been digested.
ARROWHEAD AND WATER PLANTAIN (ALISMACEAE), 2.84 PER CENT.
Many of the pintails shot on the delta of the Mississippi River, Louisiana, had been feeding on the tubers of an arrowhead (Sagittaria platyphylla), which is very abundant on the mud flats there. These tubers are known as the ‘‘delta potato,” and are one of the inyportant duck foods of that region.!' The seeds of arrowheads occasionally are taken also, as well as the tubers of other species. Seeds of water plantain (Alisma plantago-aquatica et al.) were found in 6 stomachs.
GOOSEFOOT FAMILY (CHENOPODIACEAE), 2.58 PER CENT.
Of a series of 35 pintail stomachs collected from a point on the Gulf coast of Texas in October, 33 contained seeds of glasswort (Salicornia ambigua), a low, fleshy, leafless plant growing in dense colonies on mud flats too saline for other vegetation. These seeds amounted to 100 per cent of the contents of 25 of the stomachs, and averaged 93 per cent in the series of 35. Two of the stomachs contamed no fewer than 28,000 seeds each. Five pintails had eaten seeds of pigweed (Chenopodium sp.) and one those of saltbush (Atriplex sp.).
WATERLILY FAMILY (NYMPHAEACEAE), 2.57 PER CENT.
The stomachs of 34 pintails contained seeds of water shield (Bra- senia schreberi), 10 the seeds of waterlilies of the genus Castalia, and 6 those of the genus Nymphaea, which includes the yellow pond- lily. One Florida stomach contained 142 seeds of water shield, 4 of a species of Castalia, and the remains of a large number of a species of yellow pondlily.
DUCKWEEDS (LEMNACEAE), 0.8 PER CENT.
Only 15 pintails had eaten duckweeds (Lemna sp.). These small plants so relished by the wood duck, form one of the lesser items in the food of the pintail.
11 See Bull. No. 465, U.S. Dept. Agr., pp. 21-24, 1917.
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. 35
WATER MILFOILS (HALORAGIDACEAE), 0.21 PER CENT.
Water milfoils are usually submerged plants, bearing hara, nutlike seeds in the axils of the finely dissected leaves. The seeds, and sometimes bits of the leaves, are picked off occasionally by ducks. Seeds of water milfoil (Ayriophyllum sp.) were found in 24 of the
pintail stomachs, of bottle brush (Hippuris vulgaris) in 12, and
mermaid weed (Proserpinaca sp.) in 6. MISCELLANEOUS VEGETABLE FOOD, 5.99 PER CENT.
The seeds of many species of plants not already mentioned were found in stomachs of pintails, sometimes in comparatively large series, but then only in small numbers. In this category are seeds of myrtles or bayberries (JM/yrica spp.), found in 45 gizzards; brambles (Rubus spp.), in 43; elders (Sambucus spp.), in 32; bur reed (Spar- ganium sp.), in 32; wild heliotrope (Heliotropium indicum), in 28; hornwort or coontail (Ceratophyllum demersum), in 23; crowfoots (Ranunculus spp.), in 17; pigweeds (Amaranthus spp.), in 15; hawthorns (Crataegus spp.), in 12; grapes (Vitis spp.), in 11; mallows (Malvaceae), in 10; and many others. Bits of spruce needles (Picea sp.) had been picked up, probably from the water, by 21 of the ducks; four pintails had eaten leaves or rootstocks of wild celery (Vallisneria sprralis). The remainder of the miscellaneous vegetable food consisted entirely of seeds.
ANm™AL Foop.
The animal portion, 12.85 per cent, of the food of the pintail was made up of mollusks, 5.81 per cent; crustaceans, 3.79 per cent; insects, 2.85 per cent; and miscellaneous, 0.4 per cent.
MOLLUSKS (MOLLUSCA), 5.81 PER CENT.
Mollusks were found in 326 of the 790 pintail stomachs examined. In 44 they constituted 50 per cent or more of the contents, and in 5 they reached 100 per cent. Practically all of a large series of stom- achs from the Pacific coast of Washington contained mollusk shells. Univalves (Gastropoda) predominated over bivalves (Pelecypoda) in the food of the pintail, but large numbers of small species and young of the latter were taken. In many instances mollusks could not be identified because of the great efficiency of the duck stomachs as erinding machines.
CRUSTACEANS (CRUSTACEA), 3.79 PER CENT.
Remains of crabs were found in 28 of the pintail stomachs, crawfish | in 4, and shrimps in 2. Ten ducks shot near the eastern end of Long Island, New York, had been feeding very largely upon a small
36 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
crab (Hexapanopeus angustifrons) which frequents the beaches there. One gizzard contained the claws and other remains of at least 30 of these crabs. When crawfish are eaten by ducks, small plano- convex masses of calcareous matter known as gastroliths, supposed to be used as material for a new exoskeleton after moulting, often are found, with the fingers or claws persisting in the stomach after’ other parts of the crawfish are digested. Small bivalved crustaceans (Ostracoda) had been taken by 38 of the pintails, sand fleas or beach fleas (Amphipoda) by 20, and sowbugs (Isopoda) by 5.
INSECTS (INSECTA), 2.85 PER CENT.
Beetles (Coleoptera) amounting to 0.93 per cent of the total food of the pintail, consisted largely of three families, the predacious diving beetles (Dytiscidae), water scavenger beetles (Hydrophilidae), and ground beetles (Carabidae). Others represented were the snout beetles (Curculionidae), leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae), leaf chafers (Scarabaeidae), crawling water beetles (Haliplidae), rove beetles (Staphylinidae), click beetles (Klateridae), flat bark beetles (Cucuji- dae), and tiger beetles (Cicindelidae). Besides these there were the fragments of many unidentified beetles and the larvae of aquatic species. -
Flies (Diptera) found in the pintail stomachs consisted mainly of larvae and amounted to 0.85 per cent of the total food. The following families of flies were represented : Midges (Chironomidae), in 31; brineflies (Ephydridae), in 15; soldierflies (Stratiomyidae), in 8; craneflies (Tipulidae), 100), Oe honsefltes (Tabanidae), in 2; and unidentified fly remains in 10 shotncha,
The larvae or nymphs, and a few adults, of dragonflies (Anisoptera) and damselflies (Zygoptera), together funmisined 0.44 per cent of the pintails’ food; bugs (Heteroptera), consisting chiefly of water boat- men Caddie) creeping water bugs (Naucoridae), and giant water bugs (Belostomatidae), amounted to 0.23 per cent; the larvae and lareal cases of caddisflies (Phryganoidea), 0.2 per cent: and other insects, consisting of a few grasshoppers (Orihioptern), ants and wasps (Hymenoptera), and Mayflies (Agnatha), totaled 0.2 per cent.
MISCELLANEOUS ANIMAL FOOD, 0.4 PER CENT.
The remains of small fish (found in 16 stomachs), a frog (Rana sp.), mandibles of a few marine worms (Nereis sp.), tiny water mites (Hydrachnidae), bits of hydroids (Hydrozoa), corallines (Bryozoa and Alcyonaria), and the minute, lime-incrusted, one-celled organ- isms known as Foraminifera, all were included in the varied bill of fare of the pintail. 3
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. 37 WOOD DUCK. Aix sponsa. Pirate VII.
The wood duck ranges in summer nearly throughout the United States, southern British Columbia, southern Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia; it breeds casually in Cuba, and_is accidental in Bermuda, Mexico, and Jamaica. In winter it occupies approximately the southern half ofitssummer range. Its southward migration is accomplished chiefly in October, and it moves northward rather early in spring, reaching the latitude of central Iowa usually about March 20 and southern Manitoba April 15.
As its name implies, the wood duck inhabits secluded woodland ponds and lakes and timbered streams. It makes its nest in a nat- ural cavity in a tree, from which the mother duck takes the young soon after they are hatched and carries them one by one in her beak to the water.’2 The adult male is the most brilliantly colored of all American ducks, and probably is as fine in appearance as any in the world. Its most striking feature is a large bright green and purple crest, striped with white, the rest of the head being of the same colors. The throat is white; on each side of the body is a row of black and white crescents, and across the shoulders are black and white bars. The upperparts are iridescent greenish or brownish black, and the breast is rich chestnut, spotted with white. The plumage of the — _ female presents much the same general pattern as that of the male, but lacks most of its bright coloration.
FOOD HABITS.
Although the wood duck often is seen in the haunts of other ducks on open stretches of water or marshy land, its usual feeding grounds are along the banks of the wooded streams and ponds near which it nests in summer. Here it not only feeds upon the seeds and other parts of the plants which grow in or near the water, but often it wanders far out into the drier parts of the woods to pick up acorns, nuts, grapes, and berries, and the seeds of various trees and shrubs. Most of the insects and of the other animal food taken, however, are kinds which either inhabit the water itself or live on plants which grow in or near the water. Some terrestrial species are caught, but it is probable that most of these are picked up from the surface of the water, as the ducks are not fitted for successfully catching active insects on land. They are expert, however, in catching those which fly low over the water or glide over its surface, | and obtain the kinds which swim beneath the surface (as well as
12 Kingsford, E. G., Wood Duck Removing Young from the Nest: Auk, XXXIV., pp. 335-336, 1917.
38 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
the seeds and other parts of submerged plants) by half-diving, after the manner of the mallard and several other ducks.
The stomachs of 413'° wood ducks were available for examination. Six stomachs were rejected on account of the too meager or uncertain nature of their contents, and seven more from ducks collected during January, May, and June, because they were not sufficient in number adequately to represent those months. None were taken during July; so that the 399 stomachs from which final results were com- puted represent only the months from August to December, and from February to April, inclusive. There is no reason why the food for January should not be similar to that of the other winter months; in summer, however, the percentage of animal food no doubt is somewhat higher. Stomachs were collected from 24 States and the District of Columbia, from Maine and Florida to Oregon and Cali- fornia, and from the Province of Ontario to Texas; but about five- eighths (268) of the whole number were taken in Louisiana. The bulk of the wood ducks, now nowhere abundant as breeders, inhabit the Mississippi Valley, and in winter they find ideal feeding and living conditions in the cypress swamps and wooded lakes and ineoone of the States bordering the Mississippi from about the mouth oo the Ohio River southward.
VEGETABLE Foon.
‘More than nine-tenths (90.19 per cent) of the food of the wood duck consists of vegetable matter. This high proportion of vege- table food is very similar to that taken by the mallard. With the wood duck it is quite evenly distributed among a large number of small items, chief among which are the following: Duckweeds, 10.35 per cent; cypress cones and galls, 9.25; sedge seeds and tubers, 9.14; grasses and grass seeds, 8.17; pondweeds and their seeds, 6.53; acorns and beechnuts, 6.28; seeds of waterlilies and leaves of water shield, 5.95; seeds of water elm and its allies, 4.75; of smartweeds and docks, 4.74; of coontail, 2.86; of arrow-arum and skunk cabbage, 242 - of bur marigold and other composites, 2.38; of buttonbush and allied plants, 2.25; of bur reed, 1.96; wild celery and frogbit, 1.31; nuts of bitter pecan, 0.91; grape seeds, 0.82; and seeds of swamp privet and ash, 0.72 per cent. The remaining 9.4 per cent was made up of a large number of minor items.
‘DUCKWEEDS (LEMNACEAE), 10.35 PER CENT.
Whenever present in the feeding grounds of the wood duck, duck- weeds probably are its favorite food. Each individual plant con- sists simply of a small fleshy leaf, disk shaped or nearly so, floating on the surface of the water, with one or more simple roots dangling.
13 Highty-six of these were examined by W. L. McAtee.
PLATE VII.
Bul. 862, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.
wolelg
‘4Jo] WO o[eUMOy {VY S11 UO o[eyy
(VSNOdS XIV) HONG GOOM
a
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. 39
Duckweeds are especially abundant on the still waters of southern cypress swamps, often covering the entire surface and furnishing an abundant supply of food for the ducks wintering there. The stomachs of many of the wood ducks taken in such localities in Louisiana and Missouri were filled almost entirely with duckweed plants, and the gullets also of several of them were crammed. A few ducks from other localities, as Arkansas, Illinois, New York, and Ontario, had taken this food in considerable quantities. Alto- gether, 99 of the wood ducks had been feeding upon greater duck- weed (Spirodela polyrhiza) and 187 on other duckweeds (Lemna spp.).
PINE FAMILY (PINACEAE), 9.25 PER CENT.
The pine family was represented in the wood duck stomachs entirely by cone scales and galls from the bald cypress (Tazxodium distichum), with possibly a few from pond cypress (7. ascendens). This peculiar diet is indulged in by this duck to a much greater extent than by any other, or probably by any other bird. The cones of cypress are about an inch in diameter, compact and nearly spherical, and when fully mature break up into angular woody scales, each containing a seed. It is these scales which the ducks pick up and which when ground by the powerful gizzards yield a starchy food material in the seeds. Several kinds of insect galls found on different parts of cypress trees also were eaten by the ducks. The kind most commonly taken was a hard, spherical gall ‘made in the cone by a species of cecidomyid fly (Retinodiplosis taxodiz). Cypress galls of various kinds were found in 35 of the
stomachs, while 183 contained cone scales, some to the extent of:
100 per cent of the contents. SEDGES (CYPERACEAE), 9.14 PER CENT.
Sedge seeds are common articles of food of the wood duck, though not so much so as of most of the ducks which inhabit open manrsiitet A species of bulrush (Scirpus cubensis) which grows in swamps in the Gulf States far outweighed in importance any of the other sedges identified in the stomachs examined. The seeds of this plant were found in 47 stomachs, in several instances from 3,000 to more than 5,000 being present. Fifteen wood ducks had eaten the large, beaked seeds of pollywog or beaked rush (Rhynchospora corniculata). Tn a series of 3 stomachs from Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia, these seeds constituted 10, 17, and 35 per cent, respectively, of the con- tents. The small, hard, spherical seeds of saw grass (Cladiwm effusum) were present in 15 stomachs, those of nut rush (Sclerié sp.)in 3. Seeds of chufas (Cyperus spp.) were found in 45 stomachs, usually in small numbers, and in one stomach from Minnesota was one large tuber of chufa (Cyperus esculentus). Seeds of the genus
40 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
Carex were commonly taken, usually in small numbers; unidentified kinds were present in 33 gizzards, the seeds of panicled sedge (Carex decomposita) in 21, and hop sedge (C. lupuliformis) in 8. Other sedge seeds found were those of river bulrush (Scirpus fluviatilis), Fimbristylis, spike rush (Eleocharis sp.), beaked rush (Rhynchospora sp.), and unidentified sedges.
GRASSES (GRAMINEAE), 8.17 PER CENT.
Chief among the grasses which contribute to the food of the wood duck is wild rice (Zizania palustris). Its seeds are fed upon by practi- cally all the fresh water ducks, and it presents such an attractive source of food supply as to entice even the wood duck from its secluded haunts to the open marshes where the wild rice grows. According to Kumlien and Hollister,'* the wood duck, in fall, ‘‘ resorts to the great wild rice marshes, and while the rice lasts that seems to be its principal food.” Wild rice had been eaten by 17 of the wood ducks examined, and when present usually furnished the bulk of the food. The stomach and gullet of one duck shot at Point Pelee, Ontario, contained no fewer than 1,200 seeds of wild rice, with remains of others. Another wood duck, taken at Sand Point, Mich.., in August, had filled its craw and gizzard with about 400 flowers of the plant, whole heads of which had been swallowed. An article of food which seems to be very much relished by the ducks wherever found is the seeds of meadow grass (Panicularia nervata). Of a series of 22 wood ducks taken at Caruthersville, in extreme southeastern Missouri, 17 had been feeding upon these seeds. The stomachs and cullets of 7 contained, respectively, from 5,300 to 10,000 seeds to each _ individual, the seeds constituting from 75 to 96 per cent of the food.
The seeds of a switchgrass (Panicum, subgenus Dichantheliuum) were found in considerable quantities in several of the stomachs from Louisiana, some of which contained in addition remains of the stems and leaves of the same grass. In addition to the grasses already mentioned, the seeds of other switchgrasses (Panicum spp.), wild millet (Hchinochloa crus-galli), cut-grass (Zizaniopsis miliacea), rice cut-grass (Homalocenchrus oryzoides), and love grass (Eragrostis sp.) were identified. The stomach of one wood duck taken near Chicago, Tll., in October, was filled with corn, and one from Louisiana contained traces of cultivated rice.
PONDWEEDS (NAIADACEAE), 6.53 PER CENT.
In the pondweeds is another family of plants which is important as a source of food for many species of ducks and to secure which the wood duck departs to some extent from its normal feeding habits.
14 Kumlien, L., and N. Hollister, The Birds of Wisconsin: Bull. Wisconsin Nat. Hist. Soc., III, p. 21, 1903.
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. 4]
Seeds or other parts of five species of true pondweeds (Potamogeton americanus, P. natans, P. heterophyllus, P. zosterifolius, and P. pecti- natus) each were found in from one to three stomachs, and unidentified pondweeds in 44. The gullet and stomach of one wood duck taken at Rush Lake, Michigan, in August, 1908, contained about 350
_ tubers of a species of Potamogeton. The gizzards of three from De-
lavan Lake, Wisconsin, were filled with the winter buds of eelgrass pondweed (Potamogeton zosterifolius). Only one wood duck had eaten seeds of bushy pondweed (Najas jflexilis), and the seeds and leaves of widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima), which form so important an element of food for the gadwall and widgeon, were entirely lacking.
BEECH FAMILY (FAGACEAE), 6.28 PER CENT.
Acorns and beech nuts furnish one of the most important items of the wood duck’s food, and had the collection of stomachs avail- able been from localities more evenly distributed throughout its range, the percentage of this food very probably would have been much larger. As it was, 3 of the gizzards contained beech nuts and 19 contained acorns. Of the latter, 5 species were identified: Red oak (Quercus rubra) from 1 stomach, pin oak (Q. palustris) from 5, water oak (Q. nigra) from 2, black-jack (Q. marylandica) from 2, and valley oak (Q. lobata) from 1, while fragments of acorns found in 8 gizzards were not identified. Several of the stomachs containing acorns were crammed with them, the gullet and gizzard of one from Arkansas containing 15 entire acorns of pin oak, with fragments of one or two others. The wood duck’s habit of eating acorns is well known, many writers testifying to its fondness for this kind of food. According to the late D. G. Elliot, the wood duck is called ‘acorn duck” in Louisiana. Wilson and Bonaparte,’ in 1831, wrote that its food “consists principally of acorns, seeds of the wild oats, and insects.””. Kumlien and Hollister” state that the wood duck ‘takes to the oak groves about the streams and lakes, and seems to be especially pe to the acorns of the bur oak. These it eats in large quantities.”
Without doubt the wood duck’s usual method of gathering acorns is by picking them up off the ground or from the water. However, one author, Mr. N. S. Goss, is authority for the statement that, ‘Their food consists chiefly of insect life, the tender shoots and seeds of aquatic plants, grains, wild grapes and acorns, which they ee as well from the vines and tree tops as upon the ground.
16 Elliot, D. G., Wild Fowl] of North America, p. 87, 1898.
16 Wilson, A., and C. L. Bonaparte, Amer. Ornith., III, p. 203, 1831. Vv Kumlien, L., and N. Hollister, op. cit., III, p. 21, 1903.
18 Goss, N.S., History of the Birds of Kansas, p. 73, 1891.
49 BULLETIN: 862, U. S$. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
WATERLILY FAMILY (NYMPHAEACEAE), 5.95 PER CENT.
Seeds of waterlilies are quite frequently eaten by ducks. Twelve of the wood ducks had eaten seeds of yellow pondlilies, of which two species, the cowlily (Nymphaea advena) and the small yellow pondlly (Nymphaea microphylla) were identified; 10 contained seeds of white waterlilies, of which 2 species (Castalia odorata and C. tuberosa) were identified; and 11 contained seeds of water shield (Brasenia schreberi). Of the latter, one contained 380 seeds; and the stomach and distended gullet of a wood duck taken near Chi- cago, Ll, held 577 seeds of a white waterlily (Castalia tuberosa), with fragments of several more, in addition to other items. Two stomachs from southeastern Missouri contained quantities of the remains of stems and leaves of Carolina water shield (Cabomba caroliniana).
NETTLE FAMILY (URTICACEAE), 4.75 PER CENT. _
The nettle family of plants was represented in the wood duck stomachs chiefly by the seeds of water elm (Planera aquatica), which had been taken by 66 of these ducks. Many ducks in Louisiana had gorged themselves upon these large seeds, their gullets and giz- zards being crammed. One wood duck had devoured nearly 300 at its last meal. A series of 13 gizzards from Avoyelles Parish, La., contained seeds of water elm to the average extent of over 48 per cent, most of the remainder of the food consisting of the seeds of coontail (Ceratophyllum demersum). Thestomach of a duck from southeastern Missouri was nearly filled with the seeds of another elm (Ulmus sp.). Another, from Alabama, contained the remains of several red mul- berries and eight of the hard drupes of hackberries (Celtis sp.), both of which belong: to this family of plants. The small seeds of false nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica) were present in three stomachs.
SMARTWEEDS (POLYGONACEAE), 4.74 PER CENT.
In addition to a few seeds of dock (Rumez sp.), which were found in seven gizzards, and unidentified smartweeds, in 17, ten species of smartweed seeds were identified as having been eaten by the wood ducks. Of these, water smartweed (Polygonum amphibium) and mild water pepper (P. hydropiperoides) were the most commonly taken. The largest number of smartweed seeds found in any one wood duck stomach was taken from a bird collected in Avoyelles
Parish, La., which had eaten over 1,100 of the small black seeds of .
Polygonum opelousanum. coontaiL (Ceratophyllum demersum), 2.86 PER CENT.
Coontail is a rootless, submerged plant, the much-branched stems of which bear bushy masses of small whorled leaves. Near the ends
19 For a full description of this plant and its seeds,see Bull. 205, U.S. Dept. Agr., pp. 9-12, 1915.
ee eo ee
_
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. 43
of the branches are borne the fruits, consisting of hard, oblong, flat- tened seeds a little more than one-eighth of an inch long, and usually bearing on their outer covering from one to three woody spines. <A few ducks, especially the gadwall and widgeon, relish the foliage of coontail, but most species, including the wood duck, prefer the seeds. Only a very few stomachs of this species contained foliage. of coontail, and in these cases it was present in such small quantities as to indi- cate that it had been taken accidentally. The plant has a very wide
distribution, and is found throughout North America except in the
extreme north. The seeds were found most commonly, however, in the stomachs of wood ducks from the Southern States. In a series of 65 gizzards from Moreauville, La., all but two of which contained seeds of coontail, they averaged about 124 per cent of the total food. In another series, 13 in number, from Avoyelles Parish, LLa., seeds of coontail amounted to more than 38 per cent. The largest number found in one gizzard was 127, with fragments of others.
ARUM FAMILY (ARACEAE), 2.42 PER CENT.
The large, starchy seeds of arrow-arum (Peltandra virginica) were present in 5. of the wood duck stomachs examined. Three of these from Portage Lake, Michigan, were well filled, one containing 51 seeds and remains of others, both crop and gizzard being crammed.
In some localities these seeds are a very important item in the wood
duck’s food. In January, 1914, Lord William Perey found wood ducks in the Everglades of Florida feeding almost exclusively on the seeds of Peltandra. C. P. Alexander, writing of a visit to the Kin- loch Gun Club, South Carolina, September 5, 1915, says: “As we approached, * * * several hundred summer ducks were feeding and flew up in small groups of 2 to 12. Upon examining the places from which they arose I found thousands of the seeds of Peltandra all neatly shelled out and the outer coats floating in small groups in the water. The spathes from which they were taken occurred by the score, each with a large hole torn in the side. Two of the ducks were shot and the craws were full of Peliandra seed. There can be no doubt of the importance of this plant as a food for Azz at least.” The gullet and stomach of one wood duck from Connecticut contained 31 seeds of the skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), with remains of several more.
COMPOSITES (COMPOSITAE), 2.38 PER CENT.
The flat, spined seeds of bur marigold (Aidens sp.), known as beggar-ticks or stick-tights, were present in 25 gizzards, sometimes in considerable numbers; three from Avcyelles Parish, La., were nearly filled with them. Two ducks collected in northeastern
Kansas had filled up on the seeds of giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida).
44. BULLETIN 862, U. 8. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
MADDER FAMILY (RUBIACEAE), 2.25 PER CENT.
- One of the staple articles of food of the ducks feeding in the southern swamps is the seeds of buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis). Of the total of 413 stomachs of wood ducks, 192 contained these seeds. They were present in 65 per cent of the stomachs from Louisiana, usually in small numbers. Occasionally, however, several hundred were present in single stomachs, in which they made as much as 75 or even 90 per cent of the contents. Remains of the seeds of button- weed (Dodia virginiana) were found in 6 stomachs; those of cleavers (Galium sp.), Im one.
BUR REEDS (SPARGANIACEAE), 1.96 PER CENT.
The hard, nutlike seeds of bur reeds (Sparganium spp.) were present in 53 of the wood duck stomachs. Bur reeds are aquatic plants with ribbon-shaped leaves and with seeds borne in clusters resembling burs at the ends of the branches. -When these seeds are found in duck gizzards the outer coverings are usually worn off, but the hard kernels persist for-some time. In 17 instances the seeds were identified as those of the broad-fruited bur reed (Spar- ganum eurycarpum).
FROGBIT FAMILY (HYDROCHARITACEAE), 1.31 PER CENT.
Remains of the many-seeded fruits of frogbit were found in 12 - wood ducks’ stomachs. Several full stomachs from Louisiana con- — tained this food to the extent of from 65 to 90 per cent of their - contents. The plant is aquatic, and its berries are fed upon by many species of ducks. Four wood ducks had been feeding upon wild celery (Vallisneria spiralis). One of these, taken from the shallows at the mouth of the Susquehanna River, in Maryland, had swallowed 30 of the sprouting winter buds of the plant, and another- from Delavan, Wis., had filled up on the same food. This plant is a much more important element in the food of some of the deep- water ducks, as the red-head and the canvas-back, which obtain the winter buds and rootstocks by diving.
WALNUT FAMILY (JUGLANDACEAE), 0.91 PER CENT.
The powerful crushing and grinding ability of the wood duck’s gizzard is shown by the presence in 76 of the stomachs examined of fragments of the nuts of the bitter pecan (Hicoria aquatica). These nuts have as hard a shell as any of the northern hickory nuts, yet they are broken as they enter the gizzard and before they can pos- sibly have been exposed to the full crushing power of that organ.
All of the bitter pecans identified were from ducks taken in Louisi- ana. The entire food of one bird from Mansura, La., consisted of one whole pecan with fragments of several others. Usually pecans amounted to from 5 to 20 per cent of the stomach contents.
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. 45
VINE FAMILY (VITACEAE), 0.82 PER CENT.
The estimated average percentage, 0.82, of the remains of grapes actually found in the wood duck stomachs, undoubtedly is much less than the true proportion of grapes consumed, for the skins, pulp, and juice are very quickly digested, leaving nothing but the seeds, or much more commonly, fragments of seeds, to show that grapes had been eaten. It is probable that most of these grapes are picked up from the ground in the woods, though some may be taken from the vines. Traces of grapes (always in the form of seeds or seed-fragments) were present in 141 of the wood duck stomachs.
OLIVE FAMILY (OLEACEAE), 0.72 PER CENT.
Two wood ducks had eaten seeds of ash (Fraxinus americana and other species), The remainder of the food from this family of plants consisted of the seeds of swamp privet (Adela acuminata), which Were present in 31 stomachs. This is a favorite food for wild ducks in some southern localities, according to the testimony of numerous hunters. ‘‘ Wood ducks in particular are said to feed extensively upon its seeds. Weeks before other species of ducks arrive these birds are abundant in the country where swamp privet grows and are said to consume most of the crop of seeds, leaving little for other ducks.” © The plant is a shrub or small tree, and the seed, which has a fibrous, ridged coat, is inclosed in a watery blue berry from one-half to three-fourths of an inch in length. These berries ripen in May and June and fall into the water; many of them are picked up from the bottom by the ducks later in the season. The swamp privet grows in the same kind of localities as the water elm, and its seeds usually were found in. company with the seeds of that plant in the stomachs of wood ducks. One stomach and distended crop ° were found which held 157 of these large seeds, with remains of several more. A sprig of swamp privet was sent to the Biological Survey by C. G. Wright; of Dallas, Tex., with the statement that it was grown from seed taken from a wood duck’s gizzard, which was absolutely full of them.
MISCELLANEOUS VEGETABLE FOOD, 9.4 PER CENT.
A great number of smaller items, each of which amounted to less than 1 per cent, made up the remainder of the wood duck’s vegetable food. In some localities the ducks had fed upon the tubers and seeds of arrowheads (Sagittaria latifolia and other species) ; and three from Caruthersville, Mo., had stuffed themselves with the stems, leaves, and rootstocks of a crowfoot (Ranunculus sp.). Three taken in Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia, in December, 1916, had been feeding upon the crimson rootstocks of red-root or paint-root (Gyrotheca
20 McAtee, W. L., Eleven Important Wild-duck Foods, Bull. No. 205, U.S. Dept. of Agr., pp. 12-13, 1915.
46 BULLETIN 862, U..S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
tinctoria) to the extent of 50, 60, and 70 per cent, respectively, of their stomach contents. These roots are said to be fed upon quite extensively by other waterfowl in that locality.
Several stomachs from southeastern Missouri contained from 1,000 to nearly 10,000 seeds each of lizard’s-tail (Saururus cernwus), while others, chiefly from Louisiana swamps, held thousands of the small seeds of the primrose willow (Jussiaea sp.). The flat seeds of water- penny (Hydrocotyle sp.) were present in 44 stomachs, but never in large numbers. Among the other aquatic plants whose seeds were commonly taken were the water milfoils (Myriophyllum sp., Pro- serprnaca sp., and Hippuris vulgaris), pickerel weed (Pontederia cor- data), fog-fruit (appa sp.), and swamp loosestrife (Decodon ver- ticillatus). Seeds of wild heliotrope (Heliotropium indicum) and croton (Croton sp.) were found in 22 and 16 stomachs, respectively.
Many woodland shrubs, trees, and vines in addition to those already mentioned were represented by their seeds in a few stomachs each, or by only afew seedsin many stomachs. These included hollies (Ilex spp.), sumachs (Rhus spp.), supple jack (Berchemia scandens), buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica and N. aquatica), dogwoods (Cornus spp.), storax (Styraz sp.), myrtles ( Myrica cerifera and other species), hawthorns (Crataegus spp.), bram- bles (Rubus spp.), hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), sweet gum (Liquidamber styraciflua), greenbriar (Smilax sp.), and a few others.
ANIMAL Foop.
The wood duck’s animal food, which amounted to 9.81 per cent of the total, consisted chiefly of the following items: Dragonflies and damselflies and their nymphs, 2.54 per cent; bugs, 1.56; beetles, ' 1.02; grasshoppers and crickets, 0.23; flies and ants, bees, and wasps, 0.07; miscellaneous insects, 0.97; spiders and mites, 0.63; crusta- ceans, 0.08; and miscellaneous animal matter, 2.71 per cent. Thus, nearly two-thirds of the animal food consisted of insects.
DRAGONFLIES (ANISOPTERA); AND DAMSELFLIES (ZYGOPTERA), 2.54 PER CENT.
The food of 72 wood ducks included the remains of dragonflies and damselflies or their nymphs. The nymphs or larvae are much more commonly taken than the adults, as they are easier to catch. The food from this group of insects averaged 10.44 per cent of the total for 9 wood ducks taken in April, and 8.75 per cent for the 16 in March. During the remainder of the year much smaller quantities were taken.
BUGS (HETEROPTERA AND HOMOPTERA), 1.56 PER CENT.
Bugs, chiefly aquatic, are a very constant item of food for the wood duck, at least 17 families being represented in the contents of the stomachs examined. Of these the most important were the creep-
———— Ur
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. 47
ing water bugs (Naucoridae), of which the small, flat, predacious
bugs of the genus Pelocoris had been taken by 43 of the ducks; the
giant water bugs (Belostomatidae), represented by the genus Belostoma in 37 stomachs; water striders (Gerridae), found in 30; back-swimmers (Notonectidae), in 20; and water boatmen (Corixidae), in 15. Bugs
-of the last three families mentioned are without exception very
active in their movements on or in the water, and their presence in so many stomachs of the wood duck no doubt is accounted for by their great abundance in lakes and rivers throughout most of North America. One wood duck taken at Alden, Wis., in August, 1908, had been feeding upon a species of plant louse (Rhopalosiphum nymphaeae) which in certain states of its development inhabits the leaves ot waterlilies. The bird’s gizzard contained about 1,600 of these plant lice, as well as other insects and seeds.
BEETLES (COLEOPTERA), 1.02 PER CENT.
Beetles of at least 15 families were represented in the food of the wood ducks examined. Of these the water scavenger beetles (Hydro- philidae), predacious diving beetles (Dytiscidae), and leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) were most commonly taken. The first two families mentioned, as their names imply, are strictly aquatic, while the third was represented almost entirely by beetles of the genus Donacia, many of which feed upon aquatic plants, such as the pondlily, spatterdock, etc. Twenty-three of these beetles (Donacia cincticornis) were found in one stomach, together with a large number of seeds of the tuberous white waterlily (Castalia tuberosa), the plant on which they probably were captured. Two other strictly aquatic families, the whirligig beetles (Gyrinidae) and crawling water beetles (Haliplidae) were well represented. Six genera of ground beetles (Carabidae) were identi- fied, and the leaf chafers (Scarabaeidae), long-horned beetles (Ceram- bycidae), and snout beetles (Curculionidae) had been eaten in con- siderable numbers. The fact that scarabaeid beetles have been eaten is often detected by the presence of small, hard grinding plates from their jaws, which frequently persist in bird stomachs long after all other parts of the beetles have been digested. Peculiar little silken cases containing eggs of water scavenger beetles, usually attached to a submerged leaf or to the body of the female beetle herself, are not infrequently found in duck stomachs. In two from Louisiana they made up 70 and 77 per cent, respectively, of the total contents.
GRASSHOPPERS, CRICKETS, ETC. (ORTHOPTERA), 0.23 PER CENT.
_ Grasshoppers of the genus Orchelimum were found in the stomachs of 11 wood ducks from Missouri; 39 mandibles, representing at least 20 grasshoppers, were present in one stomach; 8 wood ducks had eaten grouse locusts (Tettiginae).
48 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. FLIES (DIPTERA); AND ANTS, BEES, AND WASPS (HYMENOPTERA), 0.07 PER CENT.
Most of the flies eaten by wood ducks were in the larval form. Larvae of soldierflies (Stratiomyidae) predominated, having been taken by 33 of the ducks, while the gnats and midges (Chironomidae), craneflies (Tipulidae), flowerflies (Syrphidae), and the Scatophagidae
were sparingly represented. Ants were commonly eaten, but always.
singly or in small numbers, never constituting a very large percentage
of the total food. Seven genera were identified, Crematogaster and
Camponotus predominating. Wasps (Vespoidea), parasitic wasps
(Ichneumonoidea), sawflies (Tenthredinoidea), bees (Apoidea), chal-
cids (Chalcidoidea), and serphoids (Serphoidea) also were occasionally
taken. | | MISCELLANEOUS INSECTS, 0.97 PER CENT.
Prominent among the miscellaneous insect food of the wood ducks were the caterpillars and chrysalides of moths and butterflies (Lepi- doptera), and the larvae and larval cases of caddisflies (Phryganoidea). One stomach examined contained no fewer than 85 noctuid moths, many of them with eggs. This family includes the cutworm moths, and practically all of its members are injurious to cultivated crops.
A few Mayfly nymphs (Agnatha), termites (Isoptera), unidentified -
larvae, pupae, and galls, etc., were included among the miscellaneous
insects. SPIDERS AND MITES (ARACHNIDA), 0.63 PER CENT.
The wood duck’s taste for spiders is quite marked. Several full stomachs from southern localities contained remains of from 20 to 40 spiders, these in some cases constituting as much as 75 or 80 per cent of the contents. Leathery or silken cases containing spider eges occasionally are taken, and tiny water mites (Hydrachnidae) were found in 5 stomachs. ~
_
MISCELLANEOUS ANIMAL FOOD, 2.79 PER CENT.
Contrary to the habit of most other ducks, the wood duck pays little attention to mollusks, probably because they are not plentiful in its usual haunts. A very few snails and small bivalves were found in the stomachs examined. Crustaceans (0.08 per cent) were also scarce, being represented by a few beach fleas (Amphipoda), sowbugs (Oniscidae), water asels (Asellidae), and occasional claws of crawfish
(Astacidae). Remains of small fishes, found in 5 stomachs; bones.
of frogs, in 2; 2 centipedes, and a few of the reproductive buds, or statoblasts, of fresh-water bryozoa, complete the list of food items.
oT
“eh eee
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. 49
TasLe I.—Items of vegetable food identified in the stomachs of the ducks treated in this bulletin cnd the number of stomachs in which found.
| Gad- | Bald- | wall. | pate.
Blue- | Cinna- winged} mon teal. | teal.
Kind of food.
Total number of stomachs examined.........-...- }> 417 255 653 319 41 790 413
»
SUBKINGDOM EUTHALLOPHYTA. Unidentified algae.............------ cists See acee™ OLdOgOnvLMN Sars ceerecseennec nt oo tees ae is se SPirogyTA SP..-..ssecseee Sante cece ee cc ee Chara SPs (UUSKZOTASS) se ce ciciecis -sciatoce ss Sas <a INGECIUES Di see cictecies ss BOCA Sabo CREoSe non Cana Wirt dentitiedvll CHENS se sarciwisieisielne cidi~ se> mere sicieis« <1-fol-
SUBKINGDoM PTERIDOPHYTA.
’ Marsileaceae. ‘
Marsilea sp. (pepperwort).........------------ Equisetaceae. Equisd@um sp. (horsetail)..-....2.<---.-:-:---- SUBKINGDOM SPERMATOPHYTA.
Pinaceae.
Picea Sp (Spruce), needles. = .c. sjaciee asec in| aa
Taxodium distichum (bald cypress), cone scales.
Taxodium distichum (bald cypress), galls......-.|-....-- PALOCULM EST = (CYMLCSS) secs eine niiae ioe = ene laice eel ase we
_ Sparganiaceae:
Sparganium eurycarpum (bur reed)....-.------|------- Sparganium androcladum (bur reed)...--------|-------
Sparganium'sp. (bur reed)... --. <--5---2.----== Naiadaceae. .-- UWimi d enbified saw neces e a wins eee Seri oe okt
Potamogeton natans (floating pondweed).---..--|-..----
Potamogeton americanus (long-leaved pond-
Potamogeton heterophyllus (variable pondweed).
Potamogeton perfoliatus (curly pondweed)......|-..----|------- 1 Potamogeton zosterifolius (eelgrass pondweed)..|...----]--.----|--------
Potamogeton fresii (Fries pondweed)...-------- Potamogeton pusillus (small pondweed)...-.----
Potamogeton diversifolius (curly pondweed). - -.|---.----}- Potamogeton foliosus (leafy pondweed)...------|------- \eae aul sralens cess sae ae |
Potamogeton pectinatus (sago pondweed).---.-- Potamogeton sp. (unidentified pondweeds)..-- - Ruppia maritima (widgeon grass)-.-....-.------- Zannichellia palustris (horned pondweed).--- -- Zostera marina (eelgrass)......-----------------
Najas marina (large bushy pondweed)..-.-.----|-------
_ Najas fiexilis (bushy pondweed).....----.--- ee Juncaginaceae. :
Triglochin maritima (arrow-graSS) ..-..-.-------|-------
Alismaceae.
(limidentitiedess teen sce eeec. ne cele ee Sagittaria latifolia (wapato).........-.---------|------- Sagittaria teres (Slender arrowhead) ..-.-.-.-.------]-------
Sagittaria platyphylia (delta potato)...--.-.-----
Sagittaria sp. (unidentified arrowheads)..-.-..-l----.--
179375°—20——4
50
BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
TABLE I.—Items of vegetable food identified in the stomachs of the ducks treated in this bulletin and the number of stomachs in which found—Continued.
; | . Green-| Blue- | Cinna-| 5. Kind of food. wall, | pate, |™inged) winged) mon | 7." | Quek Total number of stomachs examined...........-- 417 255 653 319 41 790 413 SuBKINGDOM SPERMATOPHYTA—Continued. | | Alismaceae—Continued. = | Alisma plantago-aquatica (water plantain).....-|.......|.....-. 3 | i terete 3 pore Alisma subcordatum (American water plantain).).......)...._.- [|'S: [22 Sec | eee ee ese eee Alisme:Sp. @water plantain) cc ssea cee ee ee ee 1 | 1ijeceeeee 3? |CSa ee Hydrocharitaceae. Philotria canadensis (waterweed)......---------|------- lg] ae (Leekeee oo | 2S ere eee Philotria Sp: (waterweed)-—-<--cscccecseewnsos- Ue ees oes a 2: |S. oe ae ee lees Vallisneria spiralis (wild celery)......---.----- 3 2S Eee sft ales co 4 4 Vallisneria'sp2 (wild: celevy )2tacs sen oec eee 2 ee ee eee 2 | Us| Pe poe, 5) eee eel |e Limnoviurm:spongia (ILO Dit) == «s<< esse = eee eee Be eo eee ees 4 12 Gramineae. : Unidentified) grasses aesasmiacce ae eine eee 5) 16 37 24 3 32 15 IAUKY TAMERS Sa atoooopocuccoSacodocodcusosdeudle =coade 1 GO (pee asain et aoe ol es eee Syntherisma sanguinalis (crab graSs)....-------. Poesia ese oe See ool ae ee Pee ee tees eee It Panicum capiliare (tumble weed) ease ese ae | ree ee | a | ee eae 1 Fl eae IEW TSTILO (RY VAL onc Sac oes os aber eesdocessocsesese ee ee Panicum subgenus Dichanthelium........----- Beene Pees Peeetant See ess poet eke 2ce 19 Panicum sp. (Switch grass) -.--- 2. --225------- 9 ll 59 ASs| eee ee 25 2 Panicum obtusum (range grass) ----.-.---------|-..---- Meee yal Sete tl eee eels ctr Echinochloa crus-galli (wild millet)....-...-...- iba ee 14 i Renee 9 il Echinochloa -colonag (jungle vice) sics.<-=s 4s eel eee | ae ib | seeps Sh Fe eet a Pre Ete iBchinochlowSps(COCESPULISTASS) Ses.ssee soe | See ener eee | eee 17) See [el Stent Chaetochloa glauca (foxtail)........-----.------- 1 eee er 3 Sil eee 32 see Ghaetochlomuiridis(ereen\foxtail))*eeees sence cee |= aan aes eee eee 1S | pees Ae Sere a3 Chactochtoaisp:. Coxtail) = 22 = sein cceaws sea scene eee eee 6 §:)ceee 7a Gee Zizania palustris (wild rice). Be ae sete aie Seer | ie eee 5 18 22) os one 8 17 Zizaniopsis miliacea (cut-grass)...-...---------- ils | See Se 8 ie ee aecsee 6 | 2 Homalocenchrus oryzoides (rice cut-grass)......- aE tee es 3 ON ee “4 4 Oryza sativa (cultivated rice)...----.-..-.--=..- 19 1 21 IPAS Sea 52 1 Spartina glabra, var. pilosa (Salt-marsh grass). .|.......|...-.--|.---.---]--------|--.---- | 1 ee Spartina sp. (Salt-marsh graSs)..........----.-- a aes ie 1 ith oe 4 (eccek es Phleum alpinum (mountain timothy).......-.-)....-..).-.---- Do] ee | oS aS ee ee Sporovolus'Sp.: (GUSH-PTAaSS) 52 eterna oe eee ees ease | eee To) ic oe eee eres WA'qrostis sp. (bettt-@Tass) = .22s-.56.-2- 5-222 05-0525 | eee Nigh la peers eet PoE SS Beckmannia erucaeformis (Beckmann grass) .-.-.|.....-.|.....-- Tt 8 ee ee Gynodon dachylon) (Bermud a78tass) Secs een | pee ae one | eee | eee eee eee Distichlis spicata (Salt grass).......-.-------- tk 35 5 3k peel een appre e acer s? IMONANENOCRLOE-WhLOTALS So Sosa ee eee eee 1 RR rae 16 13 5 36: | sceeee ragrostisisp=((love rass) = sso<c sacs cee Ss Soe [eee ae | eee al nee eee ae ae eee =e 1 IROUSDa(SPealsSlaSS) se eee eee eee eee eee Gy, | ercered mecca se (Sacre crsrtal neta se tS ee Panicularianervata: (Meadow grass) =~ <2. s-e22 = bse eee oe ee se ee ee | eee 17 Panicularia sp. (meadow grass).-....---------- 1 eee eee ae etn ren cee al (P Scone lk SS IPUCCINCLUG TULL ALONG, steer Soe eee He eee | eee lee ae see eee al eel (Pets ae hs HHestucassp (16SCUC ATASS) aesces oe aa ae Slee Serer eee ee ara | eee ee ere Dilkieseetee Avene sativa) (Cultivated! Oats) san se. ee ee eee eee eee ae ae | ae eee {upiaees Hordeum vulgare (cultivated barley)...---.---- ETNA Seek niacin ees | Ree Ey oes TOT CEUNY PUSULLUT eee ee ee 2 lial Weegee eel decease ee rial eee lees Jn-- ==> Triticum vulgare (cultivated wheat)..........--|....---|------- 1) eee ecleeesees Srilcicenees Zea mays (cultivated Corn). .<..-.-.-ese-erre-- eal eectars sae 1 IDES aonce | 3 1
c7
Sa
_ pide
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS.
d1
TABLE I.—Items of vegetable food identified in the stomachs of the ducks treated in this bulletin and the number of stomachs in which found—Continued.
Kind of food.
Total number of stomachs examined : SUBKINGDOM SPERMATOPHYTA—Continued.
Cyperacee. lWimidentiliedssed sesteeae aaeraseen- oo Cyperus esculentus (chufa) Cy penusispe (CUilta sansa ee ose ae See Dichromena sp Dulichium arundinaceum (three-ways sedge) . - - Elcochants'sp-. (Spike rush) == 2. 2-2-5522252-- += HUMGTISUUSS Peas. sacs ee cin sis ais aoe alee om & Scirpus paucifiorus (few-flowered bulrush) Scirpus americanus (three-square) Scirpus paludosus (prairie bulrush) Scirpus robustus (Salt-marsh bulrush) - .....-.- Scirpus fluviatilis (river bulrush) Scirpus cubensis (bulrush) Scirpus validus (great bulrush) Scirpus sp. (unidentified bulrushes) Fuirena squarrosa (umbrella-grass) Fuirena sp. (umbrella-grass).....--..---------- Rhynchospora corniculata (beaked rush) Rhynchospora sp. (beaked rush)
Cladiwm effuswm (Saw graSS)......-------------
Cladium mariscoides (twig-rush)
Scleria sp. (nut rush)
Carex decomposita (panicled sedge)
Carex lupuliformis (hop sedge) - Carex sp. (Sedge) Araceae.
Peltandra virginica (arrow-arum )
Symplocar pus foetidus (Skunk cabbage) Lemnaceae.
Spirodela polyrhiza (big duckweed)
eswrcvere se sees
Lemna minor (small duckweed). -----------.-- Lemna sp. (unidentified duckweeds) Eriocaulaceae. Eriocaulon decangulare (pipewort)....-.--. BR Eriocaulon sp=(pipewort)..--...-...:---------- Pontederiaceae. Pontederia cordata (pickerel weed) Heteranthera dubia (water star-grass) Heteranthera sp. (mud plantain) Juncaceae. 7 UNCUS Sea (MOL MUSD ams cesee ao .e ose: = Liliaceae. Polygonatum biflorum (hairy Sclomon’s-seal)... ELE SD <(@LCOMDIIAP) = ss 52-5 skews ese : Haemodoraceae. Gyrotheca tinctoria (red-root) Piperaceae.
Gad- | Bald-
wall. | pate.
417 255
43 20
31 5
13 19
5 4
150 37
Ort 12 DAS aa oa ee
2 5 Dil eee ae
47 24
68 5
Siamese 1 eH oes ae
8 12
17 3 Ene 1 Gees
Green- | Blue- | Cinna-| pj, Winged | winged! mon fail teal. teal. | teal. 653 319 4] 790 50 27 7 47 48 2 a eee 29 1 ered Nee ea Ne ee tulas ee. ees 45 33 10 45 90 40 ne esee 61 Os ee |e eel ence ae 5 121 10 3 155 46 7 12 24 40 Zeer ee 24 5 AS a ererrs 3 TH (ee eee Pease 8 38 Ds | res tee re ee 205 184] 17/ 154 BE eee 1 Se ESE Gone Eee 1 1G | ees earees |e ere 7 4 Daley 8 83 2 (a eae 103 8 OV eaneuae 1 fan ae sea eaeaeeenl Moose 6 10 s\n eek 2 62 57 5 19 44 } 4 PSs 15 | IUD pee ee Nee 8 Berea ss Sh DS es eer es (es te re Tae | eae eae eras soe 1 DAN Set pial oe ns 2
52 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
TABLE I.—Items of vegetable food identified in the stomachs of the ducks treated in this bulletin and the number of stomachs in which found—Continued.
: a _| Green-| Blue- | Cinna-| pp. Kind of food. wall, | pate. |"inged| winged| mon | £27" | Guok: Total number of stomachs examined ............. 417 255 653 319 AY 790 413 SuBKINGDOM SPERMATOPHYTA —Continued. Salicaceae. | Saliz sp. (willow), galls.........----..- weiss ea ae Se bi eee eee Salix sp. (willow), capsules........-.-..-------- iM ee (ae ee er Peeks | eee | Boe = 1 _ Myricaceae. : | Myrice cerifera: wax myrtle). 2.22523 joo | a eee | See os ea | os ee eee eee 6- Myrica culifornica:(California myrtle) 22-2. 222). aes] sane ee ee tee See ee Sls Myrica sp. (unidentified myrtles).............. 7 5 4 1 Sd aE 42 | 3 Juglandaceae. Hicoria aquatica (bitter pecan).......- eo Soeea telat feaee 2a) ae coe a eae 7G Betulaceae. Carpinus caroliniana (hornbeam; blue beech)..)-..-..- [scopes sod oS eee eee Eset JEGH LUGAR) bei (dN) pesos cecoecaucccoe ceedeesescd Saoesadiccs: ne 5 eS Sats Ae Se ee pe ee PANTIAES'S Poot CAGE) pga ce ae ola ae ella ete eat eee ree ee Sarees Dip isst a ee eee | 1 tos Fagaceae. Fagus grandifolia (American beech)...-.-- bers eee froraceris are [lavoro See eee ee ane ee ‘bes Quercusrubra (red Oak)... 225.2 222-222 55228 face so ee eee (i ese eee Se: Quercus palustris (pin oak). ....-.-.-.------- sips ee ee eee ee Qurercuss Nig @ CWALGE OAc) 2 ain 5 aac eae hems | a fe eee | ee | re Quercus marylandica (black-jack oak) ......- scab ee als a | BER ee eee ere Quercis lobata (valley Oak). < =.= 502 Se 522 asa aa] ees pa ee | Quercus sp. (unidentified‘acoms) . << ..22.-<=-- |. 5 -2<-|22ec--=| noo of pean karte 2 pate Urticaceae. Ulmus sp. (elm)... -..---- pocpuudesocancocsaceest | ee |i.53 Sok Ses eaoee eee eee eee 1 Planera aquatica (water elm) <- 2 2. <2 a 22 ecinn oo |e a afer 66 Celtis Sp. (hackberry ).. ---------=---=----=----= 1 | 222. \e ee ee eee 1 Morus rubra (red mulberry)....-...-.---------|----- al anes been | Re ee (em NI te 1 Boehmeria cylindrica (false nettle)....-....--.- il eee a Corts eee aes Se eet ed 3 Boehmeria'sp. (false nettle) -— -- -=- =< 22. == 23}: ~~~ -|e- =e Fi Se a ee ee Polygonaceae. Rumez persicarioides (golden dock)......------|-------|------- |e eee een herr Rumez sp. (dock)......------ etic eee Se Zl 4 2 2 7 7 Polygonum amphibium (water Smartweed)..--. = Meco) 11} 34 27 3 23 | 24 Polygonum.arifolium (prickly smartweed)......|.-..-.-|--.----|--------|--------|-------|------- 1 Polygonum aviculare (knotweed)..------------- 2 2 eed ine cre (2 Se Polygonum convolvulus (black bindweed).....- 1 1 fap Se eee 1 el EPs Polygonum hydropiper (water pepper)....----.- 2 2 12 1 Se 5 8 Polygonum hydroptperoides (mild water pepper) 2 1 10 =) Beebe 29 24 Polygonum lapathifolium (dock-leaved smart- WEG) <7 ae oes tee ame a ere) ere See 5 6 29 26 3 6 |. 4 - Polygonum opelousanum (Smartweed)..--.---- je eer AES (oa sen 4 10 Polygonum pennsylvanicum (Pennsylvania
SIMEBEL WCCO) sos e oe eae ee eeeaecae 75 rites oe 3 Sie 5 4 Polygonum persicaria (lady’s-thumb)....------ 2 2 9 10 1 3 2 Polygonum portoricense (dense-flowered smart-
220) Re Nees NernG Pe emet re ah Nearer Moca et cn ae 3 Pfs ot eee teens Polygonum punctatum (dotted smartweed)..--.|-------|------- CW Peete ehaSecc 1 ba! ‘Polygonum sagittatum (arrow-leaved smart- :
MVOGd Vicar. Sav oe NESS ee eee meee ec eeerees D3 eet wee 7 | es 10 8 Polygonum sp. (unidentified smartweeds)....--').---.--!------- 22 16 3 22 17
Cor, MD Nw oO eH Ww
.
ih is See
prectfaay
ON she OW ert hs (i iteemace.4 ot
aS 1 eetate
oni” me ay
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS.
53
TaBLe I.—Items of vegetable food identified in the stomachs of the ducks treated in this bulletin and the number of stomachs in which found—Continued.
Kind of food.
Total number of stomachs examined.............. SUBKINGDOM SPERMATOPHYTA—Continued. Chenopodiaceae: Chenopodium album (lamb’s-quarters)...-.---- Chenopodium sp. (pigweed).............------- Atrplerisp:: (Salt busn))ss-2. seeeeen eee eee eee Salicornia ambigua (glasswort; picklegrass). - - .-
_ Amaranthaceae.
Amaranthus retroflerus (green amaranth)......- Amaranthus Sp. (pigweed)........-..---------- Caryophyllaceae. Spergula arvensis (corm spurrey)...-.---------- PA ENATIUSP teeicee Soon ee ee en ome See Wnidentifiedsso.<fs- eee eee aaa eee iia gis ce Portulacaceae. Portulaca oleracea (common purslane) Portulaca'sp. (purslane). ....------.----------- Ceratophyllaceae. Ceratophyllum demersum (coontail; hornwort). . Nymphaeaceae. Wnid entined S255 samen tee oe se acienicien Nymphaea advena (cowlily; spatter-dock). ...-- Nymphaea microphylla (small yellow pondlily ) Nymphaea mericana (banana waterlily)....... Nymphaea sp. (yellow pondlily)..........---.. Castalia odorata (Sweet-scented waterlily)...-.. Castalia tuberosa (white waterlily)........-..-.. Castanasp: (waterlily)-<.s.cs. sea. esse - 5-2 a Casialiasprs Cuber Siker<ae a aioee ee sees Sass Brasenia schreberi (water Shield)...-...--.--.-.. Cabomba caroliniana (Carolina water shield)... Ranunculaceae. Ranunculus delphinifolius (yellow water-crow-
Ranunculus sp. (crowfoot)........-..----.---.- PA PAVC hACCAR Tee eemroiscisisit ig sete stele S- es saea acta Cruciferae. Winidentitiicd see tess caters eee ns See ec ee TASHCO SPs GWUSbATC) =e. < os 2 =a e 52s Barbarea sp. (winter creSs)..........-----.-..-- Hamamelidaceae. Liquidambar styracifiua (Sweet gum).........-. Rosaceae. Wimidentifiedsesseeses tas mar ok eS eec ce Crataegus Sp. (hawthorn).....-..-- Si eset ee ae Fragaria sp. (Strawberry)...---.-------------«- AMPS (DEAMUDIC) <5 <3 cosas asco ese tess 3 HCD SISTEM OSC) See e alec Se Se ain Seriwtato sss Seas Se Leguminosae. Cassia marylandica (American Senna).....--..- Cassia sp. (unidentified Senna).......--....---- Trifolium arvense (rabbit’s-foot clover)......--.-. Trifolium sp. (clover).....-.- :
3 | Green- | Blue- | Cinna-| Sed; Balt: winged | winged) mon yp ate spe tealk teal. teal. 417 255 653 319 41 Sheer calpeeeeaes | 23 gage tae | Sass mS hee ey ea ee 1 1 Sass 2 Dh see a Pee eee 1 3 TA eae ee fee roe i Reese 20 5 1 Seay eer os Piel ee eee eee | Se narra Se ae Pains aby Se Rd lee ee ee SES a AAS es Ota 1 ee 2 2 Fated eases he a Veep cna 59 3 20 el eee ee sal Seis ” PRU Risers sae I 3 il 10 14D ee | Aga eee | 1 Dil 20 18 | see | | Cae i tind [ok eee 2 1 1 5 8 8 Qlesesose Raid. Ses eee Shel | Saws en Seni emer ok TES et | Se ee fe See ee ee epcoai el | feteke Se 1 bey [pee ed Wen oe Petal eee (RP ares (ha eee eee Se A epee 2 1 ese SOS SSCS Boas eee Tole -Aewse 1 2 15 Gy Seetese a peat | 6 3 1
Pin- | Wood tail. | duck. 790 413
Onl vane
Msi es ee Someone
a frs521 as eee Die Seen ne Lee --
lal ieee aes
| 25 186 |
ipl Sasoesc
AY rete 4 eee se 5 Ag Asai
6 3
1 3
oe | 4 9 | 3
34 11 Eee 2 17 13
Tes tease
Soha ee 1 peo! 5 Des] eee
12 6
43 4
Ihe sree
5 hi ea eos Toltewess
el ersrereverei=
54 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
TaBLe I.—lJiems of vegetable food identified in the stamachs of the ducks treated in this bulletin and the number of stomachs tn which fjound—Continued.
ee : : Rag. | _| Green-| Blue |Cinna-| 5.0 wz Kind of food. Sap oe winged winged) mon Eu | ae
Total number of stomachs examined___..__-._.__ | 47 | 955] —-653| - 3191. 41] 790 | 43 SuBEINGDOM SPERMATOPHYTA—Continued. ;
Leguminosae-—Continued. Mélilotus sp. (Sweet clover)..........----- oe cef = ee ee | 7 Petipa | 3 | ee ee | oa
Medicago denticulaia (bur clover)........-.-----|------- i cS eee 2-| Medicagosp._--.-------------- sore ee eee pens Bes Racer ortal Vie Sp-(veuch)2 3-2-2 = een ee hyip ete |e pees Petes, | ae | LS eet Vigna sinensis (cow pea)....-.-.--------------- fee rad mepbrerel 2 os Sa She ee | PW tee eo
Geraniaceze. : | | | Geranium sp. (eranesbill)_ 552-2 2225-2 a te ee | ly Becca bales Beare ee Erodium sp. (storksbill) -.-...-------=-----2--/]-----—- eee an ewereee oes WR | ee
Euphorbiaceae. | | CTOLON TeCORSIS 8 eco s sh ae ee eee zee 1 See peoen Croton sp. (spuree)=.-_- = = ee ee 1| (Meteo e dd be * | 2| 16 PEphor spss eee een fa ee eae Rae e | 2 ee fence eae
Empetraceae. | | | | Emperum nigrum (crowbetry) ---.-.---------- Goats fee jo Maes seer od
Anacardiaceae. | ‘Riss glabra (smooth sumach):. 2.2 =. 1-=: |---| | eee ees | Rhus ioricodendron (poison ivy)...--.---------- iy Beta ae i Ii een |: Ge ae Mette xe 1 hus tapring (California samach) 2. 2... =. =--|--~- -<- |b - ee eeeee 1 Se eee Rhus sp. (unidentified sumachs).............-- 25 1| i] Sih ae ae | 1 24
Aquifoliaceze. | | | |
: Tlex sp. (holly)... ..-.--.--- ay Rs 50 eee ae oe
Rhamnaceae. Berchemia scandens (supple jack).-....----.----- boessee eS nes esos) Bo 22 ore ee 13 Rhamnus cathartica (buckthorn). ---...-...---- Beaeses Paaeeee Pees ate aa ae 2S
Vitaceae. healed Vitis cordifolia (frost grape) --.........--------- fe Rs Ae Ae ie I ae (Peer et fed ear Was Sp: (ETapes) 32s 3 ees | 3B (eee oe 22 | 2 | i1 138
Malvaceae. : | | Unidentiieds 2. ses 6 ee ee eee eee ees ees 2 | 3.) opie = Abuiilon abutilon (Indian mallow) - -.---...-.--- Baan oes eee ee bok ae i pre ee Sida spinosa (nail grass) __-_.....---.-+-------- see ess css | 1 2 he eee Sida spiGuail prass).. 6s ae ee Bie ae [evel elie A gee ae | 5 fa Nee Eve Meoina sp. Gaallow).. 2222. 8. 2 5 a fice arate eee ee ERK, BBS | i IS enn UG Reacts 2 Kosieleizkya virginica...............---- se eee igates ee ees “ee ede Bees eens 1 | Rees Hibiscus sp. (rose mallow) ..._...-..----------- ee eee Rees D | eecee een,
Hypericaceae. 3 Hypericum sp. (St. John’s-wort)---..--....----- ossecs |-------]--------|--------
Cactaceae. | | | | | Opunita sp: (prickly pear): ooo 25 se (eS Semen | epee I Tp ete | cas ae
Lythraceaze. | Decodon verticillatus (swamp loosestrife; willow | | | ;
or i jut or
Onagraceae. Jussiaea sp. (primrose willow)... ....---------- ees pete 6 | Haloragidaceae. 7 | | o Mouriophyllum verticillatum (whorled milfoil)-.-|--.---- | i eater Breas as. Se eee . Myriophyllum sp. (water milfoil).........7....| 9] 2 58 [i 4e Ze oe 12 Proserpinaca sp. (mermaid weed). -..-..-------- 1 eee | i | SF ee | 6 | 18 Hippuris vulgaris (bottle brush)..........--.--! 6 | 18 | 16 | 8 Fh | as | 2
——
Convolvulaceae.
Y
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS.
55
TABLE I.—Items of. vegetable food identified in the stomachs of the ducks treated in this bulletin and the number of stomachs in which found—Continued.
Kind of food. Gad-
Total number of stomachs examined. ..._......-- SUBKINGDOM SPERMATOPHYTA—Continued.
Umbelliferae. AIOHID.SIOn CrGl eI) sp oS scecesooesooceecuollbososce Hydrocotyle sp. (water pennywort)............. 3 Centella asiatica (marsh pennywort)........-.-.|.------ Cicuta curtisiit (water hemlock).............-....|------- CicutaispaGwaterhemlock) he sse ses sees eee poe aces
Cornaceae.
Cornus amomum (kinnikinnik).............--- Cornus asperifolia (rough-leaved dogwood)... -- OOS Sn (CON MOO Sos kesasacsuocusecocdeoee 1 wVissaxsyluatica. (SOUL SM))sa2522 55522-5225 ene Nyssa aquatica (large tupelo)...............---- TNE SSOAS Ol (GIL ClO) meee as see eee eee ee
Ericaceae.
Gaultheria sp. (wintergreen)............--....-. Gaylussacia sp. (huckleberry)........--..-...-- Vaccinium: spa(blueberny) heen. eee
Styracaceae.
SLYUMAX ONON AOL (SLOTAX)- see 2 eo ses SATO Os (QUOD) ssoccesuacossauddosouebeccecs
Oleaceae.
Frazinus americana (white ash)........__..---- JOT ORE MUS SOG (ERIN) So eo seco ce 85 ssooucuoudoocseae Adelia acuminata (swamp privet)....---.------
Gentianaceae. : Menyanthes trifoliata (bog bean).....-..-------
Asclepiadaceae.
Asclepias sp. (milkweed)..........-.--------- »
Cuscutaspa(dodderm)ies es seen eee 2 Boraginaceae. Heliotropium indicum (wild heliotrope) Verbenaceae. Verbena hastata (blue verbena)...........---.-- VGROC MES 0, COMO) Gas es ooucddeoccecsossceue 1 Lippia nodiflora (f{og-fruit) JOFTIVIG SOs WOBI0M) .caise bobs anes cSacocudancse Callicarpa americana (French mulberry)..-...-. Labiatae. Wir dentiileden zur ea ra en es ee Trichostema sp. (blue curls) ..........-...--.--. Mentha sp. (mint)...........-- Pera eles fetes Solanaceae.
SOLUS. (nisht-Shade))s <5. = 225. -sicccc ccs] ees seo
Scrophulariaceae.
Monniera rotundifolia (water hyssop).--.------|-------
Plantaginaceae.
I2GPAGTOSOs GOUT oe danmosocoocessne560c05||ooscoodlscdoode
Bald-
wall. ; pate.
Green- winged teal.
Blue- | Cinna- winged| mon _ teal. | teal.
Wood duck.
255
653
eeseeeee-
319 41
413
see eee
56
BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
TaBLE I.—Items of vegetable food identified in the stomachs of the ducks treated in this bulletin and the number of stomachs in which found—Continued.
Kind of food.
Total number of stomachs examined.............. SUBKINGDOM SPERMATOPHYTA—Continued. Rubiaceae. Galiumsps (Cleavers) eas see eae eee eee Diodia virginiana (buttonweed)..... te ae He Diodia teres (rough buttonweed).............-- Cephalanthus occidentalis (buttonbush)......... Caprifoliaceae. Symphoricarpos sp. (snowberry)......--------- SAMbUCUS SpCelden)iecoe oo see e ee eee Compositae. Unidentified xe Gers eae eee eee ene Bee Ambrosia artemisifolia (ragweed)........------- Ambrosia trifida (giant ragweed)........------ VA MNOTOSLUSD. (LAR WECO) en ee eae eee Xanthium spinosum (cocklebur)........-.---- Helianthus mazimiliana (sunflower)......------
Helianthus sp. (sunflower) ........--.---.------
Bidens sp. (bur marigold)...........----------- Carduus sp. (plumeless thistle)....-.....--..-- Tarazacum sp. (dandelion)............-------- Lactucusp: (etvtuce)iseces so 20 see ee eee
Green- | Blue- | Cinna-} 1:
wall. | pate. [Vinged | winged mon | 42 | Guyot. 417 255 653 319 41 790 413
1 1 2 10 2 = 3 1
ER a resco chaeaca wees] een ed bere acl Se bees nt « 6 SEE eylasen Ss Aa ha eee, 1 et An ge [ese ee 23 2 29 On| Sete 8 192
oe ana ere aD ee | esta es smart | 1 Relay anees 1 ii) ILE Ree See ae BY 4iabosi Sale be Phe |i oem ere em eateries en ht ds 1 Pea ime ieas a 1 Pal te os 1 ae (eset Le deve ee OVE tol oe eee | as pages aM er ee eter 2 2 Seo ot .alfpPson Sos 4 5 So Seon 3 Soo oe Sea Sp baltseu sos DS ee a ee ees ee ae AT: ie re Dose es es pct | eee 1 i (Le ae ste = ten SR ee Ga | Seat atin
5 2 3 il ee hese es 6 25
yl Fer aes 1 Ni se epee ian eae rae all ue ky aid
a Pe heel py ae see | | a ia hectic eorel | ie se Marts aa meses De Neseelccie et a Nee Sete S Weed a sea ea
TaBLE II.—Items of animal food identified in the stomachs of the ducks treated in this bulletin and number of stomachs in which found.
Kind of food.
Total number of stomachs examined......-.-....-- SUBKINGDOM PROTOZOA. MOraminiferaey <<. - see te ciees ei o aee ee SuBKINGDOM COELENTERATA.
Hydrozoa (hydroids)...........--..:-+.----------- IN OO aa a poeabonbaearsosKosyoeaauocsodooocpODE
‘SUBKINGDOM MOLLUSCOIDA. Phylactolaemata (fresh-water Bryozoa).......- iRise
SUBKINGDOM ANNULATA. Nereidae. Nencisisp. (marine. wOrls). 2 eee eee eee
SUBKINGDOM ARTHROPODA. CLASS Crustacea (CRUSTACEANS).
Wirtidentitied se essc cerns ro rerele ervicioiaistetere eee
Gad- wall.
417
Bald- pate.
255
Green- winged teal.
653
13
ol
Blue- | Cinna- : winged] mon a teal. teal. : 319 41 790 eee eel en ey ae, 1 pS SAY ee 13 leapt Sel ses oe I ap Seve ge OA agree 1 Se NC ee a 5
Ou ere 4
Wood duck,
413
nyc amaal a PDR et 36
.
Total number of stomachs examined..,._........
FOOD HABITS. OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS.
BT
TABLE II.—Items of animal food identified in the stomachs of the ducks treated in this bulletin and number of stomachs in which found.—Continued.
Kind of food.
CLASS Crustacea—Continued.
Order OSTRACODA.
Unidentified ostracods (bivalved crustaceans)... .. Cytheridae.
Cyncnaspes es ee a sane Se Cyprididae.
(COMMON: SGDOWUGS sos skonboncaseccoudacsesesece
COMUDIE: SHIDJ DSM saanoss occa baeucdsoscesdee snes
Order AMPHIPODA.
(Wins nin ito bet ea ceases set oope.6.saoe deSec men as eee Corophiidae. COnOPHULANICY LUN ATIGLIN a ee ee ee eee | Corophium Sp....---- Ses cane deus HOU CSOe Steams Gammaridae. " Pseudalibrotus littoralis............-.--22----+-- Gammarus yasciatus.(Gand! fleas) 22s.525-5--: =: - GOMAIMOTUSHIOCUST Osea eee se aaa eee Raye GOTUITORUSS Ware eee eta oe ee Orchestiidae. : EA CUCL ORO ZECCO eee ee eS Ray eee eng Pre Se ENG LCM GT TULCKETOOCK Cites ae Be eee AN CLCUCRACTILOLE = rn See se ee ese AG Podoceridae. : | ALTO D WOI0GO UOMO Pasa cancsaccbcusdecc=sseso:
Order COPEPODA. Unidentified copepods (water fleas)......:-...----- Order ISOPODA.
(Gra COT Geese ie ere ee eel Da es 2 Oniscidae.
Unidentified Sowbugs...........----- Fe ee Alt Asellidae.
Asellus Sp. (aSel)....-.--- SENS oop sp GOeGbS Ss aeaS Mancasellus brachyurus (asel).....-.-..--------
Order DECAPODA. Suborder MACRURA. Crangonidae. Unidentified shrimps... ..-- See aye ees tes es Crangonyx gracilis (Shrimp)...-...-..-...----.--- Astacidae. WnidentitvedecrawiiShes-2 = 2. 9.55... 2-22-50 Cambarus / ORD TRUSS AR ES Se Gee aeOe Cambarus Sp........-++---2+: Ne ere BE Rr Oe eM ' Suborder BRACHYURA. WimnidentitiedserabSet = as ce ok oe Son oe see soe Pilumnidae. 5 Hexapanopeus angustifrons..........--...------ Neopanope terana (Say crab)..........-...-----
| Green- | Blue- | Cinna-| 5. : Gad- | Bald 5 ‘ Pin- | Wood winged! winged) mon a wall. | pate. teal: iealtath teal tail. | duck. | 417 | 255 653 319 41 790 413 | 21 7 61 8 1 35 lt SSS Se oe ae Se ISS aoe oe eres eee dN lan Ve SS A all es eae | ese ee ce bead See al (seam 1 eee SEER SS OSes SBE SSNS Ree Saea (eersins Di rege | Seg ee 2 11 plese pa. 17 5 Bat callers OD ea es pees SG [Spo Ge | gare Ba ae alee eS 1 |.......-}.----.-]-------|--2-2-- Bes Soe 1 Les eee oes ee Se ia ae eesti (ae a ee | Be AE ee eee = rec | EES re ee Sacer ole tue Cae Pyle a Seah et eater yee | Ses ye pies ay ser see Fl nes es | ae eee ps Serie 4 135 eee as eel = Jie sip) ee Ee ae ace ie 1 Le ia Uae eee | Che ee aie |S cua eel ng eae See eee 1 | I |veses Nee ae as ee 1 pl RS item eel | Ses ee | (oe asa ior techs le Stee & SB owas oc lSaneees | al eS ree ee peed ene oe ie Dat Te cmon Dial eel tle lt epee 4 i Ea Skee | (Seeker eee 2 ees 1 1 Ae VERA IOe Roce SACS S SES aot Se un Seeseedinneseoe 1 BOR Pay ek at Pee Teac | [sorte te pee | Te oe sh 2 pe ee 1 See eee dee es es cess | esas ae [paren DF aan Spee Ree asteyat| Mo ea tee 1 ee Pes eae ied sea een he a as Se Vis Sk orale Ress ranee ed [Sees Se a eeae 4 2 FHSAA lao Sas| OCB Boros agGe Caos lSeaesas||sheceed 1 SG aro MES oll a pee eee re yee |p tn ee eee iach 1 2) | eet 1 1 gl | Soe oneeree ee 18a Aare BT osetia aes eel [rac Sere ete as alee ne LO gions a) | Seep Fe aS ae ie pte mg [fe mec RS gene fa ce
58
BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
TasLe II.—Items of animal food identified in the stomachs of the ducks treated in this bulletin and number of stomachs in-which found—Continued.
Kind of food.
Total number of stomachs examined .........---- CLASS Myriapoda.
Unidentified centipedes
CLASS Insecta (INSECTS).
Unidentified insect fragments, eggs, larvae, and
Order THYSANURA. Winidentitiedssces-e-er ane eee FE Cage relict ee Superorder AMPHIBIOTICA. Unidentified damselflies or dragonflies and nymphs. Order ZY GOPTERA (Damselflies).
Unidentified damselfliesand nymphs Agrionidae.
Nehalennia sp
PH NQUAGING Spe ioe ee re ee ee eee eee
Order ANISOPTERA (Dragonflies).
Unidentified dragonfliesand nymphs.......---...--
Aeschnidae, nymphs
Libellulidae. Unidentifiedsnymphsss stoners eee ee SOMGWO OPIS Vserac nao ceaocassocsdé5ssqasoeses Sympetrum sp Cordulia sp
Order AGNATHA (Mayflies). “Unidentified: Maydly myamphs: 9 ae eee
Order PLECOPTERA (Stoneflies). Unidentified stonefly larvae
Order ISOPTERA (Termites).
Claotermes castaneus (termite).....-.-...--- sebosmes Order ORTHOPTERA (Grasshoppers, etc.).
Unidentified grasshoppers and their eggs Acridiidae. (Wini den tified Soe ee ee eee ee MelanoplUsS Deeds cee eee see eee eae Tettiginae (grouse locusts).
Gad- | Bald- wall. | pate.
Green- winged teal.
Blue- | Cinna- winged! mon teal. teal.
417 255
Wnidentifiedscs 2.8 cn ee ee Se ee eeeetoe eee
Tettigidea sp Locustidae (green grasshoppers).
LON cis (eray pualete Be Beton gla scios asdgqanb ods on aaalloucaes| soot Ss ORE NAGI DIOS Mot eoracoos ssa0556ass Sen odes os||soosSSasosabes
Gryllidae (crickets).
INCTHOOLUS|SD eccrine ene eee seen eee eee | teeter
653
319 41 14 1 3 i 7 lhe sie 22 2 al lees
Pin- | Wood tail.
790| 413 ae 2 23 24 cali deal 5 eens 2 5 32
2 1
in epee
21 41
3 1
ed 2 1 Bees
ht eee
1 2 ae 1
5 2
Te eee noe 1 a eS ee 1 eee: 2 eae W
~FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS.
59
TaBLE II.—Items of animal food identified in the stomachs of the ducks treated in this bulletin and number of stomachs in which found—Continued.
Kind of food.
Bald- pate.
Total number of stomachs examined.........:...-- CLAss Insecta—Continued. Order MALLOPHAGA (Bird Lice).
Wimiden titted hoe ste ee ei en ne Pease Order HETEROPTERA (True Bugs).
Uinidentinedshuess seen aas = epee nee te Corixidae (water boatmen).
Wmidentiiied:speeiesy,.- sss sn ee eee ne
(COTPURAS Ds oe Same aero ee ae Ie aoe Belostomatidae (giant water bugs).
EB CLOSTOMLOIS Dees seen see re ok Nepidae (water scorpions).
TRUDE ATTS FOCUS = en ee SOO eS SR ES Naucoridae (creeping water bugs).
2 CLOCOTY SI CIN ORQLULS os a eee
EIZCLOCONISIS Dismiss ates ee Ao Se ss Notonectidae (back-swimmers).
BIN OLOTLCCLERS Peers eee Nan ny oe
EES IL CTLO USD) tear eee Nek Bia a ee SR SO RO
gLCOP SUPE OLR eof a IE es
‘Saldidae (Shorebugs).
SHUR Sie 28s. deock dass eEe Saco aE Uae ae Veliidae (broad-shouldered water striders).
BMA CTOUCLIOIS Dine gnosis as Sn ee
VEILORCUWSEROLUS pam sa ee ee rs ee Gerridae (water Striders). ;
GorrISENATGINULE sac sa Sane RE a
GCTIRUSIS Dees ee oe ee oe Hydrometridae.
ETO) CTOMMECETOISW) tees os Se a ne Miridae.
Umid entifiedeeaersr soe ee ee sa eae
EA GUSEP MUCUS (Serr eae aay ee Cpe at Mesoveliidae.
Mesovelia mulsanti........-.....- ee ee ae Hebridae.
SWANS Se cccs a Gee SSR ee Reduviidae (assassin bugs)......--..--.-.----.---- Coreidae.
Dy ORATUISTALSSS We teem rena ake a Ba a Pentatomidae (Stink bugs).
Wnidentified ssa. see Se oe Soo ee lee eee
BEE USCIISCUSIS) Soe ten ee Oe cess Soe e ee Corimelaenidae. Corimelaena mtiduloides........-...------.-+-2---
Cinna-]-
mon teal.
Pin- tail.
Wood duck.
Green | Bue- winged | winged teal. teal.
653 | 319
UD eee
6 2
32 43 Sees 1 SHEA 2 ener 13 fe yes 1 [Saya erores (By mee 4 11 eee SUEY Bee a ae 4 2
|
oe eee | 2 Bees 1 cers ate 1
41
799
413
60 BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
TasLe II.—Items of animal food identified in the stomachs of the ducks treated in this bulletin and number of stomachs in which found—Continued.
Green-| Blue- Cinna- - . Gad- | Bald-}_~. : Pin- | Wood : winged | winged} mon . wall. | pate. asl teal. rena tail. | duck.
Kind of food.
Total number of stomachs examined.............-- 417 255 | 653 | 319 41 790 413 |
CLAss Insecta—Continued. a
Order HOMOPTERA. |
Cicadellidae. Drmeculacephala Molly pes seen eee | =e eee eee bape Sk. cla a eee 1 Fulgoridae. | Winidentificditea sears Sac? 22 San chat Soe ee Ss Pee Eee leaoneeas ileal semester COLO DSSPeee Soe ee eee ee eee Te ace | Sa eee IDUCTONOLTO DiS‘ SP zeae ee Se Se oe | Soe 2 slr ee ese Sees ergata Jassidaei(eathop pers) cscs oa eee eee ae eras eee 1 1 Aphididae (plant lice). Rhopalosiphum nymphaeae...-.-..-.---------- pedis Pima Oa pa ete Le < .
i i ' i ‘ ‘ i ; ' i ; i 5 — coer igvedectaia mae be 40 HO MEN ers os
Order MEGALOPTERA (Fishflies). Wnidentiticdelanvac. ka ae aoe ee Wiss Bo eel lew tere ened One eae | eee fee ee 1 Order NEUROPTERA.
Wort cleat mites Base seen r ene ne Sarah aie eee OSS ecaoaosee sod Me sachs Ls) cide eee Sialidae (G@obSon sete=) es < sec pe ele ae erece| eee 1 Be Wes eM 4 a ee
~I ~ (or (ew) me — ow Hom Pa
Unidentified larvae and cases ....--....----------- 9 Phryganeidae. ¢ Phryganea improba.....-..-- Bee Se ee Se ea Cee eles hci | ee ne | eee eae a | 1 _§ Limnephilidae. : Slenophiylax'sps ss ae oasis eee eee ae a | Sos asics | ESS Soe 4 bas eg | ee 1 ‘ Sericostomatidae. SBTACKYCENETUS TED NUS sooo SI he a ee SS eo See eae se eee oe eee fe eee ee 1 ’ Hydropsychidae. . 3 HIYOTOPSYCHE'SP = 22 SSeS awe 2 Sete BS ioe ae ls oe eee ee el aaa e aaeorra le Smt | Se Fin eal:
> Order PHYRYGANOIDEA (Caddisfiies). i ¥
Order LEPIDOPTERA (Butterflies and Moths).
Hemileucidae. EL CTAALCUCE, MAA Sse SS eas se ee CI ee Se SN es eee es ee ST es eee 1 JMRCUIG ROB AS one aaggecan pacobor a Soneonbses —e spagber cece Sod [Gees oar|[Sksqncad lone ssees)sscees 1 INOGE TELS G wes se aaa Bo ere ee Toe sr ce See Les igsta| eae Vale sane Ses ee eee 1 i
2
Geometridae, pupa......--- Se pa a arr (RE ce eee Lecceieu faoeese 2 oat See Pome Pyralidhe 2 ss see wre ae Sa ae cI oS flare ates | tra | eee eerste | ieee tert | ee eee eee INC 1d aC COCOON ais ns is sie iara tata ee sete ere | ota es otra | eo O' |S. kale a ee enere Wnidentittedrm OtHS sec soe ase a ere ree ater ee | eee Il EB bas oes 2 Unidentified pupae: =. 423.5 555-3225 a ewe | Oe een fe eee aoe eee eee Wnidentitied’ caterpillars:s 22225. eee oe 1 1) 23ce S| oe ee wb nance 13
Order COLEOPTERA (Beetles). | | | f
Unidentified fragments and larvae.......-.-------- 18 16 40 50 21 40 62 3 Cicindelidae (tiger beetles)... 5.2 «scan eee ee ee eee oe ee ee ere eee By ee 1 * Carabidae (ground beetles). =
ni dentilied sos. Woe ee eee ee Del see ees 6 Fe [ae oe 3
SCOTItCS SUOSITIQLUS SS ke Se | renee Gee ee | ace | See ed | BE SA eee 1 CCU) pee ERE Ameen Heer nme cod AQcnor elon. leh eat ncctsestesds) Snes SSe piel re
| .
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS.
61
Tasie II.—Items of animal food identified in the stomachs of the ducks treated in this - bulletin and number of stomachs in which found—Continued.
Kind of food.
Total number of stomachs examined...........
CLASS Insecta—Continued.
Order COLEOPTERA—Continued.
Carabidae (ground beetles)—Continued.
A spidoglossa subangulata........---------- Bembidium intermedium....-.------------- é Bembidium insulatum,.....-..------------ Bembidium SD es Marios celias sate tete TEOTOMOTUS VOLO sa nee eel eee AL GLYIUSIS Dike seen scree ace eee
GHIDENTUSIS sca eee ees Soe Oe mISSe occ Anomoglossus PUsilUs. .=..-------+------=- Harpalus caliginosus.....-..---------=---<- Selenophorus Sp.--.---- Dau saa nee aoe Stenolophus conjunctus.....----- Sadcossase Anisodactylus dulcicollis...... ts Soe Ra PAI SOMUCLYLUS TUSLICUS= sae ae oe ee =
Haliplidae (crawling water beetles).
Unidentitiedizcs.<s. 252 san- =e sno seee ELI DUULSIETLO DSS ae aes ce FEL CLUDUUSTUMICOLOT Sa ae ne eo ELGIUPUUSIS Ds aeesei ens fae see ane eee Onemidorusiedenvulus son. == == se Cnedmidotus pedunculatus....------------- ONEMUI OHSS Dome ee nee eee PCL OUULCSTSUNU DION pai ona oe Peltodytes callosus......-.-- See ee eS TACILOUYLES'S Piensa = Ses Se eee
Dytiscidae (predacious diving beetles).
Unidentified adults and larvae.........-.- Colpius inflatus....-- eee See ne ee ee CONT GT USIOLCOLO = a Canthydrus puncticollis.......-...--- tees iHaqdrocanihtus iricolon—. ..=2--=-. 22-2 see Hydrovatus compreéssus.......------------- LEA OT ODEPUSIS Dixie er srsa oe es ee SRIGESSUSIO/PINES <5 = oc -a eos ee Bidessus obscurellus...-..-- oe apr ae BPM UCSSUSHIBUICOLLS re Sic 1 pe se eae eae PS IMESSUSIS So eae oes ae ie eee eee COCltNOUSIOCOMOU OSes a cee ee Coclambus inaequalis ......---------------- Coelambus-punctatus........---.-+----+--:- CoclaMoUsGunoldUsm =e. 22 he sae s COM CATEDUSIS) sae Soe a ies ese ine = TACT OPOIGUSIS Dac = ns = 2 SS ise gs = = COPLOLOMULS tNECTTOGALUS. - ~~. -5-5---2-- == GOpiMliomussSp i= - == == =. 52 == - Saas esas AUCDUS SPs. == ain = = = a Laccophilus decipiens ......-.---------+----
Gad- | Bald- wall. | pate. 417 255
el poe
1 ere ese eves 2
Green-| Blue-
Cinna-
Pin- | Wood
winged | winged} mon | 4.3) | duck.
teal. | teal.
653 319 41 |. 790 413 Seer ee [| ose |e eee ae SI See 1 | Edn | Bee Sy gee aos Oe See ee | ners oy wll epee ile Pee oe 5 i Fie (eet wae (eee ae nie se soles ee 1 aes eee 1 sare ees 1 fee QF psa see cS cua eral [eee a [See ceee sce ee 1 ios [ona Nee [peers lee cose 1 dees ed epee Semel ccen cs RM es el | eee = ee |g See Seer lel ert aS pele [el Baee oe [ee ee | eee aateoue fel eer ae ee | eee
dnl eeee tele ye 2o jb eee Ai ar Sa ee a ig ee ees Ss 2 eens | Dele | cece ee Eee | 2 ee iL 1 ere Ss ee aie ea ieee Loge se a NS ae se etl fee io 1 Bere eters | eet Sale [eee 1 pete [el eeeetiee een ie (este g ene SAS ig ares Sl eee (eee Se oe | AGS oe |: acpeece a aes
22 8 2 4 9 poe take BY ead ar 3 ee 1 ete delay ee a is ena ee a (elise ee Sl Tes eee Dr |e cea oe Uae ail [een el eaenee Se jee ae ee ee aoe es er ee ee 1
1 | Dem e alb aee oeees | eee eee So eee | Ie lees ee 1 fice le eee yee Ol tara te 1c |e Se ee es es se eS ale See ete ae Sse (ie Digete ee ces eae ae ig Bees se eS Isis. |S ee Cees eae | 2 1 1 ig aut aoa Sn | ee ee 2 aes ieee 11g eee jl carmen (I oe
teal.
62
BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF -AGRICULTURE.
Tasie II.—Items of animal food identified in the stomachs of the ducks treated in this bulletin and number of stomachs in which found—Continued.
Kind of food.
Total number of stomachs examined.......2....-.- CLass Insecta—Continued. Order COLEOPTERA—Continued.
Gyrinidae (whirligig beetles). Uni GenGitie dyes Aer Be eas eee Eee ee ee GYNLIUSISD ease aes ae eet ee eer eee eee DIMCULESSD ects ae ae aries eee ate Hydrophilidae (water scavenger beetles). Unidentified beetles and larvae......--...-.---- Winidentitiediegs-casese-nes sos eee eee eee ae Hydrophilus californicus...:........-..--------+ HY ATO PLUS SP eee ces oes See ee eee MTOpiSterNusisposeeeceee ssa oe ene oer ae seins EGO NOTIONS Dos Sanosodc sdodguccoosaucusscosead ET AROCHAiSODUUS GUUS eee eee re eee IB CROSUSYDOTULENUIUUS ee eee renee ee IB CROSSED ETIEGTUICUUS te ee ee eee SB CR OSCUSISERLAUTAU Sateen I re eee oe BTS CROSUSIS 0 See ee ee Pe a ere een ee EU OTUSED Ch DIETS oe eee ne ee eee IE RUY OTUs COUMLOSUS sop ee een eee ee eee ERY ORUS IS Pee ee eee ee HAY CT OUUUS SD ieo eee rae ea eee eee CERCYONIS Dee Fak oe ee ee ee Staphylinidae (rove beetles) ........-- hte uae Se A Coccinellidae (ladybugs). [Unidentified ears eee Bee PUG OG OOOO AS oon IES GAC SOE SOB SHO DOLE 18 0/0] DOUCHE View season Ong nor Bebb asocs sossenoe Cucujidae (flat bark beetles). SUC USSUTINANTLCNSISee sa eee ee Dermestidae (larder beetles). Wnidentitied A202 8 eee eee ee eee eee WD CHIN ESECST GTC OU Sete eee Histeridae. HELESLCTES Diseterss Sa race one ESE ee ee Nitidulidae: s
Parnidae.
ELINISTOLELAE US ae ae ee eee ee ey
Heteroceridae.
IEICLETOCETUS IS Pin- eee eee ene eee Ma teridae sen eee is Seo Seneca me a ae re un toes Lucanidae.
POSSALAUSICOMMULIUS Se aren oe ee eee eee Scarabaeidae (leaf chafers).
Unidentified esse. 0) = aosecee ee pees eae
Gad- wall.
Onthophagusivecatcheeeenese eee eee ee eee AVN YO US HM MILES so nabescasonboousesbocdbocdlocdouce
AD hOALUSISD Fee cate t ue asa cise ee cers
Green- Bald-|_—. S winged pate. teal. 255 653 pc akon 5 7 7 i a fea 1 2 ie | ere aes LEA Rat rite Pee Oe iL UIs AN os 1 1 ip) eres eeciieaies il 9)
Bhyllophaga sp. (Mayabeetles) sccacseeece eee nen leeeere peace eeeeeeer
SDS CHVELES HOD Mf ONY oGacaco0 asd bb 5500 d50504||soocSoulocaucudllosconece
Blue-_ | Cinna- winged| mon teal. | teal. 319 41 ‘leery gees
iluf! 1 agente 2 3 2
7 Ja ane
6 1
ALE Bae eet
ll ee
LS | ee ree
7s) Resear ie
ilk] (Ex ceeon
AIPA Rae eee
iy Beaeacs
Pin- | Wood tail. | duck. 790 413 aes 3 Rete a oe 3 See a 3 16 8 aa eee 3 2, 2 Seniors 7 | ee es
Lee | etary
EN bacege ie
8 4
oH epee eee Sepa 2 he eS 2 2 2 ita eS 1 a ball ape lesen 3
SEE emi 1 1 Ht eee 2 2 11
1 1
Sas aae 1 eens 2 ieee he 1
ae
| | y
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS.
63
Tasie II.—Items of animal food identified in the stomachs of the ducks treated in this bulletin and number of stomachs in which found—Continued. )
Kind of food.
Total number of stomachs examined.......
CLASS Insecta—Continued.
Order COLEOPTERA—Continued.
Cerambycide (long-horned beetles). nai enGill Cds ae aeseeac es ee a ace Leptostylus.aculiferus.......-.-:=------ GLO DUSISPseeer eee eee ane ee Chrysomelidae (leaf beetles). (WiaiGleniGiti cde sees een ee eee
wee see ee
Gad- wall.
Bald- pate.
Green- winged teal.
417.
ID GONGCLAICUICEICOTNIS te ee ae a eee DOVOCIOSIUDELIS Hatt a ee eee eae elas DONGCIAPOLUNG= 5-22-02 ape ae oa Se |e Se
DONGCIES Ds ee ce ee een eee X anthonia decemnotata.......-:...-----
255
653
Blue- winged teal.
319
JPRESOCUNES (ODA Gabe Ae ghoaddoussootoedoalosee eal We ee COREEOTIUCIL Tf QUT COLL Oa a ey ger | tee pel | Ee
TU PEnOdeS METAL =... a, 22 eio-- === = tee GOLERUCCILONSD) Sa ees ee eee PFU LLOEN COP US TLL ey ae eee fe ea
Meee FAIL LOUNCLOAS Deserta Bene eee ee (Nee) Nala Os Nae ae Jee Ge SSeEosbaSssens
Melandryidae.
SOMROUKOD (DUMVGHTI 3 conan sboacedacusese
Anthicidae (flower beetles).
VALTER ICUSHOLACTIUG Meson pease eens seer VAI ENICIUSIS Deepa ie ee ee oe eee Meloidae (blister beetles). ...........:..2..-
Suborder RHYNCHOPHORA (Weevils).
Wnidentifiediadultsss ews sats ee ae Unidentitiedtlanvacs 22.0 eee see Curculionidae (snout beetles).
Winidentitie das eins eta eee
LEGALS (ERO MIG Sc s sae ods eeaGs bebaae ERO OUSS Dane eA GoM ee aoe LI HOS FB VSesand soot Cap CaO ae See Sphenophorus aequalis............-+--- Sphenophorus ochreus...... Wieee te See DSDLCILOILOMLSES eqs em ores Colandi@spiea oe ee ae Soe ee
Order DIPTERA (Flies).
Unidentified adults, larvae, and pupae. - -- Tipulidae (craneflies). Unidentified adults, larvae, and pupae €tenophorinae, larvae.......:.....----
Cinna- mon teal.
4]
W ood duck.
413
64 B
ULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
Tasie II.—Items of animal food identified in the stomachs of the ducks treated in this bulletin and number of stomachs in which found—Continued.
Gad-
Kind of food. sale
Total number of stomachs examined
CLASS Insecta—Continued.
Order DIPTERA—Continued.
Chironomidae (midges).
Unidentified adults, larvae, and pupae........-
Chironomus Sp...------- Say yo wie ae |
Ceratopogon sp Simuliidae.
PS ETTLULEULTIU SO neko ete eS ore nee Stratiomyidae (soldierflies).
Unidentified larvae
Odontomyia sp
IN{EMOCCIAUS SP) = arate str ee ears ee eed Tabanidae (horseflies), larvae
Syrphidae (flowerflies).
: Unidentified larvae and pupae
SUTDPRUS SD = ss: Ste se eee ee ee alee ee Anthomylidae; adults ee. 2225 => es ee eee Asilidaes(robberhies) sadwltsse = 9 eee Dolichopodidae (long-footed flies), adults Muscidae.
TAVGUIUE SP Senko os ise oe 3c ase ee ee [eset celeste BS OLDOMGIG ae aoe sees eee cee eo ec ee Ephydridae, (brine flies), larvae and pupae Scatophagidae.
Hydromyza confiuens
Order HYMENOPTERA (Ants, Bees, and Wasps). eee
Unidentified adults and cocoons ..-....-..----.----- Tenthredinoidea (saw flies), cocoon
_ ICHNEUMONOIDEA (Parasitic wasps). Vipionidae. IBF OLLPANLELES SP) oe iiss concise tte ee ee ra | Braconidae. | BOUSSUSES Paps «Oe Re cree cen ets ye ere | ee SME CLCOTALSES Dm Ss se eek ae eee See ee See [oer saeed Ichneumonidae. Unidentified Amblyteles sp Lissonota sp Metopius sp IPANISCUSISPas = sss oe 2 ee Phaeogenes sp
CHALCIDOIDEA. | Chalcididae. Aine
ee
Po ee
Unidentified Seelionidae. Hadronotus sp
a
ee
Green- winged teal.
Blue- | Cinna- winged| mon teal. | teal.
653
319 41
es ee es ns
Wood duek.
-
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS. 2400
Tape II.—Items of animal food identified in the stomachs of the ducks treated in this
' bulletin and number of stomachs in which found—Continued. | : Green-| Blue- | Cinna-| p: | Kind of food Gad- | Bald- winged | winged] mon Pin- | Wood | : wall. | pate. ; “08 g tail. | duck. | Pp teal. | teal. | teal. i Total number of stomachs examinad............-.- Aly | 255 | 653 | 319 |: 41 | ‘700 | 418 | CLASS Insecta—Continued. | ' Order HYMENOPTERA—Continued. -FORMICOIDEA. (Ants). Formicidae. eimidenitill Cdiseeteree seem sates a oe ees 8 2 17 18 1 12 12 ZOMG 04 Seeuecseanoasucous ddde doasosdsss8an|sdascouloosscoellbaseabOd|loggee SBA so cess lesan ssn a2 Monomorium sp....------- eagencdde cane o$eosbca|ecces5=|/ concen|oneguod leaasosse saaseselissccro 1 SOUCMOMSIS TN Vix Serene SESS BA SO Sy ee ee Ose fe ee yeh en me [ae bee nee ne 1 Gremologasten Spa. = ey escies Sell Soc Hessll ae Boa en Oe Rees Rae ee oe 18 WM TPRECE PUG: SOHO PUDOUNS 3 = & Sonoda deeenuouoada|seaes scleseseesleoosegoun ber essoemecsobalesaoes= Bera FIOM TLC CAST yee Saye Te fe Sees or ee erste nr ee ke ah 2 | Camponotus herculeanus pennsylvanicus....-2.-|.....--|:..-2--|--+--c00..--2---|.-.. ---]-- 22-5. eo Camponotus Sp.- 2252-2225: Sosa oe eee pee ere Son ble ce sas SSCoterO ea el Renee Rare 4. SPHECOIDEA. | Sphecidae. | WDD MLOPlCChFOMS Pesos ee Se ss Tesesase Sele ones eee ees | VESPOIDEA (Wasps). Le Wnidentitiede-.--:------- SB oo Hae Ae EA aes a ence Wes 2 ree 1 3 Vespidae. IR QUISHOS Oh HOU Sac Saas cues At Ro CECE GOESE | SHAOS 55 See ROS SERA IC eae eee ear ] APOIDEA (Bees). = Halictidae. = ‘ ENOUGH US: CONOR CLICKS) se = eee iar rs ee See eae A elise afar csee Seas | aise ee es 1 |! ! 5 | CLass Arachnida. | Order PSEUDOSCORPIONIDA. NOat emi eMac sent Ae a eco ee ae Aes eee ae Ace seats his) Sees et Oe Cee oe Order ARANEIDA (Spiders). Wimidemtinvedeete en eee ee 3 Tees el cee Ree 74 Argiopidae (orb-weavers). LOGCMULUG: CHUANISUD Ss Gadccusloaadc scone aeejsboa les aeccesecas Sea sea ys IRS ee (ee pearl eo era ae 1 Order ACARIDA (Mites). Unidentitieds.2 = a52-- = ced DER re ie ar Net Te heer een ae 7 ees a eee ena cela ee Tine Hydrachnidae (water mites)..-.....2.-.:--5-.:-.-- 3 1 18 22 2 11 5 | SUBKINGDOM MOLLUSCA (MOLLUSKS). Waal Cla it @d ee a Se 2 ge 1 2 90 106 15: | el 7 ae? Cass Pelecypoda (BIVALVES). Unidentified...... Pe ene eae eee ee ee 3 4 3 2 2 73 8 Mytilidae. LY GECRUS-CUMUBS SS Sooo 16 SR OS ESSE Se SE Bee alg ene ce gee nee | Oe Pale ae eel a DG erence Veneridae. Anomalocardia cuneimeris..........-.------- bear on FS ekg eat teeta rl ae etree ee te ae OO 16o| sus aes PAR UO TIBNOCIRGNUS I tas sa ors. tes Soa eee Noe Nae See HIE peo acre a 1 ees GOMIMOGENUING nates hs 6 oe 2s <2 Bop serers a Brae Pll ac eka er elena | a eet ES org peso epee ae eee : Cyrenidae. | AY EOA SCOT ONIONS OS SSSI OE eee es EL Hs fea oer (= NON ese roe) Fae eI oro? al . Sphacriwm siriatinum......-.--- Ba cee ROB Ions Sete ey eeeetaese | Siewraya ea) [ere eee is See eres pees ees IS IUWENLUTSLOMUINCWM « ocena a oes 3 see soe oe |b ec ee AS Seen cer [SEBS Hes Rema ral sateen seenon 179375°—20——_5 | e
66
Tasie II.—Items of animal food identified in the stomachs of the ducks treated in this
BULLETIN 862, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
bulletin and number of stomachs in which fgund—Continued.
Green- | Blue- | Cinna-| 4. Kind of food, wall, | pate. |*inged| winged | mon | f+ | Yreed Total number of stomachs examined | a7 | 255| 658] <a19 | a] 70| 413 CLAss Pelecypoda—Continued. | Cyrenidae—Continued. | | S DUMETIUM:, SDE ee 25 532 3 oS oo oe eR ee ee eee eee | 2 Sl reer jee pee ae Pisidinm octidentale:..<. -sa3. <n eee | eee Pee ore | Maelo ' Pisin Spi 20 32S a ee ee eee | 2 | she ee eee ; Tellinidae. : Mellin SPs soc sea = AN Ses oe eee Pieces a MGCOTRGSS Pi SS ESE es es eS een al Ae ea ee lee josie sarah 1 ee eee ; A TIGUEES Spe ae Seah ee es ee eS oe as Popes eS) Soe pate eee ame Lire ; Myidae. | ; iS DRGENIA ODOUR 2. S22 eSB eon Soe noe ee [ese Sale aah eee a te fees : CLass Gastropoda (UNIVALVES). | Unidentiied: 2 2 soen ee eer Piece 5 DA, [aes MO Sa eee 71 9 Hy drobiidae. z (BUUNNEG MONTOENSIS 2. et Se ee ee ee ee | eee iy peers ; Byte Sp Sm ie ee par Sh Ns ee ee ae =| eames Se Det Toate i FIYAT ODIL SD Sse ee ee ees Stes ee eee [ae és oad aoe SO a ; Acmaeidae. é Acmacatestudinaliss: = 22S eee ties (EAs OS een 87 ih Benes . Tornatinidae. i TOVMOETIG CORGUCULE C= a ae ee eee ae ee See Meet ey GY eae 3 Pleurotomidae. (Mangilia picasa. 2020 255 ast Se eee eed Be eS tea Ds (eee Amnicolidae. Amnicola coronata.....----- pee eee oe ee ae Re gre ea ee ane Boe h tl aes SM FA INNACOLE POT MG 2 Sac ese Sara a oe ee ee een eee ee Pa eee OP Pare ee , AMNICOlG GEPTESSE oo. os ae ooo 8) ce ee See el See eee SIS eee eo se Se Se ee Bee Sad chee 1 Ammnicola cincinnatiensis .--..-. 2-22-2222. -2-- pare sre se eee eee eee eid Wem 8 os [joes A TICOULS DP 25 oa oe ae a Pee cel Seis See eet, cae Eg eee Se depac eee Physidae. | | 4 PRY SUNCECTOSITO PRG c= 5 a Boe Se ee 3 2: ere 1 | aoe Ss Physa gyrina....----- Jive ola Noeee Sees eae Se= | Sees ee Pee ioe oe es Eee NYSE SP psoas ee el Remco ok 8 Bilis Fe eae 3 | 1 Lymnaeidae. | reel Di INNGED COMM CMO 2 aS 5 es a eee one Bixee Bemaeee on = 2) Se es ahs eee eee Taped desidiose |. 52 a a ee ee ee ee Lt ee Layman palusivis 2 aes. 22 Be ee ae ne he ee LS eS LANGER SP = Ss So sh oe oa ee re eee eee Beee Pia Planorbis Giearinaia2. = 52052 SE ae eee Pic. SS eae Planorhis duryi 2. 5c ee esate) SS oSsse fe coe ee I eee ren ees emerete Planoriis qlabratum.s. - a5 oe joe ce eee) Seoesee) oe5secc- 2 | EEA (Gene Fant Lao PlGnOr DIS PATVUS het Se os = ee feearael Megha Reet Aor. Ses 3.|- ae Planor bis €rivg is o- = ae ee Peete! Wes ese oe os 4 | Ss i ee PlanorbisSp= 26.5 ot Pe ee Beets Eoaws | 1 | 1 | > Sas eee 3 PompROlyrie ff USGac- = oe nee eee eee VM weal ee Ree Eaters etecece! Is Sas Nassidae. | | Wass Gculids- 1252 ae ae eee alee Seen far eeall ee cence | cen Dele WNassaiviber= 2st se oe ee ee | Sere eo tee ae Bee ae oe est ss=: Meera Diganassa 0bS0ldG == 35223 = 2 eee | ease Jeokeeee pesssieed eee ee eee | 2h eo
FOOD HABITS OF SHOAL-WATER DUCKS, 67
TasLe II.—Items of animal food identified in the stomachs of the ducks treated in this bulletin and number of stomachs in which found—Continued.
J Green-| Blue- | Cinna-| ». > Kind of food. wail, | pate. | "inged| winged | mon | 47 | Hees Total number of stomachs examined........-...--- ANT |. 255 653 | 319 TL 70 ||) 18 CLAss Gastropoda—Continued. | Columbellidae. ZV RCE PIS COTS GS aG a cad BOMB OO SO ORD Oa FEE Dae sel Goes Ocal Sea ae eeer eral emeretetertm lesreermcess illeadosa. JVQTOUS QUA, ocigk Geos Hen dans SEBO BOISE DOB ao Hele soo eS leootoualStasasae Seteceee paper OA Hoa are Te AOS ULHOU Ks aaS BAS ORCA CE OO NS BOE BOGE SSD Sea Se SES Mesa Soils eres estes) Paaeseseteier| (ime Rie By dl hele. Turbonillidae. MEUROOMULOUSD pe eraasonec cee coe oe Sere e ea ae eee eee eee ical see sacle cs nciaca |e sekee - UNF | es A Bee Pyramidellidae. OMOSLOMUACADISULLIET. CUS eee oe ae Pe | eee eee sco ces alaecicese 2 | eee OD OSEONUAOIS DD Gate e eer ete ere ee eae een eee | eee oe ees lisisa eres calle coiled wales a aor UO igeacnsSee Auriculidae. IVICLONUDUSIDONCALIS seer em aie ece een ee : ii euecre locas) SrNeeens eoaeeeeta ere tsa ta ee Olividae. Olinella iudicass- = ck tae nese ae oS Bee aes | Bea Te | ee Kea | SN a | Littorinidae. {OOP HOOT OS Bes Seana Sas OBR OBACASO SHE Cee os RES OSG SSRs oe acerca en aael eevee Aaa Lai ee Pate LOTION OL OL Ose eee eee eee Jo Ber acl So Gooors (Gaoee ene taee mee [tc Ge eel ea Cerithiidae. JBC ERONEO DURUM Deemer SERGE DOOR BOI Se Ses octal |Seeaacel oacenac| Seteeors eeessae Smee aee Sol eetavass Bittium varium...... SS SEO SES See Oe ye [carr ects al SERS S| re ee fee nr feet BT eee oe BES ALELUL TIONS [Oe ee ao a, NS epee nee | sot ee ese LI Sec wear ENS Sc eee Gi lai IDPS IND DEUS SS GSA So SOOO SE SORE GEE ee HOS SH GES e ee [Bacau Ga [soe See eae el acer aL | ee ee OPCIDMHIOR Deas ts Soba sooo Sa eR A ABR On gas Bo oee Sea sBen |lasoaucl edotonce Seemetonc seaaeee CU IGR Ba (PAH AUG DONS Ss ete SOS SH oe GEORO REE S seed Bea soce eaonedc Stuce sae ease oes eae By Rae ete Rissoidae. ~ EDU CTODLUCOLYONNICU se ae re ee sete D3 Wee el en mock epee eevee Sa eae epee ea PES OERUILCLLORE ELL TU) Se ea a ae PON ee a Sa aael ens dl SAS RBEe| Geneuea eHaeaes LBOD OD GUTS D5 eds PAS a ae eee ps a gee ol [cae vel hs all 2) Oe ta ik en teen 1 LTO COCOUE WOR MU VI SEES SE AGe BS OSOS CRBC borne d |Sbaseeellbeadaas loosoaens Hesaones lseassae Ae ence EZUTOULODSUSISPULOSUS Sheen eee te eee eee [eS Soon lScaneeeed Ba sneered Be seean Soeeeact emecss Assimineidae. PALS SUTIVETUCOAO| JL 10S eee mee Seay a aye re ra Perey a ee ea rere se [ie rene cheers MS eecercce Valvatidae. Valvata virens........-..- Eee Rage ae Stare ME atin Lage al Pan all MAT aap Ra Oe je Fogg cn 8 WVGlUOl on eniCOrinOl men seas ne nee ee ecoesss ILA eeiece ee SII iS sc (ol ee Seen ate arte Neritidae. BNET CEUTLONECLLDILE eee eae me ape rae ee I Ae | epee. ctl eae sa ee Te | ees HNGCHIEUTUD Un UICC epeen aa hee en yee a D5 eleese ee PAs Seesaalaaeeees 40! |/Saeeene INCRULULORS ee en ee ee Ss ees Se Ike aS See Seas ae oulaadeasad|seacos = VEN Eeetsscre SUBKINGDOM CHORDATA (VERTEBRATES). CLASS Pisces (FISHES). Unidentified, teeth, scales, etc.........- soa eee tae 12 2 3 Be epee 15 5 Poeciliidae. ; <e Fundulus sp...-.------ CR St a OEM Gig Saye hr Se ng Nahe aie Benson 24S eoceal 1 Ee heehee CLass Amphibia (FRoGS, TOADS, AND SALA- MANDERS). Ranidae (frogs). 2 Unidentified........... See ete pe ee a lA cyst AN [ce es Pale el ea [Ste Sk 2 LEGKOO BD 5 GSSE SRS Se a Tn a Ses aE Sel RS ee) feet ne] (ESE eS [ae mae! (eR IAs | ee eee
PUBLICATIONS OF THE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE RELATING TO THE FOOD HABITS OF WILD BIRDS.
AVAILABLE FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION BY THE DEPARTMENT. z
The English Sparrow as a Pest. (Farmers’ Bulletin 493. )
Some Common*Game, Aquatic, and Rapacious Birds in Relation to Man. Farmers’ Bulletin 497.)
ee some Well-known Birds of Forest, Farm, and Garden. (Farmers’ Bulletin 506.
Some Common Birds Useful to the Farmer. (Farmers’ Bulletin 630.) =
Common Birds of Southeastern United States in Relation to Agriculture. (Farmers’ Bulletin 755.)
The Crow in Its Relation 0 Agriculture. (Farmers’ Bulletin 1102.)
Propagation of Wild-duck Foods. (Department Bulletin 465.) -
The Crow and Its Relation to Man. (Department Bulletin 621.)
Economic Value of the Starling in the United States. (Department Bulletin 868.)
FOR SALE BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS, GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D. C.
Fifty Common Birds of Farm and Orchard. (Farmers’ Bulletin 513, colored plates.)
~ Price, 15 cents.
Birds in Relation to the Alfalfa Weevil. (Department Bulletin 107.) Price, 15 cents.
Eleven Important Wild-duck Foods. (Department Bulletin 205.) Price, 5 cents.
Food Habits of the Thrushes of the United States. (Department Bulletin 280.) Price, 5 cents.
Birds of Porto Rico. (Department Bulletin 326.) Price, 30 cents.
Food Habits of the Swallows. (Department Bulletin 619. ) Price, 5 cents.
Food Habits of the Mallard Ducks of the United States. (Department Bulletin 720.) Price, 5 cents.
Waterfowl and Their Food Plants in Sandhill Region of Nebraska; pt. 1, Waterfowl in Nebraska; pt. 2, Wild-duck Foods of the Sandhill Region of Nebraska. (Depart- _ ment Bulletin 794.) Price, 15 cents.
The Relation of SEO to Agriculture. (Biological Survey Bulletin 15.) Price, 10 cents.
Birds of a Maryland Farm. (Biological Survey Bulletur17.) Price, 20 cents.
The Bobwhite and Other Quails of the United States in Their Economic Relations. (Biological Survey Bulletin 21.) Price, 15 cents.
The Horned Larks and Their Relation to Agriculture. (Biological Survey Bulletin 23.) Price, 5 cents.
Food Habits of the Grosbeaks. (Biological Survey Bulletin 32. ) Price, 25 cents.
Birds of California in Relation to the Fruit Industry. (Biological Survey Bulletin 34. Part2.) Price, 40 cents.
Food of the Woodpeckers of the United States. (Biological Survey Bulletin. 37.) Price, 35 cents. ; Woodpeckers in Relation to Trees and Wood Products. (Biological Survey Bulletin
39.) Price, 30 cents.
Index to Papers Relating to the Food of Birds. (Biological Survey Bulletin 43.) Price, 10 cents. :
Food of Our More Important Flycatchers. (Biological Survey Bulletin 44.) Price, . 20 cents.
Hawks and Owls from the Standpoint of the Farmer. (Biological Survey Circular 61.) Price, 5 cents.
Destruction of the Cotton Boll Weevil by Birds in Winter. (Biological Survey Circular 64.) Price, 5 cents.
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