File:Annual report (1901) (14770063063).jpg

Identifier: annualreport891901021newy (find matches)
Title: Annual report
Year: 1902 (1900s)
Authors: New York (State). Forest, Fish and Game Commission
Subjects: Forests and forestry Fisheries Game and game-birds
Publisher: (Albany, N.Y. : The Commission)
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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raltimes a day with such quickly digested and slightly nutritious food as this, so thatthe number of caterpillars found in a stomach at any one time probably repre-sents but a small portion of the actual daily consumption. As to the kinds ofcaterpillars eaten by the cuckoos, it is a singular fact that the hairy and spinyspecies far outnumber the smooth ones; this may be due either to the greaterabundance of the hairy ones or to the birds preference. This disregard of hairsor spines was well illustrated by one stomach which contained seven larvae ofthe Io moth (Automeris io). These caterpillars are thickly studded along theback and sides with tubercles from which grow many spines, that are not onlysharp but poisonous, and sting the hand quite severely when carelessly handled.Several other stomachs contained a less number of these insects. Among the insects eaten by the cuckoos which are of economic interest toforestry may be mentioned the tent caterpillar (Malacosoma), the fall webworm
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YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO BIRDS AS CONSERVATORS OF THE FOREST. 261 (Hyphantria cunea), and the white-marked tussock moth (Hemerocampa leucostigmd).The former is eaten to such an extent that it constitutes at least half of the foodduring the time when it can be obtained. Of the fifty stomachs taken whilethe tent caterpillars could be found, seventeen contained these insects, and severalwere entirely filled with them. In one stomach 250 were found. These, ofcourse, were small ones taken in the early stages of their growth, before theyhad done much damage. The fall webworms are evidently another favorite foodof the cuckoo, as they were found in a number of stomachs, and in one 217heads of these insects were counted. Twenty-eight species of caterpillars wereidentified in the 155 stomachs, and, as many specimens were unidentifiable, it isprobable that there were more species than those noted. Other important insectsin the cuckoos diet are the larvae of sawflies. These so closely resemble cater-

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