NOTES ON THE GIZZARD CONTENTS OF BIRDS. 145
broken shells of the bivalve Cyclas cornea and the Brent Goose
had swallowed a mass of a vascular plant and large quantities
of sand.
A Stockdove and a Turtledove had their crops crammed
with germinating seeds of Vicia sativa. Another stockdove was
full of corn.
The Rail family are represented by two water rails, a moor-
hen and a coot. Both water rails had eaten aquatic larvae, the
moorhen showed vegetable matter only and the coot quantities
of moss and sand.
The Turnstone, a member of the Plover family, had taken a
large number of tiny oysters.
The Grey Phalarope, of an allied family to the last, is de-
scribed by Howard Saunders as feeding "on small crustaceans
and marine animals, the latter obtained by the birds whilst
swimming buoyantly on the waves, sometimes hundreds of
miles from land." Mr. Christy's Grey Phalarope showed its
power of adapting itself to circumstances; at Riccal Cove, York,
it had managed to make a meal in which insects predominated.
The various Sandpipers had done exactly what would be
expected of them, and had fed on molluscs and crustacea.
There remain a few remarks to be made on the representatives
of the Passerines.
If we can judge from this collection, land snails form a large
part of the winter food of the Thrushes. The Song Thrush showed
three shells, the Redwing 27, and the six Blackbirds had 28
between them. The same record holds for Starlings in winter.
The Robin's gizzard was a little entomological museum.
The Dipper contained the jointed appendages of Sand-
hoppers.
The Great Tit had scale leaves and insects in about equal
proportions.
The following is the detailed record of the contents of the
gizzards examined:—
1. Song Thrush (Turdus musicus). Southwick, xii. 78.
(During frost). 3 Helix caperata, 1 H. rufescens, 1 H. cantiana.
2. Redwing (T. iliaceus) Chignal, xii. 78. 27 Helix rufescens,
2 worms. Tiny insects.
3. Fieldfare (T. pilaris).
(a) Chignal, xii. 78. 1 Helix hispida. A beetle.
K