^^/6

m.

FOR THE PEOPLE

FOR EDVCATION

FOR SCIENCE

LIBRARY

OF

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM

OF

NATURAL HISTORY

BIRDS

IN THEIR

RELATIONS TO MAN

THE BLUE YELLOW-BACKED AVARBLER.

BIRDS

IN THEIR

RELATIONS TO MAN

A Manual of Economic Ornithology for the
United States and Canada

BY

CLARENCE M. WEED, D.Sc.

STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS

AND

NED DEARBORN, D.Sc.

BUREAU OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY, WASHINGTON, D.C.

ILLUSTRATED
SECOND EDITIOX, REVISED

PHILADELPHIA AND LONDON

J. B. LIPPINCOTT COiMPANY

1916

Copyright, 1903

BY

Clarence M. Weed and Ned Dearborn
Copyright, 19 16

BY

Clarence M. Weed and Ned Dearborn

PRINTED BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY

AT THE WASHINGTON SQUARE PRESS

PHILADELPHIA, V. S. A.

TO

STEPHEN ALFRED FORBES

DIRECTOR OK THE ILLINOIS STATE
LABOHATOHV OF NATrUAL HISTORY

WHOSE CLASSIC STUDIES OF THE ECONOMIC

RELATIONS OF BIRDS WILL LONG

REMAIN THE MODEL FOR

LATER STUDENTS

IS GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

Introuiction. — The Kklations ov Hiiius ro Max .... 1

I. — The Methods of Studyl\(; the Fuok of liruns ... 9

II. — The Develoi'Ment of Ecg.nomic Or.mthoi.o(;y 17

III. — The Vegetable Food of Birds 27

IV. — The Animal Food of Birds 42

V. — The Amoint of Food consumed by Birds r)9

VI. — Birds as IiEciULATORS of Outbreaks of In.iurious Animals G8

VII. — The Bel.a.tions of Birds to Predaceous and Parasitic

Insects 81

VIII. — The Thrushes and their Allies 86

IX. — The Nuthatches, Titmice, Creepers, and Wrens .... 105

X. — The Warblers and the Vireos 112

XI. — The Shrikes, W^axwings, Swallows, and Tanagers . . . 122

XII. — The Finches and Sparrows 132

XIII. — The English Sparrow and the Starling 144

XIV. — The Orioles, Blackbirds, Crows, and Jays 156

XV. — The Flycatchers, Humming-Birds. Swifts, and Xighthawks 174

XVI. — The Woodpeckers. Kingfishers, and Cuckoos ISl

XVII.— The Owls 195

XVIII. — The Hawks, Eagles, Kites, and Vultures 205

XIX. — The Pkjeons. (Jrouse, and Shore-Birds 219

XX.— The Water-Birds 239

vii

VIU

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

XXI. — The Conservation of Birds. — I. The Non-Game-Birds . 255

XXII. — The Conservation of Birds. — II. The Game-Birds . . . 271

XXIII. — Preventing the Depredations of Birds 2{)o

XXIV. — Encoura(;in(; the Presence of Birds o04

APPENDIX

I. — The Bird Law of the American Ornithologists' Union 817

II. — Federal Bird Laws 320

III. — Some Fundamental Principles of Bird Laws 328

IV. A Partial Bibliography of the Economic Belations of

North American Birds 331

Index ^^^

■^ o

^ 3

<3 . o ^

A

<P 1^ V 4>

<^ o rfl

J

i

^7

^.

+^ i- >^ ^ -- ' d>

■^^"s ^ — «^
^ ¥. ^ ^f.

-^^S
^t^

J3^j Jill ^"3

^^^^

3l^

«/? u o »J t^ ^

«" '^ -; ^ *>

^1 ^ -r-^ rf 5^ 5 -5 S c
5 5 g t'^"°,^^'^'^

BIRDS

IX THEIR

RELATIONS TO MAN

¥¥¥

Introduction.

THE RELATIONS OF BIRDS TO MAN.

The town of Durham, New Hampshire, in which this book
has been written, may serve to illustrate in miniature the
relations that exist between the world of birds and the world
of man. This town abounds with homesteads distributed over
its more habitable portions, with considerable areas of wood-
land and rocky pastures, while on the east it adjoins that
arm of the sea called Great Bay. Running into this bay is
the Oyster River : below the dam whicli holds back the fresh
water this is a tide-stream, overflowing salt marshes through
part of its course. As a result of this unusual situation,
Durham has an extraordinarily rich fauna and flora, making
the region one to deliglit the heart of the naturalist.

During the summer season birds are abundant in this town.
In the yards about the houses the chipping-sparrows are
cherished dwellers, building their horse-hair nests under the
very windows, and supervising the lawns and roadways for
grasshoppers, caterpillars, and many other insects found
among the grasses and low herbage. The robins are also
abundant, running over the lawns in search of earthworms,
cutworms, and grasshoppers, often building their nests in the
trees in the yard, though more conunonly rejjairing to the

1

BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

near-by orchard for that purpose. The bkiebirds feed more
freely upon low-living insects than even the robins do, eating
great numbers of cutworms and similar pests about the
borders of the garden, as well as searching for insects in the

fruit and shade trees. Far-
ther afield this area next the
ground is supervised by
various other birds : in the
pastures and grass-lands
sparrows, meadow- larks,
bobolinks, blackbirds, and
quails are always searching
for caterpillars and other
insects ; along the borders
of the forests che winks and
brown thrashers scratch
beneath the shrubbery for
such insect fare as is there
available ; in the deeper
woods the ruffed grouse
is similarly engaged, while
along the margins of ponds
and streams the sand-pipers, plovers, woodcock, and snipe
are always probing for hidden tidbits.

Fortunately, trees are abundant in Durham : near the
houses and along the streets shade and ornamental trees
abound ; in the orchards apple-trees prevail ; along the water-
courses alders and other shrubby trees hold sway, while in
the forests oak and maple and beech and stately pines are
everywhere. All of these trees have their insect enemies : in
tlie trunk are borers of the bark, the sai)-wood and the heart-
wood ; on the branches are gnawing and sucking insects ; on
the leaves are caterpillars and plant-lice and leaf-hoppers and
liosts of others. Set over against these destroyers are many
feathered enemies : the woodpeckers, assisted by the nut-

FEMALE RED-WINGED BLACKBIKD.

THE IIKLATIONS OF BIRDS TO MAX. i]

hatches and creepers, look after the msects on and beneath
tlie bark of both the trunk and branches ; the chickadees and
warblers and vireos and kinglets are always scrutinizing tlic
leaves for their inhabitants, and are assisted in the case of
the caterpillars and larger insects by the bluebirds, thrushes,
cherry-birds, and many others.

The air is no less thoroughly supervised by our feathered
allies than are the grasses and the trees. Most insects at one
stage of their existence are aerial : by day the butterflies, the
beetles, some of the moths, the grasshoppers, the hosts of
two-winged flies, and many others are upon the wing: while
by night an even greater host of moths, fire-flies and other
beetles, bugs, and many other insects are abroad. To keep
in check these hordes of flying things there are certain well-
marked groups of birds :
by day the swallows of
many species and the chim-
ney-swifts are constantly
patrolling the larger spaces
of the air, over both land
and water, capturing mil-
lions of these aerial insects ;
the khigbird, jjewee, and

other fly-catchers, as well
as to a more limited de-
gree the cedar-bird and
bluebird, capture the in-
sects that pass witliin their
range of vision as they
perch upon fence or stump
or tree; the .warblers and nn: kingiuim..

vireos catch those insects

flying in the iiiunediate vicinity of the green-leaved trees,
while the redstarts have well been named the fly-catchers
of the inner tree-tops ; by night the nighthawks and whip-

4 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

poorwills are rushing everywhere through the air catching in
their capacious maws insects of all sorts and sizes. With all
these hirds to devour them, it is evident that the insects of

the air are well provided
against, if we will only en-
courage our aerial friends
as they deserve.

But insects are not the
only pests troublesome
upon our farms. In and
about the barns and out-
l)iiil(lings mice and rats do
much damage to grains,
eggs, and poultry ; in the
grass-fields moles and
meadow-mice are some-
limes injurious; in the or-
chards rabbits often girdle
young trees by gnawing
I lie bark. Against these
also the birds help us : the
hawks and owls feed largely upon all these rodents, and per-
form a great tliough little appreciated service in keeping them
in check.

After many years of study, in New Hampshire as well as
many other States, of these relations of birds to agriculture,
we are convinced that the birds are a most potent factor in
making crop production possible, that without them Ave should
be overrun with pests — vertebrate and invertebrate — to an
extent of which we now have no conception. And so we are
disposed to be lenient towards tlie few shortcomings of the
birds which loom so large to many who see only one side of
tlic pirlure. Frnil is pilfered by some of the birds, though
ill our region so few clierries and small fruits are raised and
llicj-c is relatively so much wild fruit that the loss is of small

THE YELLUW ^VAKK1.1■:

THE KELATIUXS UF BIRDS TO MAN. 5

account. In orchards near the woods a few trees are often
disbudded in winter by ruffed grouse, and some other trees
are treated in a similar way occasionally when the pine
grosbeaks visit us. In corn-fields some corn is pulled up
by crows, though our farmers prevent this largely by various
means, and from us at least find no objection when they are
able to shoot these wily thieves. And the same is true in
the case of the yellow-bellied sap-sucker when it is girdling
a tree, if only the owner will not extend his liatred to the
woodpeckers that resemble it, — the downy and tlie hairy, —
which are so eminently useful. In England some birds are

HEAD OF HAWK.

put on the black-list because they feed upon fish, but with
us this is never thought of. We are sure the kingfisher is
not begrudged his scaly diet by any one wlio is able to appre-
ciate the fitness of the bird to our river scenery. And we
can well spare the few fish our ospreys catch in the waters
of the bay, when we are rewarded by the sight of the stately
birds soaring through the air. About the only bird offence
we are unable to condone is the robbing of our poultry-yards
by the hawks and owls; and here, uiirortiiiiatcly, llic inoffen-
sive species generally have to pay the })enalty lor the crimes
of their more ferocious kindred.

6 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

As to the relations between the birds themselves — especially
the few that prey upon their kindred — in general we are con-
tent to let Nature work out her balance of life in her own

HEAD OF SHRIKE.

way. The chief exception to this under our present condi-
tions would be in the notable case where short-sighted man
has interfered with Nature's balance by introducing the Eng-
lish si)arrow, which, we regret to say, is becoming well estab-
lished in our town. And we have the same feeling with
regard to those parasitic and predaceous insects which birds
undoubtedly devour : we are quite sure that by so doing they
are helping to keep the balance of insect life where it will be
most effective for man's benefit.

The birds are also to be credited with the destruction of
an enormous amount of weed-seed, a service which is little
appreciated by the general public. The estimate by Profes-
sor F. E. L. Beal, that the tree-sparrows alone will eat eight
hundred and seventy-five tons of weed-seed in Iowa in one
season, should help to a more general appreciation of this
phase of bird activity.

There are various other benefits derived from birds which
are not illustrated in our local conditions. One such is the

THE FIELATIONS OF BIRDS TO MAN. 7

supplying us with down by the eider-ducks ; anotiier, the
scavenger value of buzzards and vultures in our Southern
States, as well as of gulls in the harbors of our cities; and
yet another, the indication of shoals of fisli by the presence
of gulls, as along our Atlantic coast.

Next in importance to the direct economic value of this
bird Ufe to our towns-people should be considered its value as
an object of study and interesting recreation. Many people
find in the birds a subject of constant interest in which they
are kept out-of-doors in the health-giving atmosphere of our
coastal region, finding always something to occupy and tran-
quillize the mind. With the modern devices for such study,
— the splendid field-glasses, the improved long-distance cam-
eras, the tents for close-range observations, — together with
the constantly increasing number who are being attracted to
it through the schools and the fascinating bird-books of later
years, the class of people who thus find in the observation
of bird-life a delightful pastime is certain to increase rapidly.

And there are many people with no special liking for
natural history studies who yet appreciate the value of birds
in ministering to man's love of beauty. To these the sight
of a brilliant hunmiing-bird poised before a flower, of a
yellow warbler among the apple-blossoms, or of a splendid
heron beside the rippling waters is a memory to be cherished
certainly as much as the sight of a great masterpiece of paint-
ing or sculpture created by Imman genius.

There is also another relation the birds of Durham l)rar
to its human inhabitants. In the woods everywhere rnH'iMl
grouse are plentiful; in the low swales woodcock, and in the
wet meadows Wilson's snipe are not uncommon ; along the
bay shores and by the marshes plover of various sorts are
often found: on the waters of tlie bay wild ducks and wild
geese are abundant during the fall migration. All of these
birds afford those inliabitants who enjoy Icgiliinatc spni-j an
opportunity for invigorating days of Innilin-, as well as a < cr-

8 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

tain amount of excellent food. This game might also easily
become a source of revenue to many other people in the
town by attracting city visitors for the shooting season.

In the following pages we have attempted to discuss in a
broad yet specific way the relations of birds to man as illus-
trated in temperate North America. The book has been
made possible only through the labors of such investigators
as Forbes, Merriam, Beat, Barrows, Fisher, Palmer, Judd,
Warren, Herrick, Montgomery, and many others, upon whose
published results we have freely drawn. The need of the
book was first shown when the senior author undertook to
teach a college class the subject of economic ornithology, and
its first draft consisted of the lectures prepared for that class.
When later the junior author — a life-long student of birds —
became associated with liim, a joint study of the Avhole sub-
ject was undertaken, the results of which are here presented.

A considerable proportion of the illustrations in this book
are from original photographs — chiefly of mounted specimens
— by the authors. The others have been gleaned from vari-
ous sources, which are credited beneath the pictures.

HEAD OF CHIPPING-.si'ARKOW.

riioUjiliaplttd J'roia lij'f bij Dr. /.'. II'. Shufi /<ll.

THK KIN(iMlKI).

("IJAI'TKK 1.
THE mi:th(H)s (IK stidvim; thk food of birds.

TiiK acciiraic (k'lcriiiiiiatioii of llic lr("(liii<i- lial)its ol" liinis
must form the Ibundatioii of any adequate knowledge of tlieir
economic status. To determine these habits two princi})al
methods are available : (1) the birds may be watched in their
natural haunts and the food they take be observed as care-
fully as possible ; (2) the birds may be killed and the food
found in their alimentary canals examined to determine its
nature. A third method, that of observing the food prefer-
ences of birds in captivity, is chiefly valuable in helping to
determine the amount of food eaten by birds, although con-
siderable information may thus be obtained also regarding
their choice of food.

The first of these methods may be readily employed in
determining the varieties of vegetable food that adult birds
eat, and in exceptional cases is of value in determining the
animal food of such birds. It is of greatest value, however,
Avlien applied to the nestlings, especially in the modification
of the method first successfully employed by Professor F. II.
Herrick, and described in detail later in this chapter.

To the majority who would learn at first hand what birds
eat, field-work is the only sort that appeals. Only those with
the genuine scientific spirit are willing to soil their lingers
with dissection or to spend hours in identifying the conlciils
of a single stomach, even though p(jssessed of sufficient expe-
rience to carry on such an investigation. Even in field-work
an extensive knowledge of animals and plants is necessary il
one would name half the objects he sees in birds' bills. Hut
while it is highly desirable to ascertain exactly what birds (^d,
it by no means follows lliat .'i person should w;iit until lie has

10 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

mastered botany, entomology, and kindred subjects, that will
enter into his researches, before attempting to learn at least
the general character of the food eaten by our various birds.
To know whether a bird prefers insects or seeds is worth
while, though the name of the insect or seed consumed may
be beyond guessnig at. The main thing, after all, hi held-
work, is to keep an attentive eye on the birds, to learn how
to observe witliout frightening them, and to know when and
where the different species feed.

The study of food hal^its is not usually begun until after
the student has gained a fair understanding of other habits
that are more attractive to watch and oftener dwelt upou 1)\
ornithological writers. It is a sort of post-graduate course,
so to speak, — another field into which the enthusiast, after
covering the old run of species, distribution, migration, nests,
eggs, etc., may enter if his enthusiasm holds out. There-
fore it is taken for granted that whoever is inclined to inves-
tigate the food of birds is ecpial to liis undertaking from the
bird side, if no more. What lie may not know about the
items of food in the beginning, lie will become so anxious to
tind out that his stock of information will rapidly increase.
If one is interested in birds, the food problem will afford a
good '-handle" for i)icking u[) an interest in other branches
of natural history.

For examining adult birds in the held, good vision and a
note-book and i)eiicil are the chief requisites, though an
opera- or held-glass may often be used to advantage. War-
blers, vireos, and other active birds that live by foraging may
be quietly followed as they Hit Irom tree to tree. In this way
it is not dit'licult to discover the character of their food and
about how much is consumed during a given interval of
time. Now and then there will be favorable moments when
it is possible to see for a certainty just what is taken.
Cuckoos, kingfishers, flycatchers, and other birds that are
more or less sedentary mnsi hr walclied, an lionr or two

MKTllUDS OK STlDVIMi '1111: F(M)|» ol- IMIlDS. 11

perhaps, from one position, — ;iii iM-(ii|);iri(.ii no! nearly so
irksome as it looks on paper.

Wherever an abnndanee of some particular kind of food
occurs, it is a iiood plan to sit down where you can see witli-
out beini^- sim'u and wait for visitors, hi this case your notes
will take on a (hfferent look. Instead of having a bird's name
at the head and a list of food items beneath, yon will have a
tbod name at the top and the names of birds that partake in
the columns below. Thus, you may sit on the shore and see
what birds live on fish and what on mollusks. You may
stroll across the helds at haying time and discover the birds
that feed on the myriads of leaf-hoppers, grasshoppers, and
''millers''' that take to wing at every step. So may you learn
what birds are addicted to any seed or fruit that you may
bring under observation. It is well to note in passing that
birds are excellent judges of quality in fruits, for which reason
it is well to see " which way the birds fly" before selecting a
site for operations.

In the laboratory birds may be kept alive and tested as to
their preferences for different kinds of food, though such ex-
periments are not likely to be very satisfactory, for the reason
that birds in captivity quickly learn to relish things they would
never taste in the wild state.

A knowledge of the amount of food eaten by caged birds
is of value, liowever, as whatever difference there may be
between the quantity consumed in the Avild and in the captive
state is on the safe side. A prisoner cannot dispose of so
much as the activity of a free bird demands.

The determination of l)ird food by dissection reipiires an
extensive outfit, if it is thoroughly done. Then^ must be at
hand good collections of botanical spechuens, including seeds ;
of insects, mohusks, fish, frogs, reptiles, birds, and small mam-
mals, — everything, in short, likely to Ix.' eat(Mi by a bird, — in
order to name correctly the visceral contents. Even the
bones of the smaller vertebrates will be necessary for identi-

12 BIRDS TX THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

fying the food of hawks and owls. A simple magnifier will
be needed constantly and at times there will be use for a com-
pound microscope.

Instead of examining- each bird at the time of its capture,
it is usually more convenient to remove the digestive tract,
and, after attaching a numbered tag by means of thread, to
put it into a jar of five per cent, formalin or eighty per cent,
alcohol, where it may safely remain until enough have ac-
cumulated for a day's work. Viscera may be kept indefi-
nitely if the preservative fluid is changed as often as it be-
comes discolored. The number on the tag corresponds to
one in the note-book, where are recorded the name of the
bird, the date and place of capture, and any other data that
may have a bearing on diet.

When ready for the analysis, a stomach may be cut open
wilh a pair of scissors or a scalpel, and the contents emptied,
with a little water, on a piece of plain glass, — say, three by
three inches, for any bird smaller than a flicker. If a dis-
secting microscoi)e be available, the magnifier may be managed
more easily, and, furthermore, transmitted light or reflected
light with a black or white background may be used at will.
AVlth a pair of sharp needles set in handles the mass may be
spread over the glass and assorted. Wings of insects may be
unrolled and floated on tlie film of water so as to be identified
as to family and often as to genus. By assembling the parts
of insects or other food of the same kind into little piles, the
relative amount of each may be estimated.

Hawks, owls, crows, flycatchers, and certain other birds that
devour indigestible matter, such as bones, the elytra of bee-
tles, etc., regurgitate such matter in the form of compact
pellets, generally at the roosting places.^ Insectivorous and

^ See The Common Crow, Bull. No. G, U. S. Dept. of Agr., Div. Orn.
and Mam.; also Montgomery on tiie Food of Owls, Am. Nat., July, 1899,
vol. xxxiii. pp. 568-57:^.

Bobolink Airii..A(;Hi.\(. .nk>t in I'ail,

NKAllKl: IloMI

METHODS OF STUDYING THE FOOD OF BIRDS

13

fruit-eating birds do not digest tlieir food so tlioroughly but
that its nature is apparent from the excreta. Wherever birds
roost in numbers, pellets or excreta or botli may be gathered,
and when analyzed will give results scarcely less valuable
than those obtained by dissection, with the advantage that
there is no sacrifice of bird life.

A study of the food of nestlings is less diriicult and ou tlic
whole more satisfactory. Both the kind and llic (piaiitily

i:i;ai)Y tu fekd.

may be accurately determined without injuring so much as
a feather.

If the nest is on or near the ground, a small neutral-rolort'd
tent may be set up beside it as near as you please, into which
you may retir(\ and, by watching the progress of atfairs
througli a small '' peep-hole,*' fdl your note-book with an ac-
count of the rations that are consumed. If on the ground the
nest and young may be transferred to a sunken pail for better
observation, as shown in the bobolink photograi)hs herewith.
It usually ]iapi)ens, however, that the nest is not in a i)osilion

14 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

where a tent can be placed beside it. In that case locate the
tent in a good place as near by as may be, and then cut oil
the branch, fasten it strongly to a support by cords or screws,
and by degrees move it to a place beside the tent.

When it is not necessary to remove the nest, the tent may
be pitched as early as the day of hatching, in most cases at
least, without fear of causing the old birds to desert. But Avhen
I lie nest has to be moved, unless the degrees of progress are
jiiadc very short, there is danger of desertion if the moving is
undertaken beforr' the young are well covered with starting
pinfeathers. Tlien they are able to move about and usually

iPl^ >, ^^^H

orTFiT FdU ph()T()(;rafhini; birds in nkst.

to make sounds that attract the parent l)irds. At that time
also parental devotion is at its full strenglli, and the old ])irds
are willing to face dangers tliat they would not otherwise
encounter.'

Where a nest is to be moved and there is not much danger
of being bothered by prowling boys, we usually employ a
fairly good-sized tent, as it gives the observer a chance to
change his posifion without giving external evidence of it.

' This method of controlling the nest and nsiui: a tent for eoncealment
was first described in "The Home Life of Wild Rirds," hy Professor F.
II. Hcrrick, which sec

METHODS OK STIUVIM; THE FOOD ol' lUIIDS. ] fy

II is scl up early, so llie birds may i^cl acciishHiicd lo scciii':
it, and not taken down till the observation is r()iiij)|('t('(l.
Sometimes several nests are brougld one after aiiollicr to I lie
same site. In the illustration opposite there is a cliippinf,'-
sparrow's nest in position and a robin's in waiting only ten
feet away. Except for the trouble and a very slight delay
in the work of the l)irds, there is no ol)jecli(ni to striking tlic
tent every evening and pitching it again in the moriung.

At such short range there is generally no doubt as to the
identity of every object that is brought to the nest. Some
birds bring food in their gullets 'and feed by regurgitation. If
it is not possible to see what they are delivering, wait till the
old one has gone aw^ay, then go out and examine the young.
Four times out of five you can tell what they have swallo\v<'d
by looking through the transparent skin of their necks. In
case there is still a doubt, it is not difficult to make them dis-
gorge by placing a thumb and finger below the mass and
working it upward to tlie mouth. Simple honesty demands
that it be returned when you are done with it.

See how many hours a day the old birds attend their young
and how many times they average to feed })er hour. Estimate
the proportion of each kind of food from an examination of
your notes. Then by weighing samples of the different kinds
you can quickly compute the daily consumption.

As a check on the above method weigh tlic yoimg at the
same hour every day. Collect several excreta and tind the
average weight, also observe the average number voided per
hour. The weight of excrement for the day i)lus the bird's
gain in weight for the day will give the weight of food con-
sumed, less the small amount lost by respiration.

The excreta of young birds is so well wrapped in a ( oat of
albumen that it is not so ohjeclionable to handle as might i)e
supposed. It may be obtaine(l at any time by taking the
bird from the nest and keeping it out foi- a lew minutes.

In order to distinguish one nestling from another they may

1(^ BIRDS IX THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

b(^ marked either on llie leg or on the side of the bill with a
nitrate of silver pencil, which may be pnrcliased at any drug
store. There may be some difficulty in applyhig the pencil so
as to make a good mark, owing to the oily skin of the birds,
but see that it is wet and keep rubbing. The marks will
need to be renewed occasionally.

The great value of this method is that it enables one to
get photographs of the birds as they are being fed, beautiful
examples of which are shown in Professor Herrick's book.
There are, however, elements of danger to the birds, which
should by no means be overlooked. There is danger of
desertion by the parents, of too much exposure to the hot
rays of the sun, of lack of protection from the cold of night
or of the storm and stress of w^eather, as well as of various
living enemies. No one should remove a nest from its original
site who is not willing to take every ])ossible jirecaution to
avoid a tragedy.

HEAD OF BROTTN THRASHER.

CHAPTER TI.

THE DEVELOPMENT OE ECnXOMH" OHXTTIK )L( MIV.

When Coliinibiis was niakiiiij;' tliat cvciilliil voyage which
led to the discovery of the New World, lie was chec^red by
the sight of small birds that appeared beside his ship, telling
him of his approach to land. And ever since then these
children of the air have been of interest to the white people
who have come to America, as they had been for untold ages
before to the red men who roamed over the continent. The
early New England settlers were troubled by some birds
against which they declared war, and cheered by others to
which tliey extended the offerings of friendship. And even
in those early days there were some men who found in the
study of birds a source of delight to which they gladly gave
their time. It is nearly two centuries since Mark Catesby
wandered through the wilds of Florida and Carolina, seeking
out the birds and other animals of those unexplored regions,
the publication of his results having been begun in 1731.
Towards the end of the eighteenth century there were many
workers in the field, the most prominent being Bartram,
Latham, and Barton. And before the end of that century
Alexander Wilson came over from Scotland to begin those
pedler journeys during which he became interested in Ameri-
can birds.

At the opening of the nineteenth century Wilson was greatly
interested in our bird life, and as early as 18()<S began the
])ublication of his splendid volumi^s on American Ornithology.
As Dr. T. S. Palmer has well said, — in an admirable paper,* of

^ A Review (.r Economic ()niini(.l..-y, Vcarhook, D.'i'l. A^rr, 1X«M),
pp. 259-292.

18 lUKDS IX THEIR IIELATIUXS TO MAN.

pari ui' wliicli ilio preseiil cJuiptt'i' is necessarily a poor parallel,
— this work of Wilson's laid the true foundation of ornithology
in the United States. And it contained many references to
the purely economic phases of bird life, showing again and
again the value of different species as destroyers of insects.
Before the century had run its first quarter the great Audubon
was exploring tne wilderness in all directions, making wonder-
ful paintings of its bird inhaJDitants and drawing up excellent
accounts of their ways and habits. The publication of his
work began in 1827 and continued till 1839. He also made
many references to feeding habits and economic values, as
did Nuttall, whose volumes, published from 1832 to 1834,
were largely based on the works of these two earlier naturalists.
From 18o0 onward the technical science of ornithology
made wonderful strides, which it is no part of our present
purpose to describe. But about this date various persons
interested in agriculture began to see the value of birds as
insect destroyers, realizing that the unchecked destruction of
these feathered allies was leading to an alarining increase
of insect pests. The agricultural journals and the reports of
agricultural and horticultural societies began to publish many
excellent articles, which showed careful observations and
thoughtful consideration of the relation of birds to crop pro-
duction. The titles of most of these papers will be found
in the bibliography at the end of this book, so that there is
no need for specific mention here. One by Wilson Flagg,
however, published in the Report on the Agriculture of
Massachusetts for 1861, is so remarkable that we cannot pass
it by. It is entitled " The Utility of Birds," and is a general
survey of the field which would do honor lo a man to-day,
after all the intervening years of study and discovery. It is
based on the thesis distinctly stated in these words, which are
italicized in the original article, — ^Jutf vdvli sjjccics of bird pvr-
for'ms certain serriccs in tJie economy of nature^ irhich cannot be
80 well accomplished bi/ ainj otiirr sjjecies. This paper was

THE DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC ORNITHOLOGY. 19

printed shortly after the publication of a remarkable article
by Professor J. W. P. Jenks, in which an elaborate study of
the food of the robin was recorded. In this study the modern
method of exam in in,!,'- the contents of ilir alimentary tract and
estimatuiy- the ratios of the food elements found was em-
ployed, apparently for the first time in any elaborate way.
During the same year (1858) that Professor Jenks was making
liis investigations, anotlier Massachusetts man, Professor D.
Treadwell, made sojue remarkable observations upon the
amount of food required by young robins, the results of
which have often been quoted.

During the decade from 1860 to 1870 there Avas a great
deal of discussion regarding the influence of birds upon agri-
culture. The transactions of the various agricultural and
horticultural sociclics and the ag'ricultural, horticultural, and
entomological journals of this period contain frecpicnt references
to the subject. The statement by Dr. B. D. Walsh, the first
State Entomologist of Illinois, that birds were of doubtful
value because of the parasitic insects tliey devoured, led to
much comment ; this statement is discussed in Chapter VII.
of the present work.

It was during this period that Professor Samuel Aughey, of
Nebraska, began his remarkable investigation of the relations
'of birds to outbreaks of Rocky Mountain locusts, the results
of Avhicli are summarized in Chapter VI. herewith. These
observations were not published, however, until near the close
of the next decade, — 1878. This was the most important
study of the subject carried on during the decade from 1870
to 1880, alihough before the close of this period Professor S.
A. Forbes, State Entomologist of Illinois and Director of the
Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History, had begun the
studies on which the classic papers jHiblished during the next
decade were based. During the early years of the ne^xt
decade Professor Forbes ])ublished several pai)ers which may
fairly be said hi furnish the basis for the modern development

20 BIKUS IX THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

of economic ornithology. The most important of these have
the following titles : " The Food of Birds" (1880) ; " On some
Interactions of Organisms" (1880); '^ Notes on Insectivorous
Coleoptera" (1880) ; '-The Food Relations of the Carabidse and
the Coccinellid*" (1883); "The Regulative Action of Birds
upon Insect Oscillations" (1883). These papers, by one of
the most scholarly naturalists America has ever known, were
as remarkable for their philosophic breadth of view as they
were for the care Avilh Avhich the last detail was followed out.
On the Avhole they still remain the most satisfactory papers
upon economic ornithology that have been published.

In 1882 Professor F. II. King, of Wisconsin, puJDlislied an
elaborate paper on the "Economic Relations of Wisconsin
Birds," and in 1886 Dr. B. H. Warren i)ublished a report upon
the "Birds of Pennsylvania." Each of these contained the
results of many studies of bird food and was an important
contribution to economic ornithology.

During the latter half of tliat decade the subject of eco-
non]ic ornithology was taken up by the United States Depart-
ment of Agriculture, and the story of the development of the
subject since that time has been chiefly the story of the
operations of the Division of Biological Survey. This work
lias been so well summarized by Dr. T. S. Palmer, Assistant
Chief of the Survey, that we quote from his paper at consid-
erable length.

" One of the most important results of the organization of
the American Ornithologists' Union was the impetus given to
the study of economic oriuthology. Committees on the Eng-
lish sparrow, bird migration, and geographical distribution
were appointed at the first meeting, and elaborate investiga-
tions were at once begun. The work, however, had been
planned on such a large scale that it soon outgrew the re-
sources of the committees, and at the second annual meeting
of the union it was determined to present a memorial to
Congress to secure an appropriation for continuing it. The

THE DKVELOIWIEXT OF ECONOMIC OIIMTIIOLOGY. 21

relation ol l)ir(ls (u aLjriculture is so intricate and the thorough
study of their food so difficult, on account of the amount of
time and material nMpiired, that investigations of this kind
are (H'ihnarily ])eyoiid the means of private individuals and
are entitled to goverinnent support. In recognition of the
importance of the work, Congress granted an appropriation
of iive thousand dollars, to be expended under the Division
of Entomology of the Department of Agriculture, and on
July 1, 1885, established a section of economic ornithology.
Under the direction of Dr. C. Hart Merriam, investigations
were outlined on a broad scale, to include the 'food habits,
distribution, and migration of North American birds and
mammals in relation to agriculture, horticulture, and forestry.'
A year later the section became an independent Division, and
in 1896 its name was changed by Congress to the broader
title of Division of Biological Survey.

'• FmST PUBLICATIONS OF THE DIVISION.

'' Upon the organization of the Division of Ornithology and
Mammalogy, the data collected by several of the committees
of the American Ornithologists' Union were turned over to it
and formed the basis of its first two bulletins. The notes on
distribution and migration of birds were |)ublished in 1888
under the title ' Bird Migration in the Mississippi Valley,' and
the report on ' The English Sparrow in America' appeared in
the fo Ho wing year. The latter report contained a full ac-
count of the sparrow and its introduction into the United
States, its depredations on crops, and recommendations for
destroying it, or at least preventing its increase. Spi^ial at-
tention was called to tlie desiral^ility of legislation permitting
the destruction of the bird. It is interesting to note that
at the time the bulletin was issued the English sparrow was
practically protected l)y law in twenty-two States, although
Ohio and Michigan had taken steps to exterminate il, while
now most of the States have witlidrawn protection, and llli-

22 P.IRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

nois, Michigan, Oliio, ^iiid Utah have vainly attempted to de-
stroy the pest under the bounty system.

" FUNCTIONS OF THE DIVISION FROM THE STAND-POINT OF ECONOMIC

ORNITHOLOm'.

'' From the stand-point of economic ornithology the Divi-
sion may be said to have three functions : (1) to determine
as accurately as possible the food of birds of economic im-
portance ; (2) to act as a court of appeal to investigate com-
plaints concerning depredations of birds on crops ; (3) to
diffuse the results of its work and educate the public as to
the value of birds. In studying birds' food dependence is
placed chiefly on examination of stomachs to ascertain what
has been actually eaten. Stomachs are collected in different
localities at all seasons and in sufficient numbers to show
clearly tlie character of the food. The stomach contents are
examined microscopically and identified by comparison with
reference collections of seeds and insects. This laboratory
examination is supplemented by experiment and field work.

'• INVESTIGATIONS REGARDING SUPPOSED INJURIOUS BIRDS.

"Species popularly considered injurious, such as hawks
and owls, the crow, blackbirds, woodpeckers, and blue-jays,
received attention first. A report on hawks and. owls was
undertaken by Dr. A. K. Fisher, one on the crow by Professor
W. B. Barrows, assisted by Mr. E. A. Schwarz in the identi-
lication of insect material, wliile tlie investigations on the
crow blackbird, woodpeckers, and bhi(>-jay were made by
Professor F. E. L. Beal.

"The destruction of birds of prey in Pennsylvania, fol-
lowing the passage of the 'scalp act' of 1885, had attracted
wide-spread interest, and showed the necessity for correcting
erroneous views concerning tlie value of hawks and owls.
About tw^o thousand seven hundred stomachs of these birds
were collected, the contents carefully examined, and the re-

THE 15AKN-<)\V1, AND lis I'KKV.
{A/'rr I'liitcd States Division of Biological Surrey.)

THE DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC ORNITHOLOGY. 23

suits published iu 1893 in a bulletin entitled ' Hawks and
Owls of the United States,' illustrated by twenty-six colored
plates. Of the seventy-five species and subspecies which
occur in America north of Mexico, only six were fonnd to be
injurious, while several were shown t(j be beiieficial. About
the tune the work was begun bounties on birds of prey
were, or liad recently been, offered by Colorado, Indiana,
]^ew Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West
Virginia. At pn^sent not only have all the important State
bounties been withdrawn (the ads still in force are mainly
local), but several States have adopted protective measures.
New Hampshire and Ohio began with eagles, Rhode Island
with fish-hawks, and New York and Minnesota with owls.
Pennsylvania and Alabama now protect all except the six or
seven really injurious species, while daring the present year
Utah has gone so far as to make it unlawful to kill any hawks
or owls. Such changes show the gradual appreciation of the
value of these really useful birds.

" In the case of the crow nearly one thousand stomachs were
examined, and the charges of pulling up sprouting corn, of
injuring corn in the milk, of destroying fruit, and of destroy-
ing eggs of poultry and wild birds were all sustained. But it
was found that corn in the milk formed only three per cent,
of the total food, and most of the corn destroyed was waste
grain ; that the destruction of fruit and eggs was trivial, while,
on the other hand, many noxious insects and mice were
eaten. The verdict was therefore rendered in favor of the
crow, since, on the whole, the bird seemed to do more good
than harm.

'•Similar studies of crow blackbirds (based on about two
thousand three hundred stomachs) and woodpeckers (in-
cluding nearly seven liuiKlrcil stouiachs), published in 1895,
showed that these birds were decidedly benelicial. Only one
of the sev<m species of woodp»^ckers examinc^d — the yellow-
bellied — rxhibited any (lucstionablc traits, — nauK^ly, a fond-

24 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

ness for the sap and inner bark of trees. Of the forty or fifty
bh'ds, exclusive of hawks and owls, thus far investigated, the
English sparrow is the only one which has been condemned.

"investigations regarding beneficial birds.

" A number of species usually considered beneficial have
also received attention. The Baltimore oriole, the meadow-
lark, red-winged blackbird, rose-breasted grosbeak, cedar-
bird, robin, bluebird, swallows, and several flycatchers have
been studied by Professor Beal, and the shrikes, cat-bird,
mocking-bird, brown thrasher, and house wren by Dr. Syl-
vester D. Judd. One of the interesting facts brought out in
studying the cat-bird was the discovery that some birds prefer
wild to cultivated fruits, so that the latter may be protected
by planting certain berry-bearing slirubs and trees, especially
in regions where wild fruit is naturally scarce. The king-
bird, frequently condemned as a destroyer of honey-bees, was
shown to eat very few bees, and these mostly drones. On
the other hand, it kills many of the destructive robber flies,
and a large proportion of its food is made up of destructive
insects, so that it must be regarded as decidedly beneficial.
Recent investigations show less favorable results in the case
of some other flycatchers, and indicate that the prevailing
idea that all insectivorous birds are necessarily beneficial
may re([uire decided modification, and that there are birds
which habitually feed on beneficial insects to such an extent
as to lower their value to the farmer, if not to place them
among the enemies of his crops.

" results of fourteen years' work.

"As a result of fourteen years' work, the Biological Survey
has brought together a collection of about thirty-two thousand
bird stomachs, of which some fourteen thousand have been
examined. It has investigated about one hundred species
(nearly half hawks and owls) and |)re[>are(] Hie results for

THE DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC ORNITHOLOGY. 25

publication in the form of bulletins or special papers. The
publications on birds already issued include seven special
bulletins, fifteen papers in the Annual Reports for 1886-1893,
inclusive, and eight papers in the Yearbooks for 1894-1898.
Some of these papers, such as ' Seed-planting by Birds,'
' Hawks and Owls from the Stand-point of the Farmer,'
'Birds that injure Grain,' and 'Birds as Weed Destroyers,'
deal with general topics of special interest. The investiga-
tions on some thirty grain- and insect-eating birds were sum-
marized in 1897 for a bulletin entitled 'Common Birds in
their Relation to Agriculture,' and the work of the Division
has also formed the basis of two important sunnuaries, one
by Miss Florence A. Merriam, entitled ' How Birds affect the
Farm and Garden,' the other by Professor Beal, on ' Eco-
nomic Relations of Birds and their Food.'

"The educational work of the Biological Survey has not
been confined to laboratory studies or publications. The
Division has prepared exhibits to illustrate the food habits of
birds and modern methods of investigation for the expositions
at Cincinnati in 1888, Chicago in 1893, Atlanta in 1895, and
Nashville in 1897. It endorsed the proposition to establish
a 'Bird-day' in the schools in 1894, and issued a circular on
the subject two years later. Ever since its organization it has
acted as a bureau of information on all subjects relating to
birds or their distribution and habits. In short, it has spared
no effort to advance the cause of economic ornithology in
every possible way."

Such a record as this is certainly one in which any com-
pany of workers may well take i)ride. And when we realize
how few the workers have been and how great has been the
territory they have covered, we can but feel that remarkable
results have been accomplished.

As to the future jjrogress of economic ornithology it is
becoming more and luore evident to careful students of the
subjccl thai nmcli of the best work hercaller must be inten-

26 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

sive rather than extensive. In the preliminary stages of our
knowledge the miscellaneous collection of bird stomachs from
all parts of the country at all seasons of the year is a neces-
sary and useful step. The results thus obtahied in regard to
many species are of great value, but in the case of others,
notably those of doubtful utility to man, — as, e.g.^ the fly-
catchers mentioned above by Dr. Palmer, — they must be
supplemented by careful studies on the intensive plan. An
excellent example of this is Dr. S. D. Judd's notable study of
the food preferences of the cat-bird,^ and other studios of the
same sort are being made by Dr. Judd and other members of
the Biological Survey on a farm near Washington controlled
by the Survey.-

It Avas long ago pointed out by Forbes that many of the
most important problems in economic ornithology rested at
bottom upon the science of entomology. And in the diffi-
cult and perplexing problems that arise in the case of many
species a fuller development of entomological knowledge is
greatly needed. One of the most important of these topics
is that of the relation of parasitic insects to each other and
to their hosts.

The discussion in this chapter has been purposely re-
stricted to the development of our knowledge of the more
general economic relations of birds. For a history of the
various special phases of the subject — game, eggs, feathers,
guano, introduction of foreign birds — the reader is referred to
Dr. Palmer's article in the Yearbook of the Department of
Agriculture for 1899.

1 American Naturalist, vol. xwi. pp. 892-397.

^ See "Birds of a Maryland Farm." Bulletin No. 17, Division of Bio-
logical Survey.

('IT APT Ell 111.

THK YKdr/rABlJ' FOOD OF lURDS.

A COMPREHENSIVE survey of tlie feeding habits of birds
leads to the conclusion that the connnon terms A^egetivorons
and insectivorous have but a relative significance. Tliey
imply predominance in a given diet rather than an exclusive
restriction to it. We cannot indicate a single finch, grouse,
or pigeon — the most exclusive of the vegetarians — and say
that it never eats insects, while on the other hand, after being
assured that swallows and flycatchers — the most persistent of
the insect hunters — sometimes eat berries, we cannot feel jus-
tified in maintaining upon purely negative evidence that any
of the so-called insectivorous birds never eats vegetable food.

The vegetation -eaten by birds may conveniently be con-
sidered under three heads, — namely, fruits, foliage, and roots.
Under the first would be included all seeds and seed-bearing
products of plants ; they may be subdivided into seeds and
achenes, nuts, and fleshy fruits. Under the second head
would be comprised leaves, buds, and blossoms ; while the
third would include roots and root products.

The largest proportion of the seeds eaten by birds are pro-
duced by herbs, most of which are useless, while many of them
are noxious weeds. The quantity of pestiferous seeds thus
annually destroyed is enormous, and man is deeply indebted
to the birds that destroy them. The great group of many-
flowered plants — the order Composihv — sui^plies food for a
multitude of small finches. Early in the season the downy
heads of the dandelion call sparrows and goldfinches to
lawns and road-sides. A little later horse-weeds and thistles
furnish sinular food to the same hungry company. The
ragweed, which springs up unbidden everywhere, is perhaps

27

28 BIRDS IN THEIR. RELATIONS TO MAX.

the best bird provider in this family ; in grain-fields, along
road-sides, and in worn-out pastures this plant affords the
birds a feast unsurpassed either in amount or duration.
During the latter part of their stay the summer sparrows
largely depend upon it ; while in the winter bob-whites, gold-
finches, redpolls, English sparrows, snow-flakes, and horned
larks make festival among its miniature branches. Even
the red-headed and red-bellied woodpeckers as well as the
flicker have been known to partake of these ragweed seeds.

The buckwheat family — the order Polygonacew — also fur-
nishes a liberal supply of food to many birds. The list of
birds that devour these triangular seeds is a long one. Knot-
weed, sheep-sorrel, dock, bindweed, and many more — each
contributes to the birds that frequent its station. Juncos,
chipping-sparrows, and redpolls come to the door-yard to
glean among the knotweed ; cow-birds, redwings, mourning-
doves, bob-whites, and flickers look for the seeds of dock and
bindweed in fields and meadows ; mallards, teals, and other
river ducks dabble for the seeds of water-smartweed and
other aquatic or semi-aquatic varieties, making a full meal of
them whenever they are able to do so.

The seeds of the pigweeds, hemp, nmllein, and a host of
other weeds belonging to less numerous families are also
freely drawn upon for the support of bird life.

The wild grasses of the order (inuiuncw also supply their
share. Among them the pigeon and other grasses of the
genus Setarla are perhaps the most important in bird economy,
as they invade cultivated ground everywhere and are fed
upon very generally by sparrows and many other birds. In
swamps and along the borders of ponds and streams, es-
pecially in tlie Southern and Western States, wild rice grows
abundantly, and during the autumnal migration it is often the
predominating element in the diet of such marsh-loving birds
as bobolinks, blackbirds, rails, and ducks, all of which be-
come very fat upon it.

THE VEliETABLE FOOD OF 13I1{DS. 29

Cultivated grains are consumed in varying quantities by a
large number of birds, thougli comparatively few commit
appreciable depredations, the grain eaten being generally
gleaned after harvest. All varieties of small grain, such as
wheat, rye, oats, and related kinds, are taken without apparent
discrimination. The birds that liabitually feed upon them
are those already named as eaters of the larger seeds, —
crows, jays, blackbirds, pigeons, prairie-chickens, and other
members of the grouse family, sparrows, meadow-larks,
horned larks, brown thrashers, towhees, and others. The
crows, blue-jays, blackbirds, and English si)arrows do con-
siderable harm at times, though it is probable that the insects
destroyed at other times by all except the English sparrow
go far to compensate the loss. Pigeons and grouse are not
sufficiently abundant to do much damage. In the West wild
ducks and geese visit the grain-fields and sometimes cause
considerable injury by taking the sprouting seed from the
newly sown fields. During the fall migration the southern
rice-fields attract many birds. Foremost among these are the
bobolinks, or rice-birds as they are called in the South, and
blackbirds, both of which at this time are content to live by
rice alone. They assemble in countless flocks and commit
serious depredations against the rice-planters. Ducks and
other water-birds also resort to the rice plantations for a share
of the plunder, but what these get is generally compensated
for in the feathers and flesh that the ow^ners obtain.

Indian corn, or maize, on account of its larger kernels is
precluded from the food list of most of the sparrows, but
otherwise it has the same de})redators as the smaller grains.
Among the casual devourers of maize are the woodpeckers
and nuthatches, which seem to prefer it to all other cereals.

Cultivated grasses and clover seeds are frequently taken by
sparrows. Sunflower seeds are sought by the more arboreal
finches, like the purple finch, goldfinch, and the cross-bills.
In the garden we find that lettuce, turnip, and similar seeds

30 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIOiNS TO MAN„

are enjoyed by goldfinches, and that Enghsh sparrows and
Baltimore orioles occasionally fall into the evil habit of eating
green peas. Except in rare instances, however, these garden
invasions are insignificant.

Among the trees that contribute seeds to the birds, the dif-
ferent species of elms deserve notice, the more especially as
their seeds mature earlier than those of most other plants.
The seeds of the widely diffused white elm ripen in the lati-
tude of central New England about the first of June, and at
once become a lure to the arboreal seed-eaters, — cross-bills,
goldfinches, and purple finches, — which when the seeds fall
follow them to join the host of "ground sparrows,'' song,
vesper, and others, that ordinarily live on the seeds of weeds
and do not feel at ease away from the cover of low vegetation.

The birches are also iiii[)()rfaiil elements in bird food, because
their tiny winged seeds ai'e cpiite persistent, many of them cling-
ing to the catkins throughout the winter. They ofi'er an un-
faihng supply so long as they remain upon the trees, and are
liberally patronized by the winter finches, redpolls, siskins, and
cross-bills. The small gray birch is levied upon in autumn by
chipping and field sparrows, and in winter it becomes an es-
pecial favorite with jnncos, tree-sjiarrows, and redpolls. Seeds
of the yellow birch are sought by redpolls, siskins, and cross-
bills, the last two more particularly as they prefer the woods,
where this species is usually found, to more open pastures.
The seeds of the other birches are also eaten to some extent,
but they do not appear to be held in such high regard by birds
as the two kinds that have been mentioned.

Maple seeds are more or less important in bird economy
according to circumstances. As a rule, the sparrows and
finches do not care for them so much as for smaller seeds
that are more easily swallowed. The winter grosbeaks, pine
and evening, however, find them quite to their taste, and give
them almost exclusive attention so long as the supply holds
out. It sometimes happrns tliat a severe drouth in August

THE VrjJRTABLE FOOD OF BIKDS.

31

dries I ho stems of maple seeds belore they liavc become
woody, so that they are tougli enough to witlistand the blasts
of autumn, and thus remain upon the trees indefinitely.
Under these conditions the grosbeaks find life easy and never
fjuit the neighborhood of trees thus laden imtil the last seed
is plucked. If tlie ground is not covered with snow, they
frec{uently obtain maple seeds after these are fallen.

Among the other deciduous trees bearing dry fruits eaten
by birds are the poplars, sycamores, and ash-trees. None of
them are in general favor, however, the larger finches and
grosbeaks being their only patrons.

The cone-bearing trees cater to a rather select company of
birds. This is particularly true of the white pine, the vaned
seeds of which are so
deeply hidden between
the scales of its great
cones that they cannot
be extracted by ordinary
bird tools. There are a
few specialists, however,
endowed with an appe-
tite for sucli seeds and an
adequate apjjaratus for
obtaining them. These
are the cross-bills, whose
falcate mandibles are
admirably adapted for
grasping the vane of a

pine seed and thus withdrawing it from its hiding-place. The
siskin is another lover of pine seeds, and it is able to supply
its wants by having a bill which for a finch is very long and
acut(\ Although most of the white-i)ine seeds fall in Sep-
tember, enough remain in place to keep the birds supplied
until early winter. Besides these specialists, several other
birds occasionally eat pine seeds. Any of the seed eaters

WHITE-WINGED CROSS-BILL.

32 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

findini'- those sircwji upon the ground seem ready to accept
them, as are also the woodpeckers and the brown creepers,
when fortune favors them with stray kernels hi famine time.

Hemlock cones are so much smaller than those of the
white pine that the seeds are more accessible, and conse-
quently have a somewhat larger following. The siskins and
the cross-bills are very fond of them, and wherever they find
a fruitful growth they are likely to remain till the store is
spent, — usually about midwinter. After the snow has come,
covering the weeds, goldfinches also resort to the hemlocks.
Even the chickadees, nuthatches, and woodjjeckers seem to
find it agreeable to sandAvich these seeds in with their fare of
frozen insects.

The spruces have larger and more refractory cones than
the hemlock, and rank about with the white pine in bird
economy. The other coniferous trees are of varying impor-
tance in this connection, but an account of them would not
differ materially from that for those already mentioned.

Comparatively few of the vegetivorous birds are capable
of devouring nuts. Crows and blue-jays, by holding them
between their toes and their perch, are able with their strong
bills to remove the shells from any of the thin-shelled nuts,
and during the mast season feed largely upon them. The
wild doves, pigeons, grouse, turkeys, and many of the ducks
eat them entire, leaving the task of shelling to their muscular
gizzards. To all these birds nuts are a standard article of
diet. To the nuthatches and woodpeckers they are among
the contingencies, as a rule, though some of the western
woodpeckers seem to dc^pend ui)on them considerably for
winter food. The smaller nuts, or nutlets, approaching the
borderland of the seed-like achenes, such as those of the
hornbeams and bass wood, are eaten to some extent by the
grosbeaks and woodpeckers.

There are a number of dry fruits intermediate between
nuts and soft fruits vvdiich are of some consequence to birds

THE VEGETABLE FOOD OF BIRDS.

33

on accouni of their ixTsisteiicc. The various sorls of siiiiiacli
berries fall in tliis class. These berries remain throughout
(lie winter as they grew, and during the season of want add
materially to the food supply of northern birds. Ruffed
grouse, crows, jays, woodpeckers, nuthatches, and chickadees
fre(|U(^ntly partake of them when the ground is covered with
snow. Brown thrashers, cat-birds, mocking-birds, bhu'birds,
robins, and even kingbirds eat them at times, though prob-
ably never to any considerable extent. It is interestiiii;- to

/

'^Cy,

■M^^C

^^S^ /

^^

fc

J

i?l%i^

f^"-

CEDAR-BERRIES.

note in passing that the berries of the poison-ivy and poison-
sumach are eaten as freely as those of any other species of
e({ual abundance.

The small liard berries of the red cedar and juniper con-
Iribute to the livelihood of practically tlie same company.
They are esi)ecially souglit by cedar-birds and are evidently
enjoyed l)y purple finches, pine grosbeaks, and myrtle war-
])lers : the latter bird, however, depends in cold weather
luore upon bayberries than anything else. In fact, it gets
its name from one of the vernacular names of the shrub that

3

34

BIRDS IX THEIII IIKLATIO.XS '['() MAX.

bears them, — wax-myrtle. Bayberries are also eaten by other
winter birds and late migrants, much the same as sumach and
cedar-berries are.

These dry fruits must be reckoned as necessities rather
than luxuries in bird economy : except the bayberries, tliey
are seldom eaten when more palatable fruit is to be had.

THE MYRTLK WAHBLER.

Pnlpy Iriiits. on llic contrary, arc cvidcnily enjoyed l)y
birds, for they form the main diet of many normally insec-
tivorous birds just when insects are most abundant. Of I lie
various plants, large and small, bearing pulpy fruits, those of
the rose family (Rosacece) hold first place from our present

THE VEGETABLE FOOD OF BIRDS. 35

l)()iiit of view. Aiiioug tlie many kinds of fruit produced by
tliis family tlie cherries are most important, as they are eaten
by all birds accustomed to taking fruit of any sort and are to
\)r had in unliniited (piantity (hiring more than two montlis
in ttie year.

The wild red clierry, whicii is the tirst t<j ripen, is least
esteemed, thougli cedar-birds appear to find it (juite satisfac-
lury. Birds in general, however, eat these far jnore sparingly
than th(^y do the later A^arieties. Choke-(;hcrries and black
cherries form an a|)preciable percentage of the food of cedar-
hirds, thrushes, orioles, jays, crows, and grouse from the lime
I he first choke-clierries begin to grow brown in nndsunnner
until the rains and frosts of autunni have despoiled the black-
cherry trees of the last of tlieir shining loads. Grackles, fiy-
catchers, s})arrows, woodpeckers, and pigeons assist to a lim-
ited extent, but cedar-birds and robins are the most i)ersistent
devourers, with the fiicker a close follower. Tlie large num-
bers of cherries consumed as well as tlie variety of birds
involved doubtless depend somewhat on the fact that cherry-
tnM'S grow in all sorts of places. The shy grouse and the
woodland thrushes, cat-birds, and tlirashers are able to get
})lenly of them without being exposed to the dangers of open
ground; wliile the familiar robins and cedar-birds, which i)re-
fer cleared land, find all they want by road-sides and pasture
fences.

Wild strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries are all dear
lo the avian palah'. The first are not so largely eaten as the
other two, for the reason tliat many birds which undoubtedly
relish them do not like to hunt for them in the grass. Rasp-
berries and blackberries are available to a larger number.
Cat-birds, brown thrashers, and sparrows are at home in a
l)rier patch and enjoy the fruits thereof. TIk' ruHed grouse
makes a regular practice of living in blackberry Ihickels while
the fruit is on the vines and during that time feeds upon little
else. The runinng blackberries, or dewberries, near the coast

36

BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

are frequently eaten by the larger shore-birds, such as the
curlews and plovers.

The shad-busli or service-berry, another member of the
rose family, is of some value to birds, more especially as its
fruit matures early. It is visited by the same group of birds
that flock to the cherry-trees later in the season, but the quan-
tities taken are not large.
The fact that birds do not
gorge themselves with the
berries seems to be not
through any fault of the
berries, but rather because
they ripen at a time when
a more concentrated food
is needed for the prose-
cution of vernal activities.
When the nesting season
is over and the year's
labor done, comes the time
for relaxation, moulting,
and a general rejuvenes-
cence. Then fruit is in
order: each bird accord-
ing to its nature seeks its
favorite ; crows and jays
prefer mast and go to the
nut-trees ; sparrows loiter
among the Aveed-thickened
a host Avith similar tastes

WILD BLACK CHERRIE.S.

stubble ; robins, cedar-birds, am
gather at the cherry-trees.

Although early fruits are more or less neglected, late
varieties. of ever so mean quality receive more attention.
The berries of the mountain-ash, the last of the wild species
of the rose family to be mentioned here, are among the
latest maturing of the wild fruits. They are unpalatable to

THE VEGETABLE FOOD OF BIF{DS. 37

our lasie, but tlie roar guard of the southern-bound migrants
eat them with apparent reUsh. Cedar-birds, robins, and other
thrushes are especially fond of them.

Tlie shrubs belonging to the lioneysuckle family (Capri-
foliacece) produce a number of soft fruits whicli are consumed
by birds. Tliose of the Viburnums — sheep-berry, withe-rod,
cranberry-tree, etc. — are all patronized by grouse, woodpeckers,
and the thrushes and their allies, though by no means with
the zest shown for cherries and otlier more favored fruits.
The elder-berries, on the other hand, have a more pro-
nounced following. The common elder-berry in particular
attracts birds in such numbers and variety that it ranks
among the leading wild fruits in this connection. The red-
berried elder is not so highly regarded, though it is visited by
wood-peckers and a few other birds.

Among the late-maturing berries are tliose of the dog-
woods, belonging to the order Cornacece. There are several
sorts of these whicli birds seem to hold in about equal
esteem. They are taken in moderation by nearly or quite
all the birds mentioned above as feeding upon fruits of this
nature. The one berry in this order of which the birds are
particularly fond is the sour-gum. Thrushes, woodpeckers,
crows, jays, and grouse are found assembled for this and
pi^rsistently abiding by it until the supply is gone.

Among the heaths (Ericacece) the most i)rominent fruits on
the avian bill of fare are the blueberries and huckleberries.
The abundance and edible qualities of these berries suffice to
account for their large consumption by a,ll the fruit eaters.
Birds hnd the seclusion of the bushes not less agreeable than
the good food, just at a time when both are needed. It is
not strange that so many of them desert orchard and village
trees for the blueberry pastures when the trials of rearing the
young are over.

The black alder, of the holly family (Ilicinetc), is another
late-maturing berry eaten by woodpeckers and the thrushes

38 BIRDS IX THEIR RELATIONS TO MAX.

and their allies. After tiie leaves have fallen the bright red
color of these berries renders them very conspicuous. To us
they have an abominable taste, but evidently the birds do not
dislike them. In the wooded swamps where tliey grow one
may often find robins up to the verge of winter, long after
these birds have disappeared from the fields, subsisting almost
wholly on these berries. Other members of the Ilex family,
such as the holly and Cassenna, are also eaten.

Among the miscellaneous small fruits devoured by birds
must be mentioned the grapes and the berries of the Vir-

A 81'RAY OF BARBEKHIKS.

giiiia creeper, which are taken by woodpeckers and many
other birds. The nuilberry has many devotees, among them
II le cuckoos. Pokeweed, in spite of its poisonous properties,
supplies berries for a multitude of ])irds. It is a notable
fact that wherever a wood-lot is cleared, pokeweed — if it
grows anywhere in the neighborhood — is sure to spring up in
abundance from seeds dropped by birds at their roosts. Par-
tridge-berries, which remain unchanged through the winter,
are relished by grouse and pigeons in both spring and fall.

THE VEGETABLE FOOD OF BIRDS. 39

The persistent fruit of the common barberry, which along the
New England coast is thoroughly established, ministers largely
to the support of the robins, flickers, bob-whites, and ruffed
grouse that winter here. Persimmons, hackberries, spice-
berries, cranberries, crowberries, sarsaparilla, greenbrier, In-
dian turnip, and many other wild fruits are eaten by birds to
a greater or less extent, but none of them compare in im-
portance with those that have been mentioned.

THE CULTIVATED FRUITS.

Of the cultivated fruits, cherries are subject to pilferings by
cedar-birds and robins to an irritating extent. Cat-birds and
woodland thrushes are less troublesome, on account of their
retiring habits. Strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries
are similarly affected. Currants and gooseberries are on the
food list of the robin and the English sparrow at least.
Apples are tasted by pine and e-vening grosbeaks, woodpeck-
ers, blue-jays, English sparrows, and ruffed grouse, but the
fruit thus molested is usually of poor cfuality, growing in
out-of-the-way places. The grosbeaks eat both seeds and
pulp of the apple during their winter peregrinations. In
autumn the ruffed grouse frequents the neighborhood of
scrub apple-trees in the alder runs as well as in neglected
fields, and for a month or so subsists largely upon apple
pulp.

Pears, plums, peaches, and oranges are occasionally tapped
by English sparrows and woodpeckers, but none of these
lias yet acquired the habit of molesting such fruits to any
considerable extent.

On the whole, the harm done by birds to cultivated fruits
is of comparatively little consequence, except in some of the
s|)e(ial fruit-growing regions. Probably it rarely begins to
offset the good done by the birds through the deslriiclion of
insects.

40 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

BUDS AND BLOSSOMS.

A few birds make a practice of eating the buds of trees
and shrubs. These are mostly winter birds which otherwise
could scarcely find subsistence in the North after snow falls.
While snow lasts the ruffed grouse lives almost wholly upon
buds, preferring those of poplar, apple, and maple trees, but
occasionally sampling the tips of birch, hazel, and other twigs.
Pine and evening grosbeaks are also fond of buds, apparently
without much regard as to kind, for they eat the buds of a
large number of trees, both evergreen and deciduous. In
early spring the swelling buds of oaks, maples, and elms are
relished by the rose-breasted grosbeak, purple finch, English
sparrow, and the cross-bills.

In the garden and orchard the buds of grape-vines, currant-
bushes, peach, plum, cherry, apple, and pear trees are some-
times eaten by English sparrows, purple finches, and pine
grosbeaks, but it is rare that any injury froju this cause is
noticed. The rutfed grouse, however, is capable of infiicting
real damage by a too close pruning of buds, and cases are
known where apple orchards located near woods have been
rendered useless by them.

The blossoms of trees are of considerable hidirect interest
to a number of birds because they attract so many insects.
Orioles and warblers are always associated with apple blos-
soms in the mind of the naturalist, because lie invariably
finds them associated in nature. They may sometimes eat
a petal or a few stamens : they certainly destroy a multitude
of insects. The cedar-bird, however, has a liking for petals,
and devours them greedily, and so does the purple finch.
Probably other birds will be found to take parts of flowers.
But the eating of petals and stamens can hardly be deemed
injurious until it becomes much more common than at present.

The only native birds that are given to eating leaves are tlie
few wild species that are most nearly related to our domestic

THE VEGETABLE FOOD OF BIRDS. 41

fowls. The wild turkey, all of the grouse, the geese, and
many of the ducks feed freely upon them. None of these
birds seem to have mucli preference, but take siicli leaves as
are found convenient. The ducks, for instance, are usually
limited to aquatic plants. Eel-grass is eaten by many ol'
tliem, notably the scaui)s, the red-liead, and the canvas-back.
Geese are more terrestrial, and consequently they enjoy a
more extensive bill of fare. The more strictly vegetivorous
grouse plucks right and left, as may be inferred from the fol-
lowing list of leaves taken by us from the crops of ruffed
grouse: crowfoot, chickweed, clover (both white and red),
strawberry, barren strawberry, everlasting, dandelion, golden-
rod, sheep-laurel, sheep-sorrel, apple, and willow. Sheep-
laurel, so poisonous to lambs, is eaten with impunity, though
it is thought to render the flesh of the bird poisonous to man.
Roots are mostly exempt from consumption by birds. The
crow occasionally uncovers newly planted potatoes and feeds
on them. Both Irish and sweet potatoes are relished by
cranes, which are said also to devour the roots of pond-lilies.
The roots and bulbs of aquatic plants are eaten by geese and
vegetivorous ducks whenever they are to be had. Only the
larger birds are pow^erful enough to get at roots or to eat
them after they are exposed. The great majority are con-
tent to let them fulfil their mission, and await results above
ground.

SAP.

The sap of maples, birches, mountain-ash, and a few other
trees is enjoyed by several of the wood-pecking l)irds. Chicka-
dees may be seen, at the right seasons, tapping the smooth
twigs of maples and attentively sipping the forth-coming droi)s.
Some of the woodpeckers have the same habit. The most
notorious among them are the yellow-bellied woodpeckers,
or sapsuckers, which are inveterate tip})lers of the sap of
black and canoe birches and mountain-ash. They also (wi
the tender inner bark of these and other trees.

CHAPTER IV.
THE ANIMAL FOOD OF BIRDS.

Ix tlie later ptii't'S (j( this volunic tlie fact will becuiuo
apparent that a very large proportion of the food of birds
consists of insects, — the httle creatures that fill the air, the
water, and the earth with life. Adult insects in general have
a body divided into three parts, called the head, the thorax,
and the abdonicMi, with three pairs of legs, one pair of an-
tennae, and usually two pairs of wings. They are grouped
together in certain natural orders, of which, from our present
point of view, the following are the most important.

The order Orthoptera includes the crickets, grasshoppers,
cockroaches, locusts, and walking-sticks. These insects have
four Avings, the front pair being thick and leathery, and the
hind pair thin and membranous.

There are few groups of injurious insects that enter so
largely into the composition of the food of birds as do the
locusts, or sliort-horned grasshoppers, of the family Acridiidce.
The enormous destructive i)ower of these insects is well
known, but our indebtedness to birds in checking their oscil-
lations is less generally recognized. No more convincing
proof of the latter, however, could be required than Professor
Samuel Augh(\v's records of the food of birds in Nebraska
during outbreaks of the Rocky Mountain locust, — records
which show llial birds of all sizes and kinds turned their-at-
teidion to reducing the ranks of the invaders. Similar results
may l)e seen in many i)ortions of the United States whenever
the local non-migratory species of locusts become muisually
abundant. The life-history of these insects is shnple : the
eggs are dei)osited late in sunnner or early in autunm a little
below llie surface of llie soil ; the following spring they liatcli
42

Till: AXIMAL FOOD nV P.ll'^ns.

48

into yoLiii^-, wliidi ivseiii])l(' in ;i ^ieiicrul way the adults.
These young- 'hoppers feed upon grass, clover, and shnilar
l)lants. increasing grathially in size and occasionally shedding
their skins. In the course of about two months they acquire
wings and become full grown. The Rocky Mountain locusts
develop normally on the liigli, dry table-lands of the Rockies
and occasionally migrate in vast numbers to the fertile fields
of the Mississipi)i Valley. The red-legged locust is the most
abundant of the widely dis-
tributed species of this family.
These insects form a large
l)art of the food of nestling
birds as well as of the adults.

The family Locustidce, which
includes the long-horned grass-
lioppers and katydids, is at
once distinguished from the
Acridiidce by the very long an-
tennae. These insects are also
of much less economic impor-
tance, but some species occa-
sionally become seriously injurious. Tliey are often preyed
upon l)y l)irds, botli in tlie egg and mature states, the latter fre-
quently being fed to nestlings, and with some si)ecies of birds
they form a comparatively important element of food.

The crickets, belonging to the family Gryllidce, are abundant
everywhere in fields and meadows, and probably do (-(^nsider-
ably more damage* than iliey are usually accused of. In the
Northern States the eominon l)la(k s))ecies usually winteis
over in the condition of thi^ egg, although a few manage to
come through in a })arlially grown state. Their eggs are
deposited in I he ground by means of Hk* long j)ointed ovi-
positor of the female. The climbing or ti'ee ci'ickels of th(*
genus (Ecanthus are perhaps the most injurious members of
the family. They deposit their eggs in the canes of the rasp-

STAGES OF THE ItoCKY MOCXTAIN l.orfST.
{Afler mieij.)

44 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

berries and in the twigs of various fruit- and shade-trees,
making longitudinal slits that cause the death of the cane or
twig. The adult tree-crickets feed to a considerable extent
upon aphides, and so are by no means an unmixed evil.
They are occasionally eaten by birds.

The most destructive species of the Hemiptera, or half-
winged insects, is the chinch-bug, a pest that often causes
losses amounting to millions of dollars in a single State and a
single season. The adult is a blackish insect, slightly less than
one-fifth of an inch long, with the legs dark yellow and their
tips black. The young do not differ from the adult in general
form. When first hatched they are pale yellow, but they
soon become red ; this continues to be the prevailing color
until the pupa or last nymph stage is reached ; the insect is
then grayish or brownish black. The eggs are small and
and3er-colored. These pests attack corn
and small grains in enormous numbers,
sucking out the sap and thus weakening
or destroying the plants.

The chinch-bug is the type of a large
group of the true bugs called the Heter-
optera, another typical example of which
is the tarnished plant-bug, illustrated
lierewith. There are many different
Magnim.dr"(4/ye7r;«"rm««.) famiHcs in tliis suborder, a large propor-
tion of which are protected from being
eaten by birds by their disagreeable odor, Avhich is doubtless
tht^ accompaniment of an equally disagreeable taste.

The oilier suborder of the Hemiptera — called the Homop-
tera — includes several important families of noxious insects,
the members of which, fortunately, enter largely into the food
of birds. The most notable of these families are those of the
leaf-hoppers and the plant-lice.

The leaf-hoppers of the family Jasskhe are very often
found in the stomachs of birds. These insects are small

TAKNI.SHED FLANT-BUG.

THE ANIMAL FOOD OF BIRDS.

45

ROSE LEAF-HOPPER.
Mas-nified.

creatures with elongate-oval bodies and hind legs fitted for
jumping. An idea of their appearance may be obtained from
the accompanying picture, which represents the well-known
rose leaf-hopper. The adult of this species is about onc-tcntli
of an inch long, with a yellowisli-white
body and white semi-transparent wing-
covers, it injures the rose-leaves by suck-
ing out the cell contents, giving the upper
surface a Avhite-spotted appearance. One
or more members of this family live upon
a large proportion of the flowering plants,
both wild and cultivated, and often do
serious damage.

None of the true bugs are so constantly
and generally injurious as the plant-lice, or
aphides, which form the family Aphidkkv.
The common "green fly'' of house plants
is an example of this group, and nearly every cultivated crop
is subject to the attack of one or more species. The normal
life-history of these little creatures may be briefly outUned in
this way : In the spring there hatches from an egg deposited
the autumn previous a little plant-louse that sucks the sap of
its food-plant for a number of days — sometimes for a fort-
night — before it becomes fully grown. During this period of
growth it moults, or sheds its skin, a number of times, to
provide for its rapidly increasing size. This i)lant-louse,
which developed from the egg, is often called the ''stem-
mother:" she is always wingless. Soon after reaching ma-
turity she conmiences to give birth to living young, con-
tinuing the process for several days. These young resemble
the stem-mother in general appearance, being, of course,
much smaller. Each soon begins sucking sap on her own
account, and in the course of ten days or a fortniglit be-
comes mature and commences to bring other living a})hides

into the world : the latter soon mature

and

five ])irlli to a

46

BIRDS IX THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

AN APHID, MAnNIFIFD

ITS K(;(;S AP.OVT lU'DS.

third generatioi]. All of these early broods are Avhat are
called parthenogenetic females, giving birth to living young
without the presence of any males. Many of these plant-lice
are provided with wings, but the majority are wingless. This
process of reproduction is conthiued througliout the w^arm

season, but on the ap-
])roach of cold weather
a true sexual genera-
tion is produced, the
males of which may l)e
cillicr winged or wing-
less, while the females
are always wingless.
By union of these two
forms the true winter
e.Ligs are produced : the
eggs are generally (lej)osited ujjoii the l)ranclies of trees or
other plants; they pass through the winter and in spring
hatch into stem-mothers which renew the cycle of existence.
Many of tiie smaller birds, such as the warblers, nut-
liatches, kinglets, and chickadees, appear to feed largely upon
aphides and their eggs. These insects are only rarely found
in tlie stomachs of larger birds, like the robin, cat-bird, and
the various thrushes. A large part of the winter food of the
chickadee consists of the eggs of aphides.

The moths and butterflies form the order Lepidoptera, or
scaly-winged insects. Under the microscope their wings are
shown to be covered with minute scales which overlap one
another. The adults are very different from tlie larviP, and
in consequence these insects are said to undergo complete
transformations. The three later stages of the common cat-
erpillar which infests cabbages — the cabbage-worm — are rep-
resented in the picture herewith. The female butterflies
deposit their pale greenish-yellow eggs, singly or in clusters,
on the leaves ; the larvie soon liatcii and feed upon the sur-

THE AMMAL FOOD OF I'AWDS.

47

Jg^A^j31^T

J

.y

'''•^^^^

THE CABBA(;K Bl'TTEKFIY.
larva ; /., .Invsilis; .-, ,/, Imtti'iHy.

48

BIRDS IX THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

face of the cabbage, eating more and more as Lliey develop.
When fully grown each spins a slight silken loop on the
cabbage-leaf or some near-by shelter, generally on the lower
surface, and changes to a pupa or chrysalis. In a short time
it emerges as a butterfly.

A large proportion of the caterpillars of tlie Lepidoptera
are eagerly devoured by birds, forming an important element
of the food of many species. Mention can be made here of
only a few of the more important families.

There is a large family of small moths called Tortricidw^ the

larvae of Avhich are com-
monly known as '' leaf-
rollers."* The normal
habit of these little cater-
pillars is to feed upon the
surfaces of leaves which
they roll into a protective
covering; sometimes they
live singly and sometimes
a mnnber live together in
a common nest. Insects
of this family attack the
leaves of nearly all our
fruit and ornamental trees,
although, fortunately, they
generally do little damage.
Some species are not con-
tent with the foliage, but
feed u}j()n the fruit ; the
too well-known codling-
moth, or apple-worm, is
an example of this group.
The larva\ i)Up;e. and moths of the leaf-roller family are all
eagerly devoured by birds, but these insects are greatly pro-
tected by their habits and colors, so that probably birds do

^

W^^^'s^K •

^^^^H^W

Kf/.

%l

Wj. V r -r'r

aQifa'^' ^R

ig

•

•F AIM'I.K I.KAF-MINKK.

Till': AMMAL Fool) oK lilUDS.

4!)

nol aflcM'l lliciii s(» sci'ioiisly ;is llicy do I lie iiiscds (»!" many
oUk'I" groups.

The loar-iiiiiicrs (lil'tcr Iroiii the leal-rollers in llial llic larv;e
live within the tissues of the leaf, as in tli<' case of tlie apple
l(^af-ininer illustrated on the opposite ])a,ire.

The families of loopiiiLj;- or ineasiirin*^- caterpillars — (icomc-
truke and its allies — are of special interest from an ornitho-
logical point of view because they contain many species which
in their larval state so closely resemble small twigs that tliey
easily escape the notice of birds. A few species, like the
canker-worm, are of much economic importance on account
of their injuries to tlie foliage of fruit and shade trees. Such
species, as a rule, are less perfectly protected in their resem-
blance to twigs than others, and when abundant are freely
eaten by birds. The moths of these families have slender
bodies and comparatively large wings, although sometimes the
females are wingless.

The great family of night-flying or owlet moths — called by
entomologists Xocfii idcv —
includes a large number of
the most injurious insects.
The boll- worm of cotton,
the army-worm, and the
various cut-worms, all be-
long here. The cut-worms
are rather thick, naked
worms which hatch from
eggs laid bv medium-sized

(Fr

THE ARMY-WORM.

\>'ii' York Expcruinnl St(iti<

moths. Most of them feed

upon grass or clover when young, becoming half grown before
winter. They hibernate benc^ath some shelter and in spring
come forth in searcli of food, attacking a vai'iety of young plants
by biting off the slcnis and lecding on llie lea\ cs. 'Fliey become
full grown during spring or early summer, pu[»at(> beneath the
soil surface, and a fortnight or more later emer<^e as moths.

50

BIRDS IX THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN,

Forluiiately, ciil-woriiis and llicir allies Innii a large ])ro-
portioii of the food of many hirds. They are especiaUy used
by the old birds for feeding the nestUngs.

The famihes of silk-spinning moths and their allies — for-
merly included under the Bombycidae, but now subdivided

into many groups — include a
number of the most injurious
insects affecting fruit and shade
trees. The larvae of this group
are hairy caterpillars which
feed upon leaves, and when
fidl grown spin silken cocoons
for protection in the pupa state.
The tent cater})illar of the apple
and wild clierry, the fall web-
worm, the tussock-caterpillar,
and many similar insects be-
long here. One of the most
1 1 ( (tably destructive members
ol' the group is the gypsy
moth, recently so prominent
heforellie jjnblic in Massachu-
setts. The two sexes of the
adult moth in this species dif-
fer greatly : the general color
of the male is brownish and of the female whitish. The eggs
are laid in bunches in a great variety of situations, and the
resulting larvie feed upon the foliage of nearly every kind of
tree and shrub.

Com})aratively few birds attack the hairy caterpillars of this
group, but some — as the cuckoos and blue-jays — devour them
eagerly. The European cuckoo is said to regurgitate the mass of
sivins thus swallowed ; probably our species have a similar habit.
The I;n'<'er bombycid caterpillars — like those of the cecropia
and polyphenujs moths — are eaten by some of the hawks.

THE ANIMAL FOOD OF BlHDi

51

The highest group of the Lepidoptera iuckules the faniihar
butterflies. In their earUer stages they are caterpillars, many
of which i'oriii a portion of the diet of birds.

Many of the larger butterfly larvae seem to be protected
from the attacks of birds by a disagreeable taste or smell.
The caterpillars of the beautiful pa})ilios have a peculiar })aii-
of yellow or orange-colored V-shaped organs concfahMl jusi
back of the licad. When the larva is irritate(t these arc thrusi
out; they emit a very disagreeable odor and are siii)i)ose(l

A TKANE-FI-Y

to be usefnl as a means of protection Irom birds and oilier
animals.

The order of two-winged ilies — Diptera — contains com-
])aratively few families of injurious insects. The species most

52 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

destructive to cultivated crops appears to be the little Hessian
fly (^Cecidomyia def(friicfor)^ often so serious an enemy to wlieat.
The adult is a small gnat-like creature whose eggs are de-
posited on the blades of growing wheat, the resulting larvse
absorbing tlie sap of the plant and dwarfing or destroying it.
Closely related species attack the heads of clover and of
wheat. There is no doubt that great numbers of these flies
are devoured by swallows, swifts, and nighthawks during the
aerial evolutions of these birds.

The long-legged crane-flies of tlie family Tipulidae are often
found in birds' stomachs. The adults of these insects appear
in spring, often in great munbers, and deposit their eggs in
grass-lands. A short time later the eggs hatch into small,
blackish, footless grubs, that feed upon grass-roots and decay-
ing vegetable matter. AVhen full grown they are about an
inch long and of a grayisli-black color. They now change
to pupje, to emerge as adult ilics a fortnight later. The larvje
sometimes do serious injury to meadows.

The Coleoptera, or sheath-winged insects, form the immense
order which includes the beetles. The front wings are hard-
ened into horny cases Avhich cover and protect the membranous
second pair, the mouth parts are formed for biting, and the
transformations are complete. In the larval state the beetles
are connnonly called grubs. A typical example of a beetle is
illustrated on the opposite page. Many beetles are destructive
to vegetation, a few live on decaying organic matter, and some
prey upon other insects.

The tiger-beetles form a distinct family (Cicindelidce)^ the
members of which devour many other insects, being pre-
daceous in both the larval and adult states. These beetles
arc often brightly colored and niarked with distinct spots.
They are abundant in sandy situations and may be seen
commonly along lanes and roads or by the sides of streams.
Many of them are eaten by certain kinds of birds.

The ground-beetles of the family Carabidcc Ibi'ni an im-

TIM'. ANIMAL I'ooD ( »!•' lilJlhS.

portant element in the food of many birds, especially tlif
thrushes and their allies. These beetles vary mncli in tlicii-
habits: some of them — cspLM-ially those b('lon<iiiiL: to the
genus Harpalus and others related to it — feed largely upon
vegetation of various kinds, while others — particularly those
of the genus Calosoma and its allies — an? strictly carnivorous,
being excellent examples of predaceous l)ectlcs. Tlie vege-
tivorous group enter most largely into
the food of birds. Many of the carnivo-
rous ones are so i)rotected by offensive
taste or odor that they are not eaten at
all. Some of the larger ground-beetles
are called '- caterpillar hunters," be-
cause they prey upon cutworms, canker-
worms, and various other caterpillars.

The lady-beetles, or "lady-birds," of
the family CoccineUidce, are extremely
useful as destroyers of plant-lice and
other insects. Fortunately, they appear
to be distasteful to birds, as they are
very seldom eaten by them.

The hard, cylindrical, yellow worms
frecfuently found in the soil of meadows
and grain fields and commonly calltMl
•• wire-worms" are the larvre of the
click or snapping l)eetles of the tiimily Klafcrid^
feed upon the roots of i)hnits and sometimes do sei'ious dam-
age to young corn and wheat, 'fliey arc exh-emely diflicnlt
to combat by artificial means; hence we are glad to know
that both the larv;e and adults are \v^\ upon to a considerable
extent by various birds.

In the great fandly (jf leaf-beetles — the ( '/iri/somc/'Hltr —
which is said to include more than ten thou.sand described
species, we find many insects which are destructive to culti-
vated crops. The most notorious American member of the

>la.-iiiti.-.l. ( /

54

BIRDS IX THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

€UCK-Bi:r.Ti.i: and i.arva.

{Aftt-1- Jirinin:)

family is tlie Colorado potato-beetle, but there are many
others, such as the corn-root worm, the various flea-beetles,
the striped cucumber-beetle, and the asparagus-beetle, which
are almost equally injurious. The larvae of this group vary

mucli in appearance and life-history :
some live exposed on leaves, others
are leaf-miners, and others live on
roots and under ground. Most of the
larv;e are protected in some way from
the attacks of birds, which apparently
devour many more of the adult bee-
I les than of the larviie.

The common May-beetle, or "June-
bug," belongs to a family — Scarahceidce
— which contains many other well-
known depredators. This insect is
developed from the white grub, or
"grub-worm," so often found in pasture and meadow land.
The rose-beetle, or "rose-bug," is one of the others: the
adult is a hard, lirown insect that feeds upon the foliage,
flowers, or fruit of a great variety of plants. Its eggs are
deposited in light sandy soil and the larvae feed upon roots.
When fully grown they change to pupa? and later emerge
as adult beetles. Grubs like these are eagerly devoured by
robins, blackbirds, crows, and others ; these natural enemies
aid greatly in checking the ravages of such pests.

A large number of injurious insects are found among the
snout-beetles of the family ( 'i(rcii/io)i}(J(c and certain related
families groujx'd togetliei' in a suborder <'alled l{liyncoi)hora.
The plum and apple curculios, the bean and pea weevils, the
various grain weevils, the corn "bill-bug," the white-pine
borer, and many other pests belong here. The larvae of these
insects are usually footless grulis and feed upon a variety of
materials. The adult beetles have a habit when disturbed of
droj)ping lo the ground, drawing tlie legs against the body,

THE AMMAL FOOD OF BIRDS. 55

and remaining- quiet for some time. Many of them resemble
particles of rubbish of such various sorts as commonly occur
at the soil surface. This means of escaping obscrvalion
doubtless saves some of them from the attacks of birds, bul
ucvertiieless a considerable number arc catcii by oiu' fcalli-
ered allies. The salient fealures in the lile-liislorv (»(' ilic
family may be gathered fnmi that of tlie jjliiiii-cnrciilio. Tlie
adult beetles deposit eggs in the young plums and the result-
ing grubs feed upon the pulp of the fruit. They become fidl
grown in a few weeks, the plums fall to the ground, and the
grubs enter it to pupate, emerging later as beetles.

The ants, bees, wasps, sawflies, and various four-winged
parasites form the order Hymenoptera. The j"aws of these
insects are fitted for biting and the remaining mouth parts
for sucking. The transformations are complete, and tlie
adults, with few exceptions, have two pairs of membranous
wings with few veins. This order includes some highly bene-
ficial as well as some extremely injurious s^jecies.

Few families of insects enter more largely into the food of
birds than that of the ants {Fonnicidce). Being abundant
in all sorts of situations, it is not strange that woodpeckers,
cat-birds, and various other species of birds have learned to
rely upon them for much of their food. Some people class
ants among the beneticial insects, but, while they are doubt-
less useful in certain ways, it seems to us that there can be
no question that birds which eat them should receive credit
rather than blame for so doing. The ants are so abundant
and multiply so rapidly that were there no check upon their
increase they would be likely to become very troublesome, as
indeed they now are in many localities.

Probably the most important groui) of parasitic insects is
that comprising the ichneumon-flies of the families Jimcoiiithf
and Ichneumonkhv of modern entomologists. These little
creatures vary greatly in life-habits, but a largv proportion
of them arc pi-iinar\ pai'asilcs of injin'ious insecls. 'flic

56

BIRDS L\ THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

SI'HINX J.AKVA WITH COCUCJNS OF J'ARA.SITK

ADULT PAKASITK AT RIGHT,

Natural size ami inu,i:;nifie(l. (After Piley.)

adults are four-winged flies with slender bodies and long
antennae, and the larvae are soft, fleshy grubs. In many
species the females have long egg-depositors, by which they

can reach caterpillars hid-
den in trunks of trees or
stems of herbaceous plants.
The eggs are usually de-
posited either on or in llir
body of the larva selected
as the Aictim : they soon
hatch into grubs that de-
velop at the expense of the
(issues of llir liosl. Some of the ichneumon-fly larv.-B are
internal parasilcs, living beneath the caterpillar's skin, while
others aHacli tlieiiiselves externally. In either case the host
insect is doomed: it may be killed long before it gets its full
larval growtli, or it may be allowed to complete that growth
and spin a cocoon, but sooner or later the parasites — like the
fox in the fal3le — will gnaw away its vitals. When the ichneu-
mon larvie become fully grown, they generally spin slight silken
cocoons, within which lliey change to pupae, to emerge later
as adult Hies.

There is a group of ichneumon-flies, commoidy called
Microgasl ers, wliidi spin their cocoons on the back and sides
of the lar\;e of butterllics and inoths, giving the host a most
singular appearance. A specimen of a connnon sphinx larva
bearing these cocoons is represented above.

Ichneumon-flies are eaten to a considerable extent by many
birds, especially the llycatcliers. The tact that a bird may
eat a certain lunnber of insects of this sort without necessa-
rily doing any injury to agriculture is indicated in the discussion
of the relations of vegetivorous and carnivorous insects in
('hapter VI.

Besides the insects proper there are many animals that are
eaten by birds. The spiders are the hiost important of these.

THE ANIMAL FOOD OF BIRDS.

57

Spiders have eight legs, with a body divided into two principal
parts, and are predaceous creatures Avhirh feed largely upon
insects. They are found i:i all sorts of places and dnring all
seasons of the year. They enter very largely into the dietary
of the smaller birds, being especially fed to the nestlings, and
their surprising rate of reproduction seems to have been de-
veloped, in part at least, to meet this constant drain upon
their numbers.

The harvest-spiders, harvest-men, daddy-long-legs, or grab-
for-gray-bears, as they are variously known in dillerent parts of

A HAKVKST-SI'IDER.

the United States, form a distinctive family, — J^Jmhox/iUUr, —
distinguished by having the fhree divisions of the body — iicad,
thorax, and abdomen — closely united, and four pairs of very
long legs. A connnon species is pictured above. These

58 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

harvest-spiders are predaceous creatures, feeding especially on
the aphides, or plant-lice, as well as upon dead insects. Most
of them move about at dusk, rather than during- the day. Not-
withstanding the disagreeable odor given off by them when
handled, they are occasionally found in birds' stomachs.

The common "thousand-legged worms*' form a subclass
of animals known to naturalists as Myriapoda, — the many-
footed. They abound under logs and rubbish or amid the
fallen leaves of the forest, where they are often picked up by
robins or other thruslies. Some Myriapods, of which the
connnon lulus is an example, feed upon vegetable matter,
and are occasionally destructive to strawberries by eating the
pulp of the fruit. Others are predaceous ; but very little is
known precisely concerning the food habits of these ; conse-
quently their economic status is ill defined. From their gen-
eral habits we are led to think that their value may easily be
over-estimated and that we need not regret their occasional
destruction by birds.

In addition to insects and their allies, birds feed upon many
higher animals. Fishes are taken habitually by kingfishers,
ospreys, the wading birds, and some of the owls. Frogs,
lizards, and snakes are eagerly devoured l)y hawks, owls, and
other raptorial birds, as Avell as by some of the waders and
various other species. The mice, moles, shrews, gophers,
ground-squirrels, and other small rodents also form a large
part of the food of the birds of prey as well as of many other
species, while the smaller birds themselves furnish consider-
able subsistence for their larger relatives.

CHAPTER V.

THE AMOUNT OF FOOD CONSUMED BY BIRDS.

Birds as a class are the most active members of the ani-
mal kingdom. They have rapid circulation and respiration ;
are constantly on the alert during all seasons of the year;
travel long distances in migrating or searching for food ; rear
large families, often two or more broods in a summer ; and, in
short, perform for their size a prodigious amount of work.
Because of this, one would expect them to require a large
amount of food to keep up the energy they are so constantly
expending, and the studies that have so far been made show
that such is emphatically the case.

Unfortunately, the problem of ascertaining just how much
food wild birds need presents many difficulties in the way of
its solution. So long as birds are at liberty, evidence must
always be fragmentary and often uncertain. When they are
kept in captivity, natural conditions are upset : the worry of
confinement, the lack of exercise, and a changed diet are fac-
tors of more or less importance ; we can scarcely say how
much. With nestlings the matter is simpler, though much
time and patience and common sense are necessary in order
to obtain creditable results.

Thus, it is not to be wondered at that in the wliole mass of
ornithological literature — which latterly has increased to very
respectable proportions — tliere is a striking paucity in this
line. It is to be hoped that the gap will not be allowed to
exist very much longer, as reliable data on the amount of food
consumed is in economic importance second only to the kind
consumed. Although information is scarce, yet there is
enough to demonstrate that the quantity of food eaten by
birds is relatively much greater than that consumed by any
other class of vertebrates.

59

60 BIRDS J.\ THEIK RELATIONS TO MAN.

Sixteen canaries mentioned by Dr. Stanley ^ ate one hun-
dred grains of food per day, about one-sixth of their own
weight. '^ A gull kept and fed in a garden devoured in one
day fourteen mice and two rats. Another was seen to swal-
loAv an entire rat, an operation, however, not accomplished
without some difficulty, the bird making several efforts before
it succeeded, and even then the tail remained visible for sev-
eral minutes." ^

In The Ameincan Katuralist for July, 1899, Dr. Thomas H.
Montgomery, Jr., gave some valuable data concerning the food
of owls, based on a study of food pellets regurgitated at roosts.
In the winter of 1898-99 four long-eared owls took residence
in an arbor-vitae tree on Dr. Montgomery's grounds at West
Chester, Pennsylvania, and from December 25 till February
22 were under his observation. Pellets were gathered weekly
and analyzed. In the fifty-nine days the pellets from beneath
this one tree yielded remains of two birds, one shrew (Bkt-
rina), one common mouse (J/^/.s), and three hundred and
forty-five field-mice [Microtus). Under a Norway spruce near
by, where a short-eared owl roosted regularly and one of the
long-eared occasionally, were found between February 26
and Marcli 26, twenty-eight days, evidence of one crawfish,
five birds, two shrews, one jumping mouse (Zapns), and one
hundred and five field-mice. Pellets believed to have come
from tlie same owls, found under trees within a radius of an
eighth of a mile, contained remains of five birds {Begulus,
Junco, Ccrthia), seven shrews, and one hundred and forty-
eight mice. Taken altogether here was an equivalent of one
owl for two hundred and forty-six days, to which are credited
twelve small birds, ten shrews, and six hundred mice, or
about two and one-third animals, mainly mice, per day.

For twenty-two consecutive days, December 25 to January
15, Dr. Montgomery counted four owls in the arbor-vitae tree

1 History of Birds, p. 225. '' Id., p. 143.

THE AMOUNT OF FOOD CONSUMED BY BIRDS. 61

every day. The pellets taken from beneath the tree during
that time showed parts of one finch, one shrew, and one hun-
dred and ninety-nine mice. Dividing 201, the number slain,
by 88, the number of days in which one owl would consume
the same amount, we have 2.28, — what he would have eaten
-in one day. As it is probable tliat more or less pellets were
dropped elsewhere, we may readily believe that the average
daily consumption deduced from the whole number of pellets
is within the lines of truth.

An adult crow that had been slightly wounded in the wing
was once brought in and kept alive by us awhile for a food
experiment. He was put into a small box, twelve by thirteen
by twenty inches, and kept supplied with water, cracked corn,
and oats. In addition, from twenty to sixty angle-worms
were given him each day for five days. By that time he w^as
fairly tame and ate freely wdiile being watched. We secured
a quantity of small fish (Funchdus:), which were abundant in
the brackish creeks, and offered liim some on the fifth day.
He ate thirty grammes of them that day in addition to grain
and the usual supply of earthworms. On tlie sixth day his
animal food comprised sixty-eight angle-worms, ten shrimps,
and eighty-five grammes of fish. By this time his wing was
nearly healed, he was feeding well and showed a relish for
fish, and, as we could procure them in unlimited numbers,
we decided that the conditions were riglit for the final test.

On the morning of the seventh day every eatable was re-
moved from his cage, and a basin of water containing a num-
ber of the living fish put in. As fast as the fish were taken
out others were supplied. For three days he ate nothing
else. During that time he consumed fourteen and a half
ounces (av()irdui)ois), — making his daily consumption 4.83
ounces, more than a (paarter of his own wclghl. II would
take over four hundred grasshoppers at maturity to weigh as
much as did his daily ration of fisli. As there is no reason
to suppose that uncaged birds would eat less than this cap-

62 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

live, a little multiplying will show that a crow devours an
astonishing amount of food in a year.

A ruffed grouse killed in winter had in its crop twelve
leaves of sheep-laurel and four hundred and thirty-five buds
and bits of branches from apple and maple trees. Some of
the twigs were half an inch long. That was the morning
meal. It would have been duplicated at twilight. The crop
from another bird of the same species contained over five
hundred buds and twigs. From these examples it appears
that the daily requirement of this grouse lies betw^een eight
hundred and one thousand buds. At other seasons of the
year it is impossible from an examination of its crop contents
to judge with any certainty how much a grouse eats, as then
the birds eat at all times of day.

Professor Herrick,^ in his study of the red-winged black-
bird, noted that three nestlings received food forty times in
four hours on one day, and forty-three times in three and a
half hours on another day. Four young kingbirds ^ were fed
ninety-one times in four hours. Two young red-eyed vireos^
took grasshoppers, katydids, green larva?, beetles, and bugs of
many kinds, also a few berries, once in fifteen minutes during
two days and once in nine minutes on the third day. Four
young cat-birds ^ received food forty-six times in four hours,
after the old birds had become reconciled to the presence
of the observer. Five times in succession large dragon-flies
[jEschna heros)^ just from their pupa-skins, were brought in.
Beetles, moths, larv;i^, and strawberries were among the items.

A brood of three young cedar-birds watched by us made
an average gain during the first eleven days of 1.13 drams,
avoirdupois, i)er bird per day. Excreta, voided on an average
of three per hour, averaged to weigh one-sixth of a dram
during the same period. Reckoning fifteen hours of activity

^ The Home Life of Wild Birds, p. 21.

Md., p. 27. 2 Id., p. 69. * Id., p. 78.

THE AMOUNT OF FOOD CONSUMED I^Y BIRDS

63

per day, llic iuUil Mmouiil uf cxcivla passed by each bird is

7.5 drams. Addiii^^ tlie daily gain to the daily exeretion gives

8.6 drams, the daily food during tlie eleven days. After the
eleventh day more nutrition goes into feathers and less to
flesh, so that the gain in weight is not so great as before ; but
the excreta continue to

increase in proportion to
the bird's development,
and the parents are in
constant attendance, so it
is clear that there is at
least no diminution in
the food supply after the
eleventh day. During the
fifteen days that the young
birds spent in the nest,
they devoured not less
than ten ounces apiece,
— more than ten times
their weight on the day of
flight.

Another cedar-bird
taken after it had left the
nest, and kept under sur-
veillance but not confined, took a good-sized black or choke
cherry every ten minutes. When given two, he invariably
doubled the time between meals. This bird was captured
at night. The next morning the character of its excrement
indicated that there was little or no food matter in the diges-
tive organs. The fast was broken by two black cherries ; the
stones were dropped forty-five minutes later. A blackberry
was digested in half an hour. The cherries were given entire,
and their large size evidently delayed their passage from the
oesophagus into the proventriculus, for the bird stretched his
neck as if in distress after they had been swallowed awhile.

Photofiraphtd from life.

CEDAR-BIRD AT NEST.

B4 niRDS t\ THEIR RELATIONS TO MAX.

Mr. Daniel E. Owen has recorded^ son:ie interesting obser-
vations on the food of a young hermit thrush recently from
the nest. It ate regularly half its Aveight of raw beefsteak
each day, and probably would have taken as much more had
it been fed at sufficiently frequent intervals. Perhaps the
most interesting point brought out was a method of deter-
mining the rapidity of digestion in young birds. Having
noticed that the blueberries eaten dyed the excrement, it oc-
curred to Mr. Owen that " this fact furnished a ready method
of finding the length of time required by the thrush to digest
blueberries. The test was made July 26. At 12.56 p.m. of
that day, the bird voided while excrement and was fed at
once with blueberries. At 2.28 p.m., one hour and thirty-
two minutes later, it dropped blue excrement mingled with
berry seeds. If this experiment was trust wort liy, and I see
no reason to doubt the accuracy of the method, the time re-
quired for a blueberry to traverse the digestive tract was,
practically, one hour and a half"

A brood of young cedar-birds confined by Mr. Frank Bolles^
and fed by the old birds were supplied with eight thousand
four hundred cherries in twelve days.

Tliree robins about ten days old observed by us were fed
in two hours one bird-cherry (P. ijcmisijlrdtuca)^ one large
cricket ((fri//!i(s), one smooth caterpillar an inch and a half
long, one molh {Xocfiiid), one harvest-man (Phalaru/lukc)^
one tumble-bug (Copris), two earthworms (Liunbricus), two
carabid beetles, twenty-nine grasshoppers (AcrUUidce), and
eight small creatures thought to be spiders but which could not
be made out willi certainly. These forty-seven items were
brought at thirty visits between 4.0-1: and 6.03 a.m. During
the middle of the day the old birds came less often. Im'-
tween 10 and 10.30 there were four visits, from 1.25 to 1.51

^ The Auk, vol. xiv. pp. 1-8.
2 Id., 1890, vol. vii. p. 290.

THE AMOUNT OF FOOD CONSUMED BY BIRDS. 65

there were six, uiid Iroiii '1 to '■) there were six. Ten visits
per huiir was (he averui^o the duy through.

Over tliree-fourths of the food brouglit consisted of adult
grasshoppers, the great Carolina locust being often among
them. Half of the time two Avere brought at a visit. Only
a little calculation is necessary to show that each occupant of
the nest consumed about eighty insects that day, of which at
least sixty were grasshoppers. An average red-legged locust —
the species most commonly brought — weighs five grains Troy ;
sixty of them would weigh three hundred grains, and adding
the twenty-live per cent, consisting of worms, beetles, berries,
etc., we have four hundred grains as the weight consumed by
each nestling on that particular day. They were then about
ten days old : their average weight was seven hundred and
eleven grains. Thus it appears that they ate per diem more
than half their own weight.

Mr. Charles W. Nash ^ gives this experience with the food
of a young robin : "In May, 1889, I noticed a pair of robins
digging out cutworms in my garden, which was infested with
them, and saw they were carrying them to their nest in a tree
close by. On the 21st of that month I found one of the
young on the ground, it having fallen out of the nest, and in
order to see how much insect food it required daily I took it
to my house and raised it by hand. Up to the 6th of June it
had eaten from fifty to seventy cutworms and earthworms
ever}^ day. On the 9th of June I weighed the bird ; its
weight was exactly three ounces ; and then I tried how much
it would eat, it being now quite able to feed itself. With the
assistance of my ciiildren I gathered a large number of cut-
worms and gave them to the robin after weighing them. In
the course of that day it ate just five and one-half ounces of
cutworms. Tl^.ese grubs averaged thirty to the ounce, so the
young robin ate one hundred and sixty-five cutworms in one

^ Birds of Ontario, p. 22.
5

66 BIRDS L\ THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

day. Had it been at liberty it would probably have eaten
some insects of other species and fewer cutworms, but this
shows about what each young robin requires for its main-
tenance when growing ; the adult birds require much less, of
course. The average number of young raised by a robin is
four, and there are usually two broods in the season. A very
simple calculation will give a good idea of the number of
insects destroyed while the young are in the nest."

Five young goldfinches which we watched were from the
beginning fed by their parents almost exclusively upon seeds
of the bull-thistle (Cnicus pumllus, Torr.). At the age of one
week rather more than the product of one thistle-head was
divided among them at each meal. They were fed every
half-hour on an average, the old birds feeding independently.
Not less than thirty thistle-heads were thus consumed in a
day by these young birds when they were scarcely more than
half-grown.

A family of four song-sparrows seven days old received
seventeen grasshopper nymphs, from five-eighths to three-
fourths of an inch long, and two spiders between 1.55 and
3.02 P.M. — sixty-seven minutes. As they were out of the
nest the next day, it may be accepted that they are hearty
eaters. Eight days is a short time for the accomplishment of
so great a chaage.

A brown thrasher at ten visits made in one hundred and
twenty-six minutes delivered to one of her young just out of
the nest one spider, one earthworm, one hairy caterpillar an
inch and a half long, two Carolina locusts, seven red-legged
locusts, and three other insects which were not identified.

A bobolink brought to two fiedglings between 5.13 and
5.33 one afternoon, — twenty minutes, — nine grasshoppers.
The next morning between 9.18 and 10.05, — forty-seven
minutes, — ten grasshoppers were brought. About that time
one of the young birds escaped. To the remaining one he
fed eleven grasshoppers in two hours. Of the thirty 'hoppers

THE AMOUNT OF FOOD CONSUMED BY BIRDS. 67

all but two were green, some belonging to the family Acri-
diidce and others to the family Locustkke.

Dr. Sylvester D. Judd/ from an observation on the food of
three young house-wrens about three-fourths grown, reports
that ''The mother made one hundred and ten visits to her
little ones in four hours and thirty-seven minutes, and fed
them one hundred and eleven spiders and insects. Among
these were identified one white grub, one soldier-bug, three
millers {NoctuidcE), nine spiders, nine grasshoppers, fifteen
May-flies, and thirty-four caterpillars. On the following day
similar observations Avere made from 9.35 a.m. till 12.40 p.m.,
and in the three hours and five minutes the young were fed
sixty-seven times. Spiders were identified in four instances,
grasshoppers in five, May-flies in seventeen, and caterpillars
in twenty.''

Four chipping-sparrows about five days old devoured
thirty-seven grasshoppers, several of which were adults, but
most of them half-grown nymphs, between 4.37 and 6.06 p.m.,
— eighty-nine minutes. The next morning between 9.56 and
10.45, — forty-nine minutes, — they ate eighteen grasshoppers
and two full-grown measuring worms (Cingllia). A single
young chippy lately out of the nest was seen to take food
— grasshoppers chiefly — thirty times in sixty-five minutes.

A brood of three chii)ping-sparrows watched by us one
entire day received food one hundred and eighty-seven times.
It was not possible to determine the exact nature of all that
was brought, but it appeared to be wholly insectivorous, cut-
worms and otlier caterpillars being often observed.-

These observations are certainly sufficient to establish the
fact that birds as a class consume an enormous amounl of
food.

N. H. ('. Ak. Exp.

' Yearbook, U. S. Dept. of A-r

.,1900. p. 413.

' Weed, Feeding Habits of th<

' ('bil)piug-Sparro\v

St., Bull. 55.

CHAPTER VI.

BIRDS AS REGULATORS OF OUTBREAKS OF INJURIOUS
ANIMALS.

It is well known that, as a rule, the most damage to culti-
vated crops is done by the species of insects and other
noxious animals which fluctuate greatly in numbers. In this
chapter we have to determine whether in the presence of an
extraordinary abundance of a given edible animal birds vary
their food ratios by taking unusual numbers of the species in
question. If they do, it is evident that they assist in reducing
the pest to its normal limit ; if they do not, they neglect an
opportunity for usefulness.

Four examples may serve to illustrate the tendencies of
birds under sucli conditions. The first relates to the canker-
worm, the second to the Rocky Mountain locust, the third to
the army-worm, and the fourth to the European vole, or field-
mouse.

A few years ago a large apple-orchard in central Illinois
was severely attacked by canker-worms. As a result of their
depredations a considerable part of the orchard had the ap-
pearance at a little distance of having been ruined by fire.
To determine whether the birds of the region were exerting
themselves to check this outbreak, Professor S. A. Forbes
visited the orchard for two successive seasons, shooting each
time a number of birds of the various species present. The
stomach contents of these were afterward carefully examined :
from the published record ^ of the results we have made the
following sunnnary.

^ Bulletin of the Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History, vol. i.,
No. G.

as

UK ( A'i-mj{i).

nillDS AS KKdn^ATorvS (»F olTlUiEAKS.

r;9

Nine robins had eaten only animal lood, ol' whicli canker-
worms formed twenty, cutworms twenty-eight, and vine-
chafers fourteen per cent., making a total of sixty-two per

APPLE-LEAVES ATTACKED BV CANKER-WOR.M.-

cent. for these three groups of insects. Eleven per cent, of
the remainder consisted of click-beetles [Elateridce). Fourteen
cat-birds were examined : they had eaten fifteen per cent, of
canker-worms, ten per cent, of cutworms and other cater-
pillars, fourteen per cent, of ants, and thirty-three per cent,
of vine-chafers. Four brown thrushes had eaten canker-
worms, vine-chafers, June-beetles, click-beetles, ground-beetles,
and other insects. Combining these food elements of twenty-
seven members of the thrush family. Professor Forbes found
that 'Mione of them had oaten any vegetation whatever;
that ninety-six per cent, of their food consisted of insects
(myriapods and earthworms making up the remaining four
per cent.) ; that sixteen per cent, was canker-worms, and
only four per cent, predaceous beetles." The vine-chafer
made just twenty-five per cent, of the entire food.

The most important element in the food of five bluebirds
was the vine-chafer (thirty-six per cent.), while canker-worms
formed twelve per cent. Two black-capped chickadees had

70

r3IRDS IX THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

eaten only canker-worms and beetles, tlie former makin^f
sixty-one per cent, of the food and the latter belonging
principally to a wood-boring beetle of the genus Psenocerus.

Nearly half of the food
of several house- wrens
consisted of canker-
worms.

Passing now to the
warbl ers (3Liiotiltldce),
we come to many spe-
cies feeding largely on
canker-worms. Four-
fifths of the food of a
single Tennessee w^ar-
bler consisted of these
insects. Two-thirds
of that of five sum-
mer yellows-birds was
canker-w o r m s, and
tlie same was true of
two chestnut-sided
warblers and also of
four black-poll war-
blers. A single black-
throated green war-
bler had eaten seventy per cent, of canker-worms, and two
Maryland yellow-throats had eaten forty per cent, of these
and forty per cent, of other caterpillars. Consequently canker-
worms composed nearly or quite two-thirds of the food of
these fifteen warblers. Seventy-nine per cent, of the food
of three warbling vireos consisted of caterpillars, more than
half of them being canker-worms.

Out of a flock of about thirty cherry-birds, or cedar wax-
wings, seven birds were shot. With the exception of a few
Aphodii (small beetles) '' eaten by three of the birds in

THE BIAEBIKD.

BIRDS AS REGULATORS OF OUTBREAKS. 71

numbers too insignificant to figure in the ratios, the entire
food of all these birds consisted of canker-worms, Avhich
therefore stand at an average of one hundred per cent. The
number in each stomach determined by actual count ranged
from seventy to one hundred and one, and was usually nearly
one hundred. Assuming that these constituted a whole day's
food, the thirty birds were destroying three thousand worms
a day, or ninety thousand for the month during which the
caterpillar is exposed."

A specimen each of the cliff-swallow, American gold-
finch, and yellow-winged sparrow had eaten no canker-worms.
About one-third of the food of eight chipping-sparrows con-
sisted of caterpillars, half of them being canker-worms.
Three field-sparrows had eaten largely of canker-worms and
various beetles, forty-three per cent, of the food of fourteen
black-throated buntings consisted of canker-worms, and a
very few of these worms had been eaten by two rose-breasted
grosbeaks ; they also formed fifty-nine per cent, of the food
of eighteen indigo-birds.

No canker-worms were found in the stomachs of a single
cow-bird and two red-winged blackbirds. Three Baltimore
orioles, however, had eaten forty per cent, of these worms
and fifty per cent, of vine-chafers. Two orchard-orioles made
even a better showing. " More than three-fourths of the food
of these consisted of canker-worms, and other caterpillars
made an additional twenty per cent.*' Three bronzed
grackles had eaten no caterpillars.

Passing now to the family of flycatchers we find that more
than one-fourth of the food of three kingbirds consisted of
canker-worms and fully one-half of vine-chafers. The food
of three wood-pewees consisted entirely of Hying insects.
Two specimens of Trailfs flycatcher had calcn twenty-live
per cent, of canker-worms, and a single yellow-bellied fly-
catcher had eaten an equal percentage of vinc-chaters but no
canker-worms. A single black-billed cuckoo had eaten of

72 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

canker-worms seventy-five per cent., other caterpillars twenty
per cent., and vine-chafers five per cent. Four red-headed
woodpeckers had eaten fifteen per cent, of canker-w^orms,
while a single golden-winged woodpecker had eaten only ants.
No canker-worms were found in one mourning-dove and two
quails.

Summarizing the above results into one general statement,
it is found that one hundred and forty-one specimens be-
longing to thirty-six species were studied. '• Twenty-six of
these species had been eating canker-worms, which were
found in the stomachs of eighty-five specimens, — that is to
say, seventy-two per cent, of the species and sixty per cent,
of the specimens had eaten the worms. Taking the entire
assemblage of one hundred and forty-one birds as one group,
we find that thirty-five per cent, of their food consisted of
canker-worms."

A comparison was made, in the case of the robin, cat-bird,
black-throated bunting, and indigo-bird, of the food in this
orchard and that of the species during May under ordinary
circumstances. These results showed that there Avas a gen-
eral diminution of vegetable and miscellaneous food in the
orchard specimens to compensate for the increase of cater-
pillars.

"Three facts,'' says Professor Forbes, "stand out very
clearly as the result of these investigations :

"(1) Birds of the most varied character and habits,
migrant and resident, of all sizes from the tiny wren to the
blue-jay, birds of the forest, garden, and meadow, those of
arboreal and those of terrestrial habits, Avere certainly either
attracted or detained here by the bountiful supply of insect
food and were feeding freely upon the species most abundant.
That thirty-five per cent, of the food of the birds congregated
here should have consisted of a single species of insect is a
fact so extraordinary that its meaning cannol ])e mistaken.
Whatever i^ower the birds (jf this vicinity possessed as checks

BIRDS AS REGLLATOFiS OF OUTBREAKS. "3

upon destructive irruptions of insect life was bein^' largely
exerted here to restore the broken balance of organic nature.
And while looking for their influence over one insect outbreak
we stumbled upon at least two others, less marked, jxTliaps
incipient, but evident enough to express themselves clearly
in the changed food ratios of the birds.

'• (2) The comparisons made show plainly that the rellex
effect of this concentration on two or three unusually lui-
merous insects was so widely distributed over the ordinary
elements of their food that no especial chance was given for
tlie rise of new fluctuations among the species commonly
eaten. That is to say, the abnormal pressure put upon the
canker-worm and the vine-chafer was compensate(t by a gen-
eral diminution of the ratios of all the other elements, and not
by a neglect of one or two alone. If the latter had been the
case, the criticism might easily have been made that the
birds in helping to reduce one oscillation were setting others
on foot.

'• (3) The fact that, with the exception of the indigo-bird,
the species whose records in the orchard were compared with
those made elsewhere had eaten in the former situation as
many caterpillars other than canker-worms as usual, simply
adding their canker-worm ratios to those of otlier caterpil-
lars, goes to show that these insects are favorites with a
majority of birds.''

One of the most notable series of studies of the relation
of birds to outbreaks of injurious insects was tliat carried on
for thirteen years by Professor Samuel Aughey, of the Uni-
versity of Nebraska, concerning the extent to which birds
feed upon the Rocky Mountain locust or grasshopper during
the periodic outbreaks of that insect. Fortunately, the results
of these studies have been preserved by the United States
Entomoloorical Commission.* Between 1865 and l<S77Pro-

> First R.'poif. AppriMJix II.

74 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

fessor Aughey made a careful investigation of this subject,
both by out-door observations of Uving birds and by in-door
examinations of stomach contents. His tabulated results
show conclusively that birds of all kinds Avere doing their best
to reduce the numbers of the locusts. A brief summary of
the principal facts will indicate the truth of this.

Beginning with the thrushes and their allies, we find that
six robins had eaten two hundred and sixty-five locusts,
three wood-thrushes had taken sixty-eight locusts, one
hermit-thrush contained nineteen locusts, two olive-backed
thrushes were responsible for the death of fifty-five 'hoppers,
while two AVilson's thrushes had destroyed seventy-three
more. Five cat-birds had eaten one hundred and fifty-two
of these insects.

Sixty-seven locusts were taken from the stomachs of three
bluebirds and twenty-nine from one little ruby-crowned
kinglet, while four tufted titmice yielded two hundred and
fifty of the pests and nine long-tailed chickadees contained
four hundred and eighty-one of them. Four slender-billed
nuthatches — the western representative of the white-breasted
nuthatch — had eaten ninety-three locusts. Even the little
warblers ate many of the pests, naturally choosing the
younger specimens. Seven golden warblers had taken sev-
enty-seven locusts and one hundred and seventy-six other
insects. Five black-throated green warblers contained one
hundred and sixteen 'hoppers and one hundred and four other
insects. Four black-poll warblers had eaten one hundred
and twenty-three locusts, varying their diet with forty-seven
insects of other kinds. Eight prairie- warblers devoured one
hundred and sixteen of the locusts and a greater number
of other insects ; while the golden-crowned thrush had fed
upon both the 'hoppers and their eggs. Many warblers were
seen feeding their nestlings with young locusts.

While the warblers paid most attention to the immature
grasshoppers, the swallows fed chiefly u})on the adult winged

BIRDS AS REGULATORS OF OUTBREAKS. 75

insects, probably catcliiii^' llieiii in I lie air. Seven l)arn-
swallows had eaten one hundred and thh'ly-iiiiie, eight eaves-
swallows three hundred and twenty-six, five bank-swallows
one hundred and four, and ten ])ur|)l(' martins two hundred
and sixty-five locusts.

The vireos and shrikes were found to eat many of the
pests, while some of the grosbeaks and finches ate the eggs
as well as the 'hoppers. Three bobolinks had devoured an
average of fourteen locusts each, while nine meadow-larks
had taken two hundred and thirteen of the pests besides some
of their eggs. Fifty-one locusts were taken from the stomach
of a single yellow-headed blackbird, while the Balthnore
oriole, Brew^er's blackbird, and the purple grackle were noted
as feeding almost exclusively upon the pests when the latter
were abundant.

Even the raven, the crow, the magpie, and the blue-jay fol-
lowed the prevailing fashion in the feathered world, eating
large numbers of the locusts, although no doubt they did not
wholly neglect the occupants of any of the nests of the
smaller birds with which they came in contact. The flycatch-
ers and pewees proved to be doing good service, while the
stomachs of the whippoorwill and nighthawk were crowded
with 'hoppers, three hundred and forty-eight being taken from
seven specimens of the latter species.

It seems almost incredible that the tiny ruby-throated hum-
ming-bird should also have followed the fashion, yet Professor
Aughey assures us that a specimen caught by a cat '• had four
small locusts in its stomach." After this we are prepared to
learn that the stately kingfisher varies his scaly diet with an
occasional 'hopper. Nor is it surprising that ten specimens
of the highly insectivorous yellow-billed cuckoo had eaten
four hundred and sixteen locusts as well as one hundred and
fifty-two other insects.

The woodpeckers evidently varied tlieir usual diet to an
extraordinary degree on account of the presence of the grass-

7(; BIRDS IX THEIR RELATIOXS TO MAN.

hoppers. Six hairy woodpeckers had taken one hundred and
fifty-seven locusts and one hundred and ninety-three other
insects ; four downy woodpeckers had eaten one hundred and
sixty-five locusts and ninety other insects; five yellow-bellied
woodpeckers contained one hundred and thirty 'hoppers and
ninety-three specimens of other species ; six red-headed wood-
peckers had devoured one hundred and forty-nine locusts and
two hundred other insects ; while eight flickers contained two
hundred and fifty-two of the 'hoppers together with one hun-
dred and forty-nine insects of other species.

The extent to which birds of prey fed upon the locusts
would surprise the many people who look upon hawks and
owls only as eneniies of the poultry-yard, deserving extermi-
nation. One barn-owl had eaten thirty-nine locusts, twenty-
two other insects, and a mouse. Eight screech-owls contained
two hundred and nineteen 'hoppers and many other insects,
while nine burrowing owls had devoured three hundred and
eighteen locusts. The hawks patterned after the owls ; six
marsh-hawks ate two hundred and forty-nine locusts, while
two Swainson's buzzards had devoured one hundred and
twenty-nine of the pests.

Even the pigeons and the gallinaceous birds which usually
feed so largely upon grains and seeds added a considerable pro-
portion of locusts to their diet. Professor Aughey wTites that
in locust years the wild turkey makes the pest its principal
food. Four sage-cocks had eaten one hundred and ninety
grasshoppers, while the sharp-tailed grouse, prairie-hen, and
quail ate enormous numbers of them.

Passing now to the shore birds, the records of the golden
l)lover, the American snipe, the various sand-pipers, godwits,
tattlers, and curlews all tell the same story of locust destruc-
tion. Even the great blue-heron, American bittern, and sand-
hill crane devoured the pests, while the rails and American
coot added their efforts to subdue them. The snow-goose,
the Canada goose, and the various ducks — including the mal-

BIRDS AS REGULATORS OF OLTBREAKS. 77

lard, dusky duck, pintail, and blue- winged teal — contained
quantities of 'hoppers. Two out of five white pelicans exam-
ined had varied their diet of crayfish and frogs by picking up
locusts, one containing forty-one and the other sixty-seven
specimens.

The gulls — inc hiding the black-backed, herring, ring-billed,
and Franklin's rosy gull — had eaten many grasshoppers, as
had also the least and the black tern.

It certainly Avould be difficult to obtain more striking evi-
dence than this concerning the utility of birds in checking out-
breaks of injurious insects. The fact that birds of all sorts
and sizes, from the giant pelican to the tiny humming-bird,
— ^birds of the prairie, the forest, the air, the shore, the sea,
and the inland lake, — fed so largely upon the locusts proves
beyond doubt that these feathered allies were using to the
fullest extent a tremendous force to check the ranks of the
invaders.

A few years ago the army-worm appeared in great num-
bers in Pennsylvania, causing much damage to field crops.
The State zoologist. Professor B. H. Warren, made a careful
series of investigations to determine the extent to which birds
fed upon the pests. The results showed that a large propor-
tion of the common birds devoured them eagerly. Crows,
blackbirds, robins, cat-birds, thrushes, meadow-larks, and
bluebirds were found to get a large part of their food from
the hosts of the army-worms. Kill-deers, sand-pipers, and
sparrows also fed freely upon them, while the screech-owl
and the sparrow-hawk devoured great numbers of the pests.

Insects, however, are not the only animals against whose
undue increase the agriculturist needs protection. In many
parts of Europe there have been for centuries i)eriodic out-
breaks of field-mice that have caused enormous injury. The
species oftenest concerned appears to be the short-tailed lield-
mouse [Arvicola ag)'esfis;), related to the common meadow-
mice of the United Stales. There is abundant evidence tliat

78 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

at the times of such uprisings the birds of prey flock to the in-
fested fields in great numbers. More than three centuries ago
this fact was noticed, as is shown by the following paragraph
from Stow's " Chronicle :'"

"About Hallontide last past (1581), in the marshes of
Danesey Hundred, in the county of Essex, there suddenly
appeared an infinite number of mice, which overwhelming
the whole earth in the said marshes did shear and gnawe the
grass by the roots, spoyling and tainting the same with their
venomous teeth in such sort that the cattell which grazed
thereon were smitten with a murrain ; which vermine by
policy of man could not be destroyed, till at last it came to
pass that there flocked together such a number of owls as all
tlie shire was able to yield, whereby the marsh holders Avere
shortly delivered from the vexation of said mice. The like
of this was also in Kent."

Another '-sore i)lague of strange mice" occurred in Essex
in 1648. In 1754 a correspondent of the (lenflvnuin'x M(i(/(t-
z'lne wrote from Market Downham, England : '- Once in about
six or seven years Helgay, about one thousand acres, is in-
fested with an incredible number of field-mice, which like
locusts devour the corn of every kind. Invariably there
follows a prodigious flight of Norway owls, and they tarry
until the mice are evidently destroyed by them."

Similar testimony exists concerning the more recent out-
breaks. That of 1875-6 — one of unusual severity, in which
one-third of the pastures of the affected district were de-
stroyed — was attributed partly to a series of mild winters and
partly to the destruction of predacous birds and mammals.
A recent English writer, Dr. W. B. Wall, says that '-the
chief enemies of the voles are the short-eared owl and the
kestrel hawk, which will do more to reduce their ranks than
all the traps of the agriculturist and the microbes of the
scientist combined. The kestrel hawk is known to all, duly
appreciated by a few. but still destroyed by too many. The

BIHDS AS RKGULATURS OF OCTHRKAKS. 79

short-eared owl is one of our most valuable wiuler visitors,
arriving about October and leaving usually in Marcli. It fre-
quents open moors, alights and secretes itself on the ground
in preference to trees, and feeds by day as well as in the
evening. In this winter of 1887-8 the moors were crowded
with these birds, it being no uncommon occurrence to start
two or more at the same time from the long grass ; the ex-
planation of their numbers no doubt being that the preceding
dry summer had been most favorable to the increase of the
animal life of the moors, which supplied ample food and in-
ducements for the birds to congregate.''

Mr. W. H. Hudson, in his fascinating book, '' The Natu-
ralist in La Plata," gives a graphic account of the suppression
of an outbreak of mice on the pampas of South America.
These little creatures had increased to an enormous extent,
and animals of many kinds lived upon them. ''In the au-
tumn of the year countless numbers of storks [Ciconia mcuj-
nari) and of short-eared owds made their appearance. They
also came to assist at the general feast." The mice were
soon reduced in numbers to a point far below their normal
limit. A similar abundance of birds is noticed, Mr. Hud-
son says, w^henever other animals — grasshoppers, crickets, or
frogs — become excessively numerous on the i)ampas. He
explains the concentration of these birds — usually seldom
seen — upon the S})ot wliere food abounds by the statement
that wiien not breeding they a,re constantly travelling in
search of food. Hying at great heights and covering a large
territory in their wanderings. " When the favorite food of any
one of these species is plentiful in any particular region, all
the individuals that discover it remain and attract to them all
of their kind passing overhead. This hap})ened in the pampas
with the stork, the short-eared owl, the hooded gull, and the
dominican or black-backed gull, — the leading si)e(ies among
the feathered nomads; a few first appear like harbingers;
these are presently joined by new-comers in considerable

80

BIRDS I\ THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

numbers, and before long they are in myriads. Inconceivable
numbers of birds are doubtless in these n^sjrions continually
passing over us unseen, ''

In the presence of an unusual abundance of food the rate
of increase of some birds becomes greater. It has been noticed
that owls multiply rapidly when outbreaks of mice occur.

Testimony of this kind could be multiplied indefinitely : it
unquestionably is sufficient to demonstrate that when an out-
break of mice or similar pests occurs the hawks and owls find
an abundant food supply, of which they readily avail them-
selves, and in so doing check to a great extent the damage
that might be done.

The evidence furnished by these examples suffices to show^
that birds do exert a decided influence in checking unusual
outbreaks of injurious animals. They have been well likened
to a great standing army which may be concentrated at short
notice upon any locality where an outbreak occurs.

CHIl'lMNC-

CHAPTER VII.

THE RELATIONS OF BIRDS TO r'REDACEOUS AND IWRASITIC

INSECTS.

The attempt is frequently made (o ])elittle the usefulness
of birds by tlie argument that they do as nuu-li harm l)y feed-
ing upon predaeeous and parasitic insects as they do good by
devouring the injurious ones. For example, B. D. Walsh,
the first State Entomologist of Illinois, claimed that a bird
must eat at least thirty injurious insects for every beneficial
one in order to be of economic value ; and since then similar
arguments have frequently been used. During the last few
years students of bird food have commonly placed the results
of their studies under these headings : " Beneficial," " In-
jurious," "Neutral ;" including in the former all parasitic and
predaceous insects. Before proceeding to a general discussion
of the principles which underlie this whole subject, the ab-
surdity of this assumption may easily be shown. Suppose
an ichneumon parasite is found in the stomach of a robin or
other bird : it may belong to any one of the following cate-
gories :

(1) The primary parasite of an injurious insect.

(2) The secondary parasite (jf an injurious insect.

(3) The primary parasite of an insect feeding on a no.xious
plant.

(4) The secondary parasite of an insect feeding on a nox-
ious plant.

(5) The primary })arasite of an insect feeding on a wild
plant of no economic value.

(6) The secondary parasite of an inscd feeding on a wild
plant of no economic value.

(7) The primary parasite of a j)redaceous insect.

6 81

82 BIRDS TX THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

(8) The primary parasite of a spider or spider's egg.

This Ust might easily be extended still farther, and the
assumption that the parasite belongs to the first of these
categories is unwarranted by the facts and does violence to
the probabilities of the case.

A correct idea of the economic rd/e of the feathered tribes
may be obtained only by a broader view of nature's methods,
— a view in which we must ever keep before the mind's eye
the fact that all the parts of the organic world, from monad
to man, are linked together in a thousand ways, the net result
being that unstable equilibrium conmionly called " the bal-
ance of nature."

The fact that in eating insect parasites birds do not neces-
sarily cause an economic loss was first pointed out by Pro-
fessor S. A. Forbes in an admirable essay entitled " On some
Interactions of Organisms." As we find it impossible to im-
prove and difficult to condense the argument there })rinted,
we quote the following extended extract.

" Evidently a species cannot long maintain itself in numbers
greater tlian can find sufficient food year after year. If it is
a phytophagous insect, for example, it will soon dwindle if it
seriously lessens the numbers of the plants upon which it
feeds, either directly by eating ihem up, or indirectly by so
weakenhig them that they labor under a marked disadvantage
in the struggle with other plants for foothold, light, air, and
food. The interest of the insect is therefore identical with
the interest of the plant it feeds upon. Whatever injuriously
affects the latter, equally injures the former ; and whatever
favors the latter, equally favors the former. This must there-
fore be regarded as the extreme normal limit of the members
of a phytophagous species, a limit such that its depredations
shall do no especial harm to the plants upon which it de-
pends for food, but shall remove only the excess of foliage or
fruit, or else superfluous individuals which must either perish
otherwise if not eaten or, surviving, must injure their species

BIRDS L\ RELATION TO PARASITIC INSECTS. 83

by overcrowding'. If the plant-feeder multiply beyond the
above limit, evidently the diminution of the food supply will
soon react to diminish its own numbers, a counter reaction
will then take place in favor of the plant, and so on through
an oscillation of indefinite continuance.

''On the other hand, the reduction of the i)liytophagous
insect below the normal number will evidently injure the
food plant by preventing a reduction of its excess of growth
or numbers, and will also set up an oscillation like the pre-
ceding except that the steps will be taken in reverse order.

" I next point out the fact that precisely the same reason-
ing applies to predaceous and parasitic insects. Their inter-
ests also are identical with the interests of the species they
parasitize or prey upon. A diminution of their food reacts to
(hminish their own numbers. They are thus vitally inter-
ested in confining their depredations to the excess of indi-
viduals produced or to redundant or otherwise unessential
structures. It is only by a sort of unlucky accident that a
destructive species really injures the species preyed upon.

'' The discussion thus far has affected only such organisms
as are confined to a single species. It remains to see how it
applies to such as have several sources of support open to
them, — such, for instance, as feed indifferently upon several
plants or upon a variety of animals or both. Let us take,
first, the case of a predaceous beetle feeding upon a variety
of other insects, — either indifterently upon whatever species
is most numerous or most accessible, or preferably upon cer-
tain species, resorting to others only in case of an insufficiency
of its favorite food.

'' It is at once evident that, taking its food-insects as a unit,
the same reasoning applies as if it were restricted to a single
species for food : that is, it is interested in the maintenance
of these food-species at the highest number consistent with
the general conditions of the environment, interested to con-
fine its own depredations to that suri)lus of its food which

84 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

would otherwise perish if not eaten, interested, therefore, in
estabhshing a rate of reproduction for itself which will not
unduly lessen its food supply. Its interest in the numbers of
each species of the group it eats will evidently be the same
as its interest in the group as a whole, since the group as a
whole can be kept at the highest number possible only by
keeping each species at the highest number possible."

Professor Forbes goes on to show that when the rate of
reproduction of a parasite is relatively too great it causes
fluctuations in numbers which are injurious both to the
parasite and its host, and concludes that in a state of nature
" the annihilation of all the established enemies of a species
would, as a rule, have no effect to increase its Ihial average
numbers."

Such being the case Avhere man has not interfered with
nature, we have next to inquire to what extent these princi-
ples hold good, under the conditions of modern agriculture,
for those insects which feed upon cultivated crops. Evidently
a chief element of disturbance of the natural order here lies
in the enormously increased food supply, an increase so great
and so subject to nmltiplication by man that it is a rare event
for an insect to reach its limit. If a crop in a given locality
is destroyed by insects, seed from another region is usually
planted the following season, so that, while under natural
conditions the insect would have been starved out, it is instead
given an increased opportunity to develop. In consequence
of this, the law that no animal can nmltiply beyond the limits
of its food supply becomes practically inoperative.

But while this is true of the plant-feeding species, it is not
true of the parasite that preys upon it. The latter is still
under the o})eration of the primal food law : when it has
reduced the numbers of its host to a point where it nmst
cease to multiply because there are no caterpillars in which
to deposit its eggs, man does not step in and furnish a supply
of caierpillars to kee}) u}) the activities of the parasite. Con-

BIKDS l.\ lll"]LATl().\ TO I'AKASITIC IXSKCTS. sTj

seqaently there is a great and sudden decrease of the nuiubers
of the parasite.

In other words, while the law that no species can multiply
beyond the limits of its food supply is rendered inoperative
in the case of the host caterpillar, it conthiues to act in the
case of the parasite, because man does not artificially increase
the food supply of the latter. Man's interposition evidently
has the effect of extending and intensifying the oscillations
which would occur under natural conditions.

We must next determine the probable effect produced when
a bird eats some of these parasites. It need hardly be said
that the species of insects which live exposed are very much
more likely to be eaten by birds when they are unusually
abundant than when not numerous. When a hymenopterous
parasite is found in a bird's stomach, the chances are greatly
in favor of the assumption that the species to which it belongs
is at the time more numerous than usual. The destruction
of a portion of the parasites may not only involve no loss
from an economic point of view, but may actually be a bene-
fit, in that it will extend the period of effective operation of
the parasite, and put off the time when it will cut off its own
food supply by its too rapid increase. The probabilities do
not justify the assumption that a bird usually does harm
rather than good in eating a parasite of an injurious phy-
tophagous insect.

Nothing has been said in regard to those parasites upon
parasites which are called the secondary or hyper-parasites
ot noxious insects. Our knowledge of the precise biological
relations of these is limited. On general principles it is prob-
able tliat when a bird eats one of these it is at least as likely
to be doing man a benefit as an injury.'

^ For an account of the relations between hymenopterous parasites
and tlieir hosts, see Fiske, "The Parasites of the Tent Caterpillar,"
New Hampshire CoUe^'e Airricultural Exp. Station, Technical Bulletin,
No. 6.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE THRUSHES AND THEIR ALLIES.

THE BLUEBIRD.

There is, perhaps, no feathered songster which has so
endeared itself to the people of the northern United States
as the bluebird. Clad in modest but beautiful colors, endowed
with a voice of plaintive melody, and familiarly associating
with man, it is one of the most delightful harbingers of spring.

THE BLVEBIRD.
[After Biologiod Survey.)

Its insect-eating habits are well known, for the bird may often
be seen flitting from its perch in chase of some passing moth
or grasshopi)er. The food of one hundred and eight Illinois
specimens, taken in every month of the year except Novem-
ber and January, was studied by Professor S. A. Forbes. In
February cutworms and ichneumon-flies formed the most
important elements of th(^ food, twenty-four per cent, of the
86

THE THRUSHES AND THEUi ALLIES. 87

former and twenty-two per cent, of the latter having been
eaten. The larvte of the two-lined soldier-beetle, a pre-
daceous species, had been eaten to the extent of eight per
cent, and young grasshoppers to the extent of nine per cent.
Ground-beetles formed five per cent, of the food, soldier-bugs
seven per cent., spiders and crickets each four per cent.
The ratios of parasitic and predaceous species were very
high, these making thirty-nine per cent, of total food for the
month.

In March thirty-eight per cent, of cutworms and related
caterpillars, part of them being army-worms, and one per
cent, of crickets and grasshoppers were eaten. In April
large numbers of small dung-beetles were present in the
stomachs. Eight per cent, of ground-beetles, nine per cent,
of spiders, and twenty-one per cent, of caterpillars were also
present. The number of spiders eaten in May was unusual,
these forming twenty-one per cent, of the food. Moths,
caterpillars, June-beetles, and grasshoppers had been eaten
freely this month, forming fifty-five per cent, of the stomach
contents. In June winged ants and various spiders had been
eaten, as well as measuring worms and ground-beetles. A
few birds had eaten a small number of raspberries and goose-
berries.

The most remarkable elements of the food in July con-
sisted of grasshoppers and crickets (twenty-seven per cent.)
and June-beetles (twelve per cent.). Caterpillars, ground-
beetles, and spiders composed the more important parts of
the remainder. The chief business of the month of August
was the pursuit of locusts, crickets, grasshoppers, moths, and
caterpillars. The three first named amounted to more than
half of the food for the month, and the moths and caterpil-
lars to more than one-fourth. The only fruits present were
a few wild cherries and elder-berries.

In September \\\o common red-legged grasshopi)er was
largely eaten. This and rclulrd grasshoppers, together with

88 BIRDS L\ THEIFi RELATIONS TO MAN.

cutworm-like caterpillars, formed almost nine-tenths of the
food for the month.

The bluebird winters to a considerable extent in southern
Illinois, where its food consists A^cTy largely of wild fruits,
especially the berries of the mistletoe. A few beetles, bugs,
and spiders fill out the Avinter bill of fare.

In the case of six young bluebirds yet in the nest, though
well feathered. Dr. Judd found that the food consisted of
''beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, spiders, and a few snails."

Although the bluebird eats a large percentage of preda-
ceous and parasitic species that are often considered bene-
ficial to man, the probabilities are largely in favor of the
assumption that in devouring these the bird is assisting in
keeping up a proper balance of organic forces, while in eating
the insects injurious to crops it is doing a very great good.
Professor Forbes estimates that '' one hundred bluebirds at
thirty insects each a day would eat iu eight months about six
hundred and seventy thousand insects. If this nundDer of
birds were destroyed, the result would be the preservation,
on the area supervised by them, of about seventy thousand
motlis and caterpillars (many of them cutworms), twelve
thousand leaf-hoppers, ten thousand curculios, and sixty-five
thousand crickets, locusts, and grasshoppers. How this
frightful horde of marauder's would busy itself if left undis-
turbed no one can doubt. It would eat grass and clover, and
corn and cabbage, inflicting an immense injury itself, and
leaving a progeny which would nmltiply that injury indefi-
nitely.

The bluebird is easily encouraged on the home grounds
and will well repay a little trouble in furnishing nesting sites.
It breeds readily in boxes and bird-houses, and if these are
provided in a])undance it seems likely that the numbers of
the birds may be materially increased.

THE THRUSHES AND THEIR ALLIES.

89

THE ROBIN.

With the exception of the English sparrow and possibly
the crow, the economic status of no American bird has been
discussed so fully and freely as that of the robin. Appear-
ing early in spring and remaining late in autumn in regions
where it does not reside throughout the year, commonly fre-
quenting lawns and meadows, building conspicuous nests
near the haunts of man, feeding freely upon the fruits of the
garden and orcliard, greeting the rising and the setting sun

~^C79 __— _— ^==^^

THE ROBIN.

{AJlcr Biological Survey.)

with bursts of no mean melody, — these and other consider-
ations have combined to render the robin familiar to every
lover of the out-door world.

The robin obtains most of its insect food upon the ground,
where it searches diligently for cutworms, white grubs,
ground-beetles, and allied creatures. One of the most
familiar sights of spring in the Northern States is that of
dozens of robins searching the grass of lawns and meadows
for food. These birds are decidedly gregarious, migrating in
flocks of considerable size and remaining together in the

90 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

South during winter. Even during the breeding season the
young birds and the old males gather nightly to roost in cer-
tain woods. ^

The nest is so well known that we need here only mention
its bulky size and the fact that at least two broods of four or
five young each are reared during the season.

Several studies of the food of the robin are on record.
One of the most authoritative of these is that of Professor
S. A. Forbes, who made two separate investigations of the
food in Illinois : the first included forty-one and the second
one hundred and fourteen specimens. We have summarized
the results in the latter case as follows : Ninety-nine per
cent, of the food of eleven robins shot in February consisted
of insects : cutworms and other caterpillars constituted four-
teen per cent., and the larvae of the white-winged Bibio^' — a
two-winged fly — seventy-six per cent. These Bibio larvae
have repeatedly been found in several widely separated
States to form the principal food of the robin during spring.
The larvae live in colonies of a hundred or more individuals,
and generally feed upon decaying organic matter, though
some naturalists have stated that they are capable of doing
serious injury to grass-lands. Professor Forbes took one
hundred and seventy-five Bibio larvte from the stomach of a
single robin. In addition to these insects a very few beetles,
grasshoppers, bugs, spiders, and thousand-legs had been
eaten. About five per cent, of the food was estimated to
consist of beneficial insects.

Thirty-seven per cent, of the food of nine March robins
consisted of Bibio larvae ; cutworms and otlier caterpillars
formed thirty per cent. The remaining food elements were

^ For an interesting account of these little-known " robin roosts," see
Bradford Torrey's book, "The Footpath Way," and Mr. Brewster's ac-
count in Tlie Aul\ October, 1890.

' Bibio albipennis. Say.

THE THRUSHES AND THEIR ALLIES. 91

composed of scavenger-beetles, wire-worms, ground-beetles,
grasshoppers, and sumach-berries. Six per cent, of the food
was considered to belong to beneficial species and thirty-
seven per cent, to those injurious. In April caterpillars
formed one-fourth of the food and beetles forty-two per cent.
" It is in this month that the bird makes its principal attack
upon the predaceous beetles, wiiich are represented by an
average of seventeen per cent, eaten by eleven birds.'' A
few Bibio larva3, earthworms, Orthoptera, bugs, and sumach-
berries had also been eaten. " The record of May is sub-
stantially a duplicate of the April list, except in a few particu-
lars. The Bibio larvae are replaced by seven per cent, of
adult crane-flies and the ground-beetles drop to four per
cent., the balance being almost replaced by the scavenger-
beetles and leaf-chafers. . . . With June the robin revolu-
tionizes his commissariat. The insect ratios, Avhich have
averaged ninety-five per cent, during the preceding months,
now drop to forty-two, and remain at or below this point for
the rest of the year; and this lack is compensated by the
appearance of fifty-five per cent, of cherries and raspberries.
The loss falls chiefly upon the two-winged flies and beetles,
the former dropping from eleven per cent, to less than one
and the latter from forty-four per cent, to fifteen. The four-
teen July birds were evidently revelling in the fruit garden,
raspberries, blackberries, and currants forming seventy-nine
per cent, of the food." The partial disappearance of fruit
supplies in August sent the robhis back to insects, although
the twenty birds taken during the month had eaten fifty-six
per cent, of fruit. "Cherries made forty-four parts of the
food of the month, eaten by fourteen of the birds, hid two-
thirds of these cherries were icild. Tame grapes made three
per cent, of the food, berries of the mountain-ash about four
per cent., and blackberries from the woods not far from five
per cent.'' Cutworms, crickets, and grasshoppers are impor-
tant insect elements for the month. In September fifteen

92 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

per cent, of winged ants were eaten and seventy per cent, of
fruits, more than half of the fruits being grapes and the re-
mainder berries of the moon-seed and mountain-asli. Dur-
ing October and later months large numbers of wild grapes
were eaten.

Taking the year as a whole, insects form almost two-thirds
of the food of the robin.

In the investigations of the United States Department of
Agriculture three hundred and thirty stomachs of the robin
have been examined. In the summary of the results, by
Professor F. E. L. Beal, it is said that more than forty-two
per cent, of its food consists of animal matter, chiefly insects,
the rest being composed for the most part of small fruits and
berries, largely of wild sorts. Noxious insects are believed
to constitute at least one-third of the robin's food, grasshop-
pers alone forming ten per cent, of all the material eaten.
" Vegetable food forms nearly fifty-eight per cent, of the
stomach contents, over forty-seven per cent, being wild fruits,
and only a little more than four per cent, being possibly cul-
tivated varieties. Cultivated fruit amounting to about twenty-
five per cent, was found in the stomachs in June and July,
but only a trifle in August. Wild fruit, on the contrary, is
eaten in every month and constitutes a staple food during
half the year. No less than forty-one species were identified
in the stomachs ; of these the most important were four
species of dogwood, three of wild grapes, four of greenbrier,
two of holly, two of elder ; and cranberries, huckleberries,
blueberries, barberries, service-berries, hackberries, and per-
simmons, witli four species of sumach and various seeds not
strictly fruit."

Six robins shot in Nebraska by Professor Aughey had eaten
two hundred and sixty-five Rocky Mountain locusts and
eighty-four other insects. In Wisconsin Professor King exam-
ined the stomachs of thirty-seven specimens taken during the
interval between March and October. '' Five birds had eaten

THE THRUSHES AND THEIR ALLIES. 93

eleven cutworms ; three, five wire- worms ; two, two hairy
caterpillars ; one, a hog-caterpillar of the vine ; five, eight
scarabseid beetles ; two, two curculios ; one, a click-beetle ;
one, an ichneumon-fly ; two, two spiders ; one, a millipede ;
two, two angle-worms ; six, nine grasshoppers ; two, eight
grassliopper's eggs ; one, a moth ; three (young birds), pellets
of grass ; one, choke-cherries ; two, black cherries ; one,
raspberries ; one, grapes ; one, sheep-berries ; and one, ber-
ries of Indian turnip."

A few years ago we examined the stomach contents of a
robin shot in Michigan between a row of cherry-trees and
a raspberry-patch, both with ripe fruit. The stomach was
almost tilled with maggots, apparently belonging to some
species of Anthomyia. Sixty of these larvae were present.

The earliest extended investigation of the food of the robin
was that made in Massachusetts about half a century ago by
Professor J. W. P. Jenks. The study was continued throughout
the year, and in the main the results obtained are very simi-
lar to those of Forbes summarized above. Bibio larva? formed
the principal food in early spring. Audubon states that in
the South during winter the robins feed on the berries and
fruits of the holly, sweet-gum, gall-berry, and pokeweed, as
well as the caperia-berry, wild-orange berry, and the berries
of the pride of India. The seeds of most of the berry-like
fruits which the robin eats are not digested, and doubtless
are widely scattered by the birds.

In 1891 Mr. E. V. Wilcox examined the stomach contents
of nearly two hundred Ohio robins, taken during April, May,
June, July, and August. '' The great majority of the birds
were killed on the Ohio Experiment Station grounds, a])out
fifty being taken in other parts of the State." These grounds
were largely devoted to the cultivation of cherries, strawber-
ries, raspberries, blackberries, and other fruits. On this ac-
count it would seem probable that the i)ercentage of fruit eaten
would be greater than under ordinary Held conditions, but the

94 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

fruit ratios are uniformly less than those obtained in Illinois by
Professor Forbes. The results throughout are quite similar to
those of the last-named investigator. The economic percent-
ages are summarized as follows : Beneficial species (plants and
animals), 52.4 per cent. ; injurious species, 18.6 per cent. ;
neutral species, 28.9 per cent. It will be seen that these are
much more unfavorable to the robin than Professor Forbes's
results. The difference is largely due to the fact that the
latter includes the months of February, March, and Septem-
ber in addition to the months covered by Mr. Wilcox ; and
also to the fact that in Illinois theBibio larvne were considered
injurious, while in Ohio they were ranked as neutral. While
these insects may now confine themselves to decaying organic
matter, it seems, from the feeding habits of their allies, very
probable that were the check the robin places upon their in-
crease removed they would soon be compelled to resort to
living vegetation for at least part of their diet, and become
injurious. Consetiuently I think the robin entitled to credit
for their destruction. The interesting point is brought out
that '' during the fruit season the robins shot in the station
gardens were in the proportion of nine young to one old bird,
and that the old birds took much more insect food than the
young. While the young birds were feeding upon raspberries
and other garden fruits, the old birds might be found more
abundantly on newly mown meadows or in woodlands."
Similar conditions have often been noticed in other localities.
To show how onmivorous a bird the robin is, Mr. Wilcox
states that he found in the stomachs examined ^-caterpillars
of all sorts, from the smooth geometrids, or span worms, and
cutworms to the more hairy kinds, such as the walnut cater-
pillar (DaUma mu/usi) and even the common brown caterpillar
{Pyrrharctia imbclla). Coleoptera of several families were
noted, — Staphylinidae, Dermestidae, Carabidae, Scarabaeida*,
LampyridiP, Elateridoe, Otiorhynchidfe, Curculionidoe, Niti-
tulidie, Clirysoiiiclida', and Buprestida?. There were found

THE THRUSHES AND THEIR xVLLlES. 95

adult and pupal Hynienoptera, adult and larval Diptera, Co-
leoptera, and Lepidoptcra, adult and nymphal Hetei^optera,
Homoptera, and Orthoptera, adult Neuroptera (a small dragon-
fly), spiders, small snails, sowbugs, and Myriapods." In ad-
dition to this animal food, " a great majority of ttie fruits,
cultivated and uncultivated, which have a juicy nutritious
portion are included in the dietary of the robin."

Concerning the fruit-eating proclivities of the robin, Mr. W.
J. Green, of the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station, writes :
"The capacity of the robin for berries is enormous, and
when hundreds come at once the grower suffers serious losses.
On the station grounds nearly all of the early raspberries and
blackberries are taken by the robins, and only in the height
of the season are there enough berries left to give the pickers
a chance to earn fair wages. If left to themselves the robins
would take the greater share of the black raspberries that
grow on a plantation of more than an acre. Growers in
other parts of the country have complained of losses quite as
large."

The above accounts relate to the food of the adult robins.
We have next to consider that of the nestlings. Properly to
appreciate the importance of the latter, we must remember
that as far north as Massachusetts three broods of nestlings
are commonly reared ; that from early spring till late in the
summer each pair of old birds is engaged at least half of the
time in providing food for four, five, or six ravenous birdlings ;
and that each of the latter probably requires more food while
in the nest than does one of the adults during the same period.
It seems to us that the chief claim of the robin upon man's
favor rests upon these facts.

In 1884 we examined the stomach contents of six young
robins from Michigan nests. The largest single element of
the food consisted of cutworms and related caterpillars, which
formed twenty-seven per cent, of the total dietary. Among
other insects present were seven per cent, of beetles, includ-

96 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

ing curculios and ground-beetles, and various undetermined
species. There Avere also present twenty per cent, of earth-
worms, one per cent, of snails, three per cent, of myriapods,
and about thirty per cent, of grass blades. The latter seem
almost always to be found in the stomachs of nestling robins ;
they may be introduced accidentally with the cutworms or
possibly may have a dietetic value.

The food of fourteen nestlings examined by Beat consisted
of caterpillars, locusts, grasshoppers, crickets, and beetles, with
a few spiders, snails, and earthworms, and seven per cent, of
berries of various kinds.

Professor King found the stomachs of three Wisconsin
nestlings to contain wire-worms, white grubs, caterpillars,
beetles, small seeds, and grass. Dr. T. M. Brewer watched
the feeding of a set of young robins near his house, "and,
so far as they were seen, the nestlings were fed until they left
their nest entirely with the moths of the family Agrotiidae
or subterranean caterpillars, commonly known as cutworms."
We suspect he meant to write the larvae of the moths, instead
of the moths themselves, although it is known that the latter
are sometimes fed to the young.

In his admirable account of the nesting habits of the robin, ^
Professor Herrick states that the young are fed with grasshop-
pers, crickets, katydids, and angle-worms, as Avell as such fruits
as choke-cherries, blueberries, and raspberries. Evidently for
the nestlings, as for themselves, robins take the kind of food
that is most abundant. Years ago Wilson Flagg watched a pair
nesting near his house. They were rearing " a second brood
in the month of July, when the soil was so greatly parched
by drought that if robins lived only on berries and earthworms
they must have starved to death. I had often seen the birds
at a distance pecking vigorously upon the sward and then
drawing out a worm. I knew that there w^ere at this time no

' Home Life of Wild Birds, chap. iv.

Tin: TIIKUSHKS AND THEIK ALLIES. !)7

earthworms iirar enough tho surface to be witliiii the reach
even of the loiig-biUed snipes. But when the bird was near
enough I could distinctly see, by the form and appendages of
the creature, that it was invariably a cutworm of a large
species and of an olive-green color. The female bird was most
industrious. She would carry off one of these grubs as often
as once in five minutes, whenever I watched her movements,
and very often she would have two in her bill at a time. One
day close under my window, I saw her bear off three cut-
worms at once, all of which were taken before my sight in a
space about a rod square."

The robin appears to be one of the birds that thrives fully
as well under the conditions of modern agriculture as when
the soil was owned by the red man. A knowledge of its feed-
ing habits would lead one to expect this. In many localities
it is believed that these birds are now more numerous than
in earlier times. On the whole, there can be no doubt that it
is an eminently useful bird, but it is equally certain that too
often the fruit-grower alone has to pay heavily for services
rendered to the community at large. In concluding his dis-
cussion of an elaborate investigation of the food of adult
robins, Professor Forbes expresses his belief that tlie horti-
culturist cannot " sell his small fruits anywhere in the ordi-
nary markets of the world at so high a price as to the robin,
provided he uses proper diligence that the little huckster
does not overreach him in the bargain." If this is true when
the food of the adult alone is considered, it is much more so
when the food of the nestlings is also taken into account.
Nevertheless, we believe the fruit-grower sliould be allowed
to protect his crops when necessary, doing so in such a way
as to accomplish the greatest results with the least expen-
diture of robin life. But the indiscriminate destruction of
the birds for food, '-sport," or millinery purposes should
be stopped, and the robbing of the nests should be properly
punished.

98 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

THE CAT-BIRD.

While the cat-bird in most locaUties is much less abundant
than the robin, it is almost as well known. It is a shyer
species, commonly haunting shrubbery and underbrush in
clearings and along running streams. It is a migrant and
rarely winters very far north. The food of seventy Illinois
specimens, shot during May, June, July, August, and Septem-
ber, was studied by Professor Forbes. Insects formed eighty-
three per cent, of the food of twenty-two May examples :
the remainder consisted of spiders, myriapods, and sumach-
berries. " Among the insects were about equal ratios of ants,
crane-flies, and beetles, the first composing eighteen per cent,
of the food, the second nineteen, and the third twenty-three.
Caterpillars formed twelve per cent, of the food, and about
one-sixth of these were distinctly recognizable as cutworms.
More than one-third of the beetles were Carabidae, including
specimens of Platynus and Harpahis penmylvanicus.^^ Four
per cent, of Orthoptera were present, there being specimens
of the snowy tree-cricket, grasshoppers, and young walking-
sticks. " During the first part of June large numbers of ants
and crane-flies were again eaten. Many May-beetles were
also taken. During the last half of the month these insects
were largely replaced by cherries, currants, raspberries, and
strawberries." Three-fourths of the food of eleven July cat-
birds consisted of small fruits, mostly (sixty-four per cent.)
blackberries. Nine per cent, of beetles had been taken, most
of them being predaceous. '' It is clear that the cat-bird in
midsummer eats only such insects as come in its way while
regaling itself on the smaller fruits."

" The food-record of August resembles that of June, owing
doubtless to the diminution of the smaller garden fruits at
this time and to the fact that the wild fruits have not yet
come into bearing. The insect percentages are therefore
much larger than in July, and it is instructive to notice that

THE THRUSHES AND THEIR ALLIES. 99

this increase is first apparent and most evident in the ratios
of ants, an indication of the positive preference of the cat-
bird for this food. Nearly one-half of the forty-six per cent,
of insects eaten this month were ants.'' Among the beetles
eaten was one striped cucumber-beetle, and among the bugs
were a few chinch-bugs. Blackberries formed the staple fruit
element. During the first half of September cherries, wild
fruits, and grapes formed seventy-six per cent, of the food.
The fmal percentages of the food for the five months are :
beneficial, forty-one ; injurious, fifteen ; neutral, forty-four.

Five cat-birds examined in Nebraska by Aughey had eaten
one hundred and fifty-two Rocky Mountain locusts. Twenty-
five specimens shot during May in the IlHnois orchard where
canker-worms were at work, and studied by Professor Forbes,
had eaten fifteen per cent, of canker-worms. This author
also reports having seen cat-birds " busily scooping out the
fairest side of the ripest early apples, unsurpassed in skill and
industry at this employment by the red-headed woodpecker
or the blue-jay."

Evidently there is room for improvement in the economic
status of the adult cat-bird. But the dietary sins of the
parents are largely atoned for by the food of the young. In
1884 we examined the stomach contents of three Michigan
nestlings of this species : ninety-five per cent, of the food con-
sisted of insects ; two per cent, of spiders ; and three per
cent, of Myriapods. Sixty-two per cent, of the food con-
sisted of cutworms ; eleven per cent, of ground-beetles ; four
per cent, of grasshoppers ; three per cent, of May-flies, and
two per cent, of dragon-flies. The large proportion of cut-
worms strongly favors the usefulness of the species. Pro-
fessor Herrick's observations ^ show that dragon-flies, caught
just as they emerge from the nymph state, are commonly fed
the nestlings, as are also '• insect larvae, beetles, moths, millers,

^ Home Life of Wild Birds, chap. viii.

100 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

and a great variety of smaller insects, varied with liberal
courses of strawberries." Fourteen nestlings studied by Judd
had eaten but four per cent, of fruit, their diet being chiefly
ants, beetles, caterpillars, spiders, and grasshoppers.

While the cat-bird by no means deserves the cruel and
senseless persecution it too often receives, it seems to us that
the fruit-grower should be allowed to protect himself from
ruinous injury by it. We have no doubt that, on the whole,
the benefit Avhich it does is much greater than the harm,
and its destruction should never be permitted except when
necessary to save precious crops. Professor F. E. L. Beal be-
lieves that " cultivated fruits can be protected from the cat-bird
by the simple expedient of planting wild species or others
which are preferred by the birds." Dr. Judd has shown that
Russian mulberries are preferred to cherries by these birds.

OTUEll THHUSHES.

Every farmer's boy in the Middle States has heard the song
of the Brown Thrush or Thrasher. In many respects its
vocal powers excel those of any of the northern birds that are
known by every body. It is a shy creature, haunting shrub-
bery and underbrusli and skulking away on the approach of
man. When scratching the dry leaves or running over the
surface of the ground, the rustling noise it makes is sur-
prising : in the palmetto brush of southern Florida we have
often been led to think some larger animal was present. It is
a regular migrant, breeding in the north and wintering south.

We are indebted to Professor Forbes for quite a full knowl-
edge of the food of the brown thrush. Two separate inves-
tigations were made, the first including twenty-eight birds
shot in Illinois during April, May, June, and July, and the
second sixty-four specimens covering the six months from
April to September. The feeding habits for this time are thus
recapitulated.

"The brown thrush, arriving in April, linds nearly one-

THE THRUSHK

AXn TIIKIli ALLIK

101

half of its food in fragments of corn and other grains and seeds
picked from the droppings of animals. This curious habit it
maintains throughout the year, evidently taking this food
from preference as well as from necessity. In fact, I have
often found these vegetable fragments associated with black-
berries in the food. After April this element averages about
sixteen per cent, throughout the season. Insects amount to
about half the food for each month, except in May, when

%f"^^W^

' W" /

X/

THE BROWN THRUSH.

{After Biological Siirve?j.)

they rise to three-fourths, and in July, when they drop to
one-fourth. The excess in May occurs at the time of the
greatest number and activity of the beetles, and the diminu-
tion in July coincides with the period of the greatest abun-
dance of the small fruits. One-half the hisects eaten are
beetles, wliich stand at one-fourth of tlie food in April and
June, rise to one-half in May, and fall to about one-eighth in
July and August. Half the beetles of the year are Scara-
bseidiB, chiefly June-beetles and Euryoma, all taken previous
to July. Nearly oiic-rourth of llic beetles are Carabid^,
which remain at al)()ut fivt? per cent, of the food, except in
May, when they rise to ten per cent. Although the ratios

102

BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

of spring-beetles and snoiit-beetles are but two per cent., the
numbers eaten are of some significance. My notes show that
these birds were eating each at the daily rate of one and one-
half curculios, and consequently had averaged a total of about
two hundred and fifty to each thrush for the season. The
brown thrush takes ants more freely than the robin, but e-ats
comparatively few caterpillars ; seven per cent, of each were
found in the food of the year. Diptera are taken in very
trivial quantity and Hemiptera in moderate numbers only.

BOLL-WORM.

a, h, eggs, side view and top view, magnified ; c, larva ; d, pupa, in cocoon ; e, moth with wings
expanded ; /, moth with wings closed. ( After Rilpif. )

This bird eats thousand-legs mere freely than the robin, espe-
cially in early spring. In the garden it plays a part very
similar to that of the other thrushes, but is less mischievous,
on the whole. Its average of the edible fruits for June,
July, and August is thirty-eight per cent., as against sixty per
cent, of the robin and forty-nine per cent, of the cat-bird.
It relishes the whole list of garden fruits, and later in the
season resorts to the wild fruits of the woods and thickets.''

THE THRUSHES AND THEIR ALLIES. 103

The nestlings of this species are fed upon spiders and
insects, especially the various grasshoppers and caterpillars.

The famous Mocking-bird, whose music is to Americans
much what that of the nightingale is to Europeans, is com-
monly found in the Southern States. As a rule, it is rare
north of latitude 40. Its food appears to be much like that of
the other thrushes, consisting of about equal proportions of
insects and various wild and cultivated fruits. The young
appear to be fed chiefly upon insects, among which the moth
of the cotton-boll-worm deserves special mention.

In the North the Wood-Thrush is the most famous songster
of its family. It is common, but not abundant, in most of the
Eastern States, north to New England. It is usually a shy bird,
haunting woodland shrubbery, but there are indications that
it is becoming more familiar with man, and there seems good
reason for hoping that in time it will be much more com-
monly seen upon the home grounds. Professor Forbes's
studies of the food of twenty-two Illinois birds show that it is
one of the most useful of the thrushes, eating large numbers
of injurious insects and comparatively little fruit. One speci-
men had stuffed itself with rose-beetles [Macrodactylus sub-
sp'niosus) and others had eaten large numbers of ants and
crane-flies. Insects as a whole formed seventy-one per cent,
of the food. Of course every one is eager to encourage the
advances of this beautiful songster.

The economic relations of the other thrushes — such as the
Hermit, Alice, or Swainson's — appear to be very similar to
those of the wood-thrush. The hermit is credited — or rather
debited — with the destruction of many predaceous beetles
during its northward migration, and the other two species
mentioned are unusually fond of ants and caterpillars.

In summarizing the food of the family of thrushes as it
occurs ill Illinois, Professor Forlx'S says: "Sixty-one per
cent, of the food consists of insects, one i)er cent, of spiders,
two per cent, of Alyriapods, and thirty-two i)er cent, of fruits,

104

BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

eleven per cent, being blackberries, eight per cent, cherries,
one per cent, currants, and five per cent, grapes. Thirty
parts of the food consist of injurious insects and eight parts
of beneficial species, while twenty-six parts consist of edible
fruits." This, however, refers only to the adult birds, the
food of the young not being sufficiently known to be included
in the estimate. All the observations on record indicate
that the nestlings of thrushes are fed upon insects, especially
smooth caterpillars like the cutworms, so that there is little
doubt that this factor would largely increase the already con-
clusive evidence as to the great value of this splendid family.

The charming little kinglets of the family ISylvUdw are among
the most deUghtful of the pygmy birds. They frequent the tops
of tall trees so constantly that they are seldom seen by most
people. Two species are rather common in our Nortliern
States, the Golden-crowxkd and the Ruby-croWx\ed Kinglets.
Both are insectivorous in llicir feeding habits.

i; <.i ii.iii;n I Kdw N i:i( k i

CHAPTER IX.
THE NUTHATCHES, TITMICE, CKEEl'EHS, AM) WHE.XS.

THE NUTHATCHES.

The nuthatches [Sittiuce) comprise a small group of creeping
birds which inhabit woodlands cliiefly, although they often
visit trees in orchards and groves or along the highway.
Most of their food consists of insects gathered from the bark
of trees, but part of it is composed of seeds of various kinds.
They are compact flattened birds, with plumage of modest
colors and hard barbed and pointed tongues. Four species
and one variety occur in the United States, a common form
in the Northeast being the White-breasted Nuthatch, which in
the Middle and Western States is replaced by a variety with a
more slender bill. This bird is frequently abundant in wood-
lands, and moves actively about over trunks and branches in
search of food. Professor King examined tlie stomach con-
tents of twenty-five Wisconsin specimens, and found that
fourteen of them had eaten beetles, including elaters and
longicorns, while others contained ants, caterpillars, and beetle-
grubs, a spider and a chrysalis, a few small toadstools, some
acorns, and a little corn. Four Illinois specimens had eaten
beetles of various kinds, some of them being lady-beetles.

The food of this species in winter and spring was made
the subject of a s[)ecial study by Pro lessor E. D. San-
derson. '-During the winter tlic larger pi'oportion of the
food was composed of seeds, which gradually decreased as
insect life became more abundant.'' Seeds of Indian corn,
ragweed, and wild sunflowers were recognized ; the insects
were largely in eg^^ or larval stages. In spring nearly eighty
per cent, of the food consisted of insects, cliii^fly adults. No
traces of acorns were nnnid in Hm- slKiiiaciis cxaniinccl. From

106 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

these studies Professor Sanderson reaches the conclusion that
this species is " either absolutely neutral or of comparatively
small economic importance," — a conclusion which, it seems
to us, is by no means warranted by his results. During the
spring, he writes, " Hymenoptera were found in considerable
numbers, all being beneficial.'^ Probably it is on this account
that the usefulness of the birds is doubted. But we believe,
as indicated in Chapter VI., that investigators err in saying
that all parasitic insects are beneficial.

The nest of this bird is built in a hole in a tree, tlie cavity
being sometimes excavated by the nuthatch and sometimes
by another bird or a falling limb. The rapid destruction of
forests and the thinning out of dead trees in orchards and
woodlands must reduce tlie available nesting sites and thus
tend to lessen the numbers of the nuthatches. There is
some reason for supposing that if suitable artificial nesting
places were provided in orchards these birds would breed in
them. It is an experiment well Avorth trying.

The Red-hheasted or Canada Nuthatch is much rarer than
the last-named species in many parts of the United States,
although the two birds seem to be very similar in their feed-
ing habits. It breeds in holes and stumps, and feeds on
beetles, ants, and other small insects. In Nebraska it has
been seen eating young grassho})pers.

THE TITMICE.

The titmice, or chickadees, which with the nuthatches and
wren-tits form the family ParidtB, are represented in North
America by nearly a score of species and varieties, the great
majority of which, howevin*, are rare or only locally distrib-
uted. The common Chickadee, or Black-capped Titmouse, is
much the most familiar species in the Eastern States, remain-
ing with IIS lliroiigliout the year. It takes a great variety
of food, gleaning through the winter h'oiii th(^ bai'k and
twigs of both deciduous and evergreen trees, and in summer

NUTHATCHES, TITMICE, CREEPERS, AND WRENS. 107

dovouriiii,'- iiisccls of many kinds. In a canker-worm infested
orchard sixty-one per cent, of the food of two cliickadees con-
sisti^d of these caterpillars, while injurious beetles constituted
the remainder.

In a recent investii^ation of the winter food of the chick-
adee, we studied ^ the stomach contents of forty-one speci-
mens taken during November, December, January, February,
and March. The results as a whole show that more than
half of the food of the chick-
adees during winter consists
of insects, a very large pro-
portion of wiiich are taken
in the form of eggs. About
five per cent, of the stomach
contents consisted of spiders
or their eggs. Vegetation of
various sorts made up a little
less than a c{uarter of the
food, two-thirds of which,
however, consisted of buds
and bud-scales that were be-
lieved to have been accidentally introduced with plant-lice
eggs. These eggs made up more than one-fifth of the entire
food and formed the most remarkable element of the bill
of fare. This destruction of the myriads of eggs of plant-
lice which infest the fruit, shade, and forest trees is probably
the most important service the chickadee renders during its
winter residence. More than four hundred and fifty eggs
sometimes occur as the food of one bird in a single day.
On the supposition that one hundred were eaten daily by
each of a flock of ten chickadees, there w^ould be destroyed
one thousand a day, or one hundred thousand during the
davs of winl(^r, a number whicli we believe to b(^ far below

THE CHICKADEE. OR BLACK-CAPPED
TITMOUSE.

* New Hamp?hirp College Agriniltiiral Exporimont Station, Bull. o4.

108 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN. '

the actual average, could Ave determine it precisely. Insects'
eggs of many other kinds were found in the food of the chick-
adee ; many of these it was impossible to recognize, but there
was no difficulty in identifying tlie eggs of the common Ameri-
can tent caterpillar and of the fall canker-worm, the eggs
of Avhich remain upon the trees through the winter. There
were also present the eggs and egg-sacs of many spiders of
kinds commonly occurring under loose bark. While spiders
as a class are doubtless beneficial creatures, the destruction
of some of them is not in our opinion seriously detrimental to
th(^ usefulness of the cliickadee. The larva^ of several differ-
ent kinds of moths were also found. One of the most abun-
dant species was believed to be tli<' common apple-worm, the
larvae of the codling moth. The bark-beetles of the family
Scolytidae, which are destructive to forests all over our coun-
try, were also freely eaten by the chickadees. The hairy
skins of the fruits of the common wild sumachs were among
the most abundant elements of the vegetable food present.
The edible j)orli()n of these fruits is evidently eaten to a con-
siderable extent throughout the winter and early spring. An-
other common element of the food appears to consist of the
curious little fruits of the bayberry or waxberry myrtle — an
abundant shrub along tlie sea-coast. In winter chickadees
have been observed to hide away surplus food, to eat at a
later time.

A careful study of the food of the chickadee in Michigan
has also been made by Professor E. D. Sanderson, with re-
sults very similar to those recorded above. As an indication
of the usefulness of these birds, he writes: ''If fifty-tive in-
sects were consumed i)er day by each l)ird, as will be shown
to be the case, three hundred and <'ighty-five would be con-
sumed per day by a ilock of seven, which is believed to be a
lair average for each sc|uare mile: this would be about one
hundred and tliirty-seven thousand five hundred per year in
each square mile. Thus upon the land surface of Michigan

NUTHATCHES, TITMICE, CREEPERS, AND WRENS. 109

there will annually be about eight thousand million insects
destroyed by chickadees alone. Surely no mean number."

The closely related Long-tailed Chickadee of the Western
States feeds largely upon grasshoppers when the latter are
abundant. The Carolina Titmouse of the Southern States
appears to have food-habits similar to those of its northern
representative, except that through the winter months it
doubtless finds a larger percentage of insect food.

THE creepers.

The small family of creepers {Certhiidce), of wliicli only
about a dozen species are known in the entire world, has ])at
one representative in the United States. These birds in
outward appearance and habits are suggestive of the wood-
peckers. They have rigid tail-feathers and a slender de-
curved bill, with toes adapted to running up the sides of
trees.

The Brown Creeper is the common American representa-
tive of this family. It is a small bird, very restless and active,
which may often be seen by bird-lovers going in spirals up
tree trunks, but never hanging head downward like the nut-
hatches. It nests behind loose bark on the trunks of trees,
and in most of the Northern States may be found through-
out the year. Very few precise determinations of its food
have been made : three stomachs examined by King contained
small beetles and other insects, and Nelson reports that he
has seen several of these creepers on the sides of a house
searching for spiders. In June, 1895, Aughey saw two parent
birds bring to a nest of young twenty-seven locusts in an
hour. In Maryland, Judd found that one bird had eaten
beetles, sawflies, flying ants, spiders, and seeds of the scrub
pine.

There can be no doubt that this is a very useful little bird,
deserving all possible encouragement.

110

BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

THE WRENS.

The elegant little wrens, in their suits of brown and drab,
belong to a small family {Troglodyt'uke) of highly insectivo-
rous birds. The saucy House-Wren is much the most familiar
representative. It occurs throughout the United States, from
the Atlantic to the Pacific, the western being considered a

^^^^"^fe.

THE HorSE-WKEN.

{Afia- nioUnjicnl Siirreij.)

distinct geographical race. In the Northern States it is migra-
tory, spending the winter in the South. It nests about barns
and dwellings in almost any situation, and is easily encour-
aged by putting up nesting-boxes. The house-wren is a very
useful bird to have searching constantly for insects in the
shrubbery of the ornamental grounds, the trees of the orchard,
or the vines of the garden. Its diet appears to be exclusively
insectivorous ; including on its bill of fare larv;e and caterpil-
lars of many kinds, as well as ants, grasshoppers, gnats, bee-
tles, bugs, spiders, and myriapods. Professor Augliey repeat-

NUTHATCHES, TITMICE, CKEEIM':ilS, AM) WKEXS. lH

0(11 y observcHl both this and olhcr whmis carrying youiiLj
locusts to llicir nestlings. Nearly lialC llic food of several
specimens shot in an orcliard infested by canker-worms con-
sisted of these pests. Fifty-two stomachs were examined at
the United States Department of Agriculture, the record show-
ing '' that ninety-eight per cent, of the stomach contents was
made up of insects or their allies, and only two per cent, was
vegetable, including bits of grass and similar matter, evidently
taken by accident with the insects. Half of their food con-
sisted of grasshoppers and beetles ; the remainder, of cater-
pillars, bugs, and spiders."

The house- wren is accused,^ apparently on good evidence,
of sometimes pecking holes in the eggs of chipping-sparrows
and throwing them out of the nest. Probably this is a special
habit of certain birds, due to unusual conditions, although it
may well lead bird-lovers to watch the wrens to see how
general it is.

A mother wren observed by Judd made one hundred and
ten visits to her nest in feeding her young in four hours and
thirty-seven minutes, feeding them one hundred and eleven
insects and spiders.

Two species of Marsh-Wrens are common in the United
States, the long-billed and the short-billed. They especially
haunt swampy ground, the former building an enormous glob-
ular nest among the reeds. Both species feed upon insects,
spiders, and snails. Of fourteen Wisconsin specimens of the
long-billed marsh-wren, one had eaten " one ant ; one, a cat-
erpillar ; one, three beetles ; three, three moths ; one, a small
grasshopper; one, five grasshoppers' eggs; one, a dragon-fly;
and one, a small snail." (King.) Five Maryland si)ecimens
had eaten spiders, beetles, bugs, leaf-hoppers, flies, four-wingcnl
parasites, and ants, the first two forming the major portion of
the food.

* Bird Lore, ii. 90.

CHAPTER X.
THE WARBLERS AND THE VIREOS.

THE WOOD WARBLERS, OR AMERICAN WARBLERS.

The beautiful-plumaged American warblers (3IniotiIticke)
form next to the largest family of our native birds. Nearly all
of them are small. As a group they are abundant and widely
distributed, migratory, and insectivorous. In many species
the plumage varies greatly with the age and sex. There are
about sixty North American representatives of the family.
"With tireless industry do the warblers befriend the human
race," writes Dr. Elliott Cones; "their unconscious zeal plays
due part in the nice adjustment of nature's forces, helping to
bring about that balance of vegetable and insect life without
which agriculture would be in vain. They visit the orchard
when the apple and pear, the peach, plum, and cherry are in
bloom, seeming to revel carelessly amid the sweet-scented
and delicately tinted blossoms, but never faltering in their
good work. They peer into the crevices of the bark, scruti-
nize each leaf, and explore the very heart of the buds to
detect, drag forth, and destroy these tiny creatures, singly in-
signiticant, collectively a scourge, which prey upon the hopes
of the fruit-grower, and which if undisturbed would bring his
care to naught. Sojiie warblers flit incessantly in the terminal
foliage of the tallest trees ; others hug close to the scored
trunks and gnarled boughs of tlie forest kings ; some peep
from the thicket, llie -coppice, the impenetrable mantle of
shrubbery tliat decks liny water-courses, playing at hide and
seek with all comers; otiiei's, morc^ humble still, descend to
the ground, when^ they glide, with i)retty, mincing ste})s and
affected turning of the head this way and that, their delicate

112

THE WARBLERS AM) THE VIREOS. 113

flesh-tinted feet just stirring- tlie layer of witluTcd leaves with
which a past season carpeted the ground."'

The Black and AVhite Creeping Warbler, sometimes called
the black and white creeper, is abundant in most wooded
portions of eastern America, extending westward to Dakota
and Nebraska. It resembles the creepers and nuthatches in
its manner of taking food, searching every cranny and crevice
of the bark of trees for the insects sheltered there, occasion-
ally chasing for short distances moths or other creatures
frightened from their hiding-places ; and sometimes scruti-
nizing the foliage, like other warblers. The nest is placed on
or near the ground, very often on a rocky ledge. Four or
five young are reared. The insects eaten by the bird belong
mostly to species of small size.

Seventeen Wisconsin specimens had eaten five ants, twenty
small measuring worms and one other caterpillar, four moths,
five two-winged flies, one curculio and fifteen other beetles,
seven bugs, a caddis-fly, and a small snail, besides more than
a hundred insects' eggs. One Nebraska bird had swallowed
forty-one locusts and twelve other insects, together with a
few seeds.

The Blue Yellow-backed Warbler is a beautiful little bird
which spends much of its feeding time among the topmost
twigs of the tallest trees. It is common in eastern America
and is found as far west as the Rocky Mountains. In New
England it has been observed feeding on May-flies, measuring
worms, and spiders ; in Wisconsin six small insects were
taken from a single stomach, and in Nebraska it has frequently
been seen picking up locusts and other insects. A picture of
it is shown in the frontispiece of this book.

The Nashville Warbler is found, occasionally at least,
throughout almost the whole of North America, specimens
of it having been taken as far noi-lh as (Irecnlaiid, as far wrsi
as Utah, Nevada, and California, and as far south as M(\\ico.
Its chief distribution, however, is in Mie region east of the

8

114 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

Mississippi River, where il is a regular uiigrant, breeding as
far s(3uth as tlic northern counties of Illinois and the central
portion of New England. The nest is placed on the ground.
The only food records that we have show that two Wisconsin
spociniens had eaten four small green caterpillars and some
other insects not identifiable, and that one Nebraska fledgling
had devoured twenty-one locusts and several other insects,
while the adult birds have frequently been seen feeding on
locusts.

The Tennessee Warbler is a very interesting migratory
species that passes regularly and abundantly through the Mis-
sissippi Valley States during its spring and autumn migrations.
It also occurs sparingly west to the Rocky Mountains and east
to the Atlantic Ocean. It breeds in the far North and winters,
in part at least, in South America. It searches diligently for
the insect mites that infest the foliage of trees, seeming to
have a special fondness for aphides, forty-two of which have
been taken from the stomachs of three of these birds. Among
the other food elements of thirty-two specimens there were
found two small Hymenoptera, thirteen caterpillars, fifteen
two-winged flies, thirteen beetles, thirty-five small bugs, and
eleven insects' eggs. Four-fifths of the food of one bird shot
in an orchard infested by canker-worms consisted of these
pests. Teiniessee warblers have also been seen feeding on
small grasshoppers.

This, however, is one of the very few warblers against
which a charge has been brought by the fruit-growers. In
some sections it is known as the "grape-sucker," because it
l)mi(tures ripe grapes with its little beak, presumably to get at
tiie juice. Testimony on this point appears to be conclusive,
and considerable injury occasionally results. There can be
no doubt, however, that in the aggregate the bird does vastly
more good than harm.

Tlie Yellow-rumped Warbler, or Myrtle-Bird, is an ex-
ceedingly hardy little creature, often enduring the rigors of a

THE WARBLERS AND THE VIREOS. 115

New England winter when its congeners are basking in the
sunshine of the South. It is distributed over a large North
American range, and is abundant in all sorts of situations,
especially during the spring and autunui migrations. It
breeds regularly in the far North, commonly nesting, liow-
ever, in the northern tier of States and in southern ('anada.
According to Ridgway, it is a connnon Avinter resident in
southern Illinois. Of twenty-one specimens studied by King,
" one had eaten a moth ; two, twenty-one caterpillars, mostly
measuring worms ; five, fourteen two-winged flies, among
which were three crane-flies ; fifteen, forty-eight beetles ; one,
four ichneumon-flies ; one, a caddis-fly ; and one, a spider."
Our own studies ^ of many specimens show that in autumn
three-fifths of its food consists of myrtle-berries, the remainder
being largely insects, while in spring tlie insect ratios are
much greater.

The Yellow Warbler, or Summer Yellow-Bird, is probably
the best-known member of its family. It seems perfectly at
home throughout the whole of North America, from the trop-
ical regions of the South to the"arctic lands of the North. It
is a familiar and confiding bird, associating freely with civilized
man, and building its neat nest of vegetable fibre in the trees
of the orchard, park, family residence, and public thorough-
fare. Three or four eggs are usually deposited in the nest,
and when an additional one is left by a skulking cow-bird,
the warblers — with a wisdom beyond their size — sometimes
add another story to the nest and begin again their domestic
duties, leaving the stranger egg and if necessary some of their
own to go unhatched.

The food habits of the yellow warbler are all that could be
desired. It freely visits farm premises and feeds on minute
insects of many kinds. Two-thirds of the food of five Illinois

> Dearborn and W.-.-d. Tech. l^illcliii Xo. ,'!, X. H. C. Exp. St., VinA
of the Mvrtle-Wiiil.ltT.

116

BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

specimens consisted of canker-worms, and most of the re-
mainder was an injurious beetle. An equal number of Wis-
consin birds contained small caterpillars and beetles ; and
from various other specimens spiders, myriapods, moths,
bugs, flies, grasshoppers, and other insects have been taken.
The Black-throated Green Warbler, which is especially
characterized by its jet-black chin, throat, and breast, is
abundant in New England and extends westward to Ne-

THE MAGNOLIA WARBLER.

braska, breeding in pine trees throughout tlie northern por-
tion of its range. Its food is obtained among the branches of
tall trees, largely while upon the wing, and consists of a great
variety of small insects, including caterpillars and larv« of
many kinds, curculios and other beetles, small bugs, and
various Hymenoptera. An idea of the number of insects it

THE WAHBLEKS AND THE VHiEUS. 117

consumes may be obtained from the statement tliat the
stomachs of five birds taken in Nebraska during June con-
tained one liundred and sixteen small locusts and one hun-
dred and four other insects, an average of forty-four to each
bird. Seventy per cent, of the food of one Illinois specimen
consisted of canker-worms.

The beautiful American Redstart is a much commoner
species in most of the Northern States than would be sup-
posed by those who have paid no special attention to the
study of birds. Living amidst the foliage of trees, it is seldom
seen except by those looking for the warblers found in such
situations. The redstart is '• the flycatcher of the inner tree-
tops,'" capturing on the wing the numerous insects that flit
about among the branches and occasionally taking a cater-
pillar hanging by a thread or crawling on a twig. The food
of the few specimens that have been critically examined con-
sisted of small two-winged flies, a few parasitic Hymenoptera,
an occasional small bug. and some minute larvae. Seven
Nebraska specimens had eaten one hundred and sixty-one
small locusts and one hundred and seventeen other insects.
The young are fed with moths and other insects caught when
upon the wing.

The handsome little Maryland Yellow-throat, in its typical
form or that of a subspecies, is found throughout the United
States, from the Atlantic to tlie Pacific oceans, and in many
localities is one of the most abundant of the warblers. It
especially frequents the shrubbery about standing or running
water, where it can be found throughout tln^ summer busil\
searching for insect food. It often visits orchards, where
canker- worius and other caterpillars are greedily devoured,
these fornung in three cases on record four-fifths of its food.
The little case-bearing cateri)illars of the genus Coleophora and
its allies are often eaten, while butterfiies, moths, two-winged
Hies, beetles, grasshopi)ers, leaf-hoppers, bugs, dragon-flies,
Hymenoptera, and insects' eggs are all included on the bill of

lis

BIRDS L\ THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

fore. 'Jlie young are sometimes fed with small grasshoppers,
and these insects are a favorite item of food with the adult
birds.

Like the yellow warbler, this species sometimes outwits the
cow-bird by its intelligence. Mr. A. W. Butler thus describes
the three-storied nest of a yellow-throat in his possession :
" In the original nest had been deposited the egg of a cow-

5UTTERFLY CAUGHT BY MARYLAND YK

bird, tlicii williiii tlial nest and rising above it the yellow-throat
had built anotlier nest, which also became the depository of
the liope of offspring of this unnatural bird ; again the little
warbler constructed a third n(^st ui)on the other two, burying
the cow-bird's egg, and in this nest laid her complement of
eggs."

These examples will suffice to make manifest the fact that
the warbler family is one of extraordinary economic value, the
members of which are immensely useful in checking noxious
insects and with very few exceptions have no injurious habits.
It is particularly gratifying that these charming birds, whose
song and plumage draw to them the good will of all intelli-
gent people, should show so well that utility and beauty are
not always dissociated.

rhotoijruphid from Uh h,/ l>r. /.'. M . >!ini,l,ll.

HKD-EYKI) VIKEO. YOING

THE WARBLERS AND THE VIREOS. 119

THE VIREOS, OR GREENLETS.

The vireos, or greeiilets, are universally recognized as
among the sweetest of feathered songsters. They are small
birds, jnodest in manners and dress, very different from the
shrikes, to which. the ornithologists state that they are closely
related. This is exclusively a New World family, composed
of half a dozen genera and a little over half a hundred spe-
cies : only one of the former, the genus Vireo, and thirteen
of the latter occur in the United States. Of these thirteen
species about half are common over a considerable area. In
color our forms are mostly greenish olive or gray above and
white or yellow below. They build slightly pendent nests in
trees, migrate southward in autumn, and are almost exclu-
sively insectivorous. They are more often heard than seen.
'' Clad in simple tints that harmonize with the verdure,"
writes Dr. Coues, "these gentle songsters warble their lays
unseen, while the foliage itself seems stirred to music. In
the quaint and curious ditty of the white-eye, in the earnest,
voluble strains of the red-eye, in the tender secret that the
warbling vireo confides in whispers to the passing breeze, he
is insensible who does not hear the echo of thoughts he never
clothes in words."

The Red-eyed VmEO seems to be the most abundant and
widely distributed species of the genus. It is found in all
the States except those of the extreme West, and in summer
sometimes migrates as far north as Greenland. It prefers
woodlands to the cultivated fields, but frequently finds its
way to parks and orchards. It connnonly seeks its food
among the foliage and branches of trees and shrubs, some-
times chasing moths and other Hying insects for short dis-
tances on the wing. It is universally recognized as a great in-
sect-eater. An excellent idea of ils food may be obtained from
Professor King's studies of lilty-four Wisc(^nsin specimens:
"From the stomachs of eigiileen of this species were taken

120 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

fifteen caterpillars ; five other larvae ; eight beetles, among
them five weevils and one long-horn ; seventy heteropterous
insects, among them sixty-seven chinch-bugs ; sixteen winged
ants ; one ichneumon (?) ; five dragon-flies ; two dipterous
insects, one of them a large horse-fly (Tabanus atratus); three
small moths ; two grasshoppers ; one aphis ; one chrysalid ;
two spiders ; and seven dogwood-berries. Of thirty-six other
specimens examined, fifteen had eaten caterpillars; two,
other larv}« ; nine, beetles, among them two lady-bird beetles ;
three, grasshoppers ; two, ants ; two, moths ; four, unidentified
insects ; and seven, fruits or seeds, among which were rasp-
berries, dogwood-berries, berries of prickly ash, and sheep-
berries.'' During locust outbreaks in Nebraska four-fifths
of the food of this vireo has been found to consist of these
insects. Of his studies of the food of the young of this
species, Professor Herrick writes : '' Grasshoppers, katydids,
green larvae, beetles, and bugs of many kinds were served
again and again ; l)ut it would be a mistake to suppose that
there was no fruit to vary tliis diet. Upon the third day the
mother brought a ripe red raspberry, its juice fairly stream-
ing down her bill, and after a few beetles had been taken she
appeared with a large blackberry. Fruit was served to the
young about half a dozen times in the course of four hours
during which watch was kept on this particular day, but I
had not seen a single berry brought to the young before this
time.'' Professor Beat found that nestlings tliree days old
had been fed with spiders, sphinx caterpillars, butterflies,
assassin-bugs, and tree-hoppers.

The Warbling Vireo frequents cultivated fields, orchards,
and the vicinity of houses, as well as the wilder woodlands.
It is an abundant species in most States and is highly insec-
tivorous. Its food consists chiefly of caterpillars, including
such destructive species as the canker-worm, beetles of
A^arious kinds, among them the twelve-spotted cucumber-
beetle and occasionallv a ladv-bird, crane-flies and other

THE WARBLERS AND THE VIREOS. 121

two-winged flies, grasshoppers, bugs, and sometimes dog-
wood-berries. The young are known sometimes to be fed
with grasshoppers. Canker-worms formed forty-four per
cent, of the food of three specimens shot in an orchard
infested by these pests.

The Yellow-throated Vireo is a larger bird than either of
those above mentioned. It is common in tlie eastern regions
of North America, and feeds on caterpillars, including meas-
uring worms, moths, Aveevils and other beetles, grasshoppers,
leaf-hoppers, and various flies. It evidently is a highly bene-
ficial bird.

The White-eyed VmEO is abundant in the Eastern States as
far north as Massachusetts, and is occasionally found as far
west as the base of the Rocky Mountains. It usually haunts
clearings where there is much underbrush. Dr. Brewer
reports that it feeds on canker-worms, and De Kay says it
eats insects and berries. No precise records of the examina-
tion of the stomach contents appear to have been published,
but its diet is probably similar to that of the other species of
the genus. Judd summarizes ^ the food of ten specimens of
this species along with that of fifteen specimens of other
species. Ninety-one per cent, of the food of the twenty-five
vireos consisted of insects and nine per cent, of the fruit of
mulberries and sassafras.

1 Birds of a Maryland Farm, U. S. Biol. Surv., Bull. 17, p. 102.

CHAPTER XL

THE SHRIKES, AVAXWINGS, SWALLOWS, AND TANAGERS.

THE SHRIKES, OR BUTCHER-BIRDS.

It is difficult to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion concern-
ing the economic status of our Nortti American shrikes {Lanl-
idce), of which there are two well-defined species, the great
northern shrike and the loggerliead shrike. They are birds
of extraordinary habits and feed upon an unusual variety of
animal life. On the one hand it is clear that they devour large
numbers of injurious insects, birds, and mice, and on the other
hand that they destroy many beneficial birds. The balance
of evidence, however, seems to show that on the whole the
shrikes are of economic value. The complexity of the problem
is increased by their peculiar habit of impaling many of their
victims upon thorns, often leaving them there indefinitely.
Many explanations of the origin of this habit have been sug-
gested. The most plausible one seems to be that the victims
are thus spitted for convenience in tearing up preparatory
to eating, Dr. Judd having shown that this is necessary on
account of the comparative weakness of the shrike's feet as
grasping organs.

The Great Northern Shrike is a bold and fearless bird.
" Appropriating to himself sufficient territory, where no other
bird may safely intrude, he becomes the terror of the neigh-
borhood, and woe to the unlucky finch or warbler that ven-
tures to trespass on these hunting-grounds. Like a veritable
sentinel on guard, the shrike stands in wait upon his chosen
Si)ot, ready to pounce willi unerring aim upon the first little
bird that may dare to rustle in tlie nearest bush.'' (Coues.)
Besides the small native birds that are thus destroyed, the
shrikes are known to attack the imported English sparrow.
122

SHRIKES. WAXWIXGS, SWALLOWS, AND TANAGERS. 123

On this account it has been recommended that they be pro-
tected by law. Shrikes also feed upon shrews and mice and
many kinds of insects, including grasshoppers, caterpillars,
crane-flies, and ground, tiger, carrion, and leaf beetles. Dr.
S. D. Judd, Avho has made a careful study of the food of this
species, writes : " The present investigation shows that bene-
ficial birds form less than one-fourth of the food of the butcher-
bird. It also shows that, in addition to being an enemy of

THE GREAT NORTHERN SHRIKE.

mice, it is a potent check on the English sparrow and on
several insect pests. One-fourth of its food consists of mice ;
another fourth, grasshoppers ; a third fourth consists of na-
tive sparrows and predaceous beetles and spiders, while the
remainder is made up of English sparrows and species of
insects most of which are noxious." ^ The young are fed
very largely with grasshoppers, though mice and birds are
sometimes given them.

The Loggerhead Shrike is a smaller bird than the last. In
some of its racial forms it is found very generally throughout

^ Div. BioL Surv., U. S. Dept. Agr., 1898, Bull. No. 9, p. 20.

124 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

the country in summer, retiring southward at the approach of
winter. Inhabiting a warmer climate than its northern rela-
tive, it is able to subsist more largely upon insects.

In eighty-eight stomachs reported by Dr. Judd,^ only seven
birds were found. Mice formed fifty per cent, of the winter
food, or sixteen per cent, of that for the wliole year. Beetles
and their larvae constituted twenty per cent., of which half
were predaceous. Caterpillars, grasshoppers, wasps, and spi-
ders were all found in considerable numbers. The nestlings
are fed mainly upon insects, with an occasional mouse or
small bird.

Although the loggerhead shrike destroys a few birds and
beneficial insects, these seem to be more tlian compensated
for by its destruction of mice and noxious insects.

THE WAXWINGS.

The beautiful family of waxwings {Ampelidce) is repre-
sented in North America by three species, only one of which
is at all common and widely distributed. Of the other two,
one, the Bohemian waxwing, is found in the far North,
coming to the southern line of Canada in the winter, and the
other, the shining fly-snapper, occurs in the Southwestern
States. Another species inchided by some ornithologists in
this family is Townsend's fly-catching thrush, a peculiar bird
found in the Rocky Mountain region.

The only member with which we are especially concerned
in the present connection, however, is the handsome Cedar
Waxwing, or Cedar-Bird, sometimes also called the Cherry-
Bird. This '• gem of ornithological beauties" is found in
nearly all the United States and throughout a large part of
Canada. It commonly goes in small flocks which wander
from place to place in search of food, and is usually present
in all but the most northern States both winter and summer.

1 Div. Biol. Surv., U. S. Dept. Agr., 1898, Bull. No. 9, p. 20.

SHRIKES, WAXWINGS, SWALLOWS, AND TANAGERS. 125

Its name has been given it because of its fondness for cedar-
berries, to obtain Avhich it frequents cedar thickets. " These
birds are exceedingly hardy and voracious, and for this reason
have become adapted to a wide range of food. During the
early spring and summer they are said to feed almost exclu-
sively upon insects, and during the last of July and August
they feed to a considerable extent upon them. They are dex-
terous fly-catchers, and when in the woods they labor in a
field almost peculiar to themselves. They often station them-
selves upon the top-
most branches of some
dead tree-top which
commands a view above
the forest, and there
watch hours together
for insects, every few
minutes beating off and
up into the air to secure
the winged forms that
are passing above them.
On the borders of woods
they often fly out six or
more rods for passing
insects. Besides being

fly-catchers they search among the foliage of trees for larv?e
of various kinds." ^ Unfortunately, the cedar waxwings are
also very fond of cherries, and on this account are in bad re-
pute among fruit-growers. Yet it has been shown that they
generally eat only the earliest cherries, and there can be little
doubt that during the year they abundantly pay for the fruit
taken during the cherry season. In some localities cherry-
trees have been so generally planted that there is more than
enough for birds and men ; in such places the depredations

THE CEDAR-BIRD.

F. H. Kin^.

126 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

of these birds are not noticed. Raspberries, elder-berries,
myrtle-berries, mulberries, and various other wild fruits are
also eaten largely by the cedar-birds.

In the orchard infested by canker-worms treated of in
Chapter VI., Professor Forbes shot seven specimens out of
a flock of thirty cedar-birds. The stomachs of all these
were full of the worms, averaging one hundred to each, so
that it Avas estimated that this flock would destroy ninety
thousand of the pests if they stayed in the orchard a month.
Among other insects which are known to be eaten by this
species may be mentioned beetles, crickets, crane-flies, lace-
wing flies, and ichneumon-flies. At the Department of
Agriculture the food-contents of one hundred and fifty-two
stomachs of this species have been examined, the results
showing that seventy-four per cent, of the food consisted of
wild fruits, thirteen per cent, of cultivated fruits, only five
per cent, of this being cherries. The remaining food con-
sisted of insects, — grasshoppers, bugs, bark-lice, and beetles
(among the latter the elm-leaf beetle) being the principal
items of the insect bill of fare.

An exceedingly iuteresting account of the nesting habits of
the cedar-bird has been given by Herrick. "The food con-
sisted of choke-cherries and red bird-cherries, varied with
raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries, together with in-
sects, which during the last days of life at the nest constituted
about one-quarter of the fare." Our own observations show
very similar feeding habits. In one case nestling birds were
found by another observer to have been fed largely upon the
little dung-beetles of the genus Aphodius.

THE SWALLOWS.

Few families of birds are more highly insectivorous than
that of the swallows (Hirundinkke). Members of this group
have long, pointed wings, small feet, and n short, broad,
deeply cleft bill, well adapted to catching insects in the air.

SHRIKES, WAXWINGS, SWALLOWS, AND TANAGERS. 127

They are migratory, having extraordinary powers of flight,
and are almost constantly on the wing. " The habits of swal-
lows," writes Dr. Coues, " best illustrate the modifying influ-
ences of civilization on indigenous birds. Formerly they all
bred on cliffs, in banks, in hollow trees, and similar places,
and many do so still. But most of our species have forsaken
these primitive haunts to avail themselves of the convenient

THE BARN-SWALLOW.
{After Biological Survey.)

artificial nesting-places that man, intentionally or otherwise,
provides. Some are just now in a transition state ; thus, the
purple martin in settled parts of the country chooses the
boxes everywhere provided for its accommodation, while in
the West it retains the old custom of breeding in hollow
trees." On account of this adaptability to the environments
of civilization, swallows should be encouraged as nuich as pos-

128 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

sible by having breeding-places provided in barns and about
premises. A little trouble in this direction will be more than
repaid by the destruction of injurious insects.

There are seven species of North American swallows, five
of which are fairly abundant. Of these the Barn-Swallow is
one of the commonest, occurring and breeding throughout
most of Canada and the United States. Too many of the
new barns are so planned that these birds cannot get inside
to build their nests and rear their young, but the wise farmer
will leave openings for this purpose. Most of their food is
captured on the wing, and consists of small moths, two-
winged flies, especially crane-flies, beetles in great variety,
flying bugs, and occasionally small dragon-flies. The young
are fed with insects.

During "locust years" in Nebraska, Professor Aughey
found that these swallows fed very largely on the pests after
the latter began to fly : of three specimens shot after the
middle of June, two contained thirty-four locusts each and
the third one thirty-seven locusts. At such times they appear
to feed almost exclusively on locusts, as their stomachs con-
tained very few other insects.

The Cliff-Swallow, or Eaves-Swallow, is irregularly dis-
tributed over the United States, breeding abundantly in many
localities and being rare in other districts. It flies over up-
land meadows and pastures, often skimming along near the
surface of the ground to catch the numerous leaf-hoppers
and other insects found there. A single specimen shot by
Professor King while the bird was skimming over a wheat-
field contained twelve leaf-hoppers, seven two-winged flies,
including one large crane-fly, six small beetles, and two
medium-sized ichneumon-flies. It has been reported to catch
numbers of small grasshoppers ; and six specimens taken in
Nebraska after the western locusts had begun to fly had eaten
two hundred and twenty-nine of these insects, — an average
of thirty-eight to each bird. Five specimens studied by Pro-

SHKIKES, WAX\VI.\(;S, SWALLOWS, AXD TANAGERS. !•_><)

fessor Forbes had ealcn aiils, was})s, irhneumon-llies, ground-
beetles, fungus-beetles, curculios, leaf-beetles, two- winged flies,
and certain bugs. The benefits derived from this bird appear
to be inuf'li greater than any injury it may do in eating para-
sitic insects.

The White-bellied Swallow appears to be less generally
abundant than the last-named species. It is found throughout
temperate North America, migrating early in autumn to the
Southern States and beyond. Its nest is built in holes in
dead stumps, especially those standing in shallow water,
although in some localities the birds are taking to martin-
boxes for the purpose. The food consists of dragon-flies,
the smaller species of which these birds feed upon to a con-
siderable extent, crane-flies and other Diptera, winged plant-
lice, grasshopjiers, weevils, click-beetles, rove-beetles, and
various other Coleoptera, winged ants, ichneumon-flies, and
many other insects. In autumn, just before leaving for the
South, these and other swallows feed largely on the fruit of
the bayberry or waxberry (^Myriea cerifera). The fact that
many dragon-flies are eaten by this bird apparently indicates
that it is not an unmixed blessing, but in our present igno-
rance of the precise economic status of these insects compara-
tively little weight can be given to this circumstance.

The Bank-Swallow is the most widely distributed American
member of its family. Besides America it occurs in Europe,
Asia, and Africa. It breeds abundantly in holes made in
natural or artiflcial embankments, and, unfortunatt'ly, suffers
largely in many parts of the United States from the budding
scientists of juvenile age who rob birds' nests for the sake of
the eggs. The young are fed on grasshoppers and other
insects ; the adults are insectivorous, although they often eat
the fruit of the bayberry late in sunmier or early in autumn.

No swallow is more flimiliar about the haunts of man than
the Purple Martin. It is an abundant species and readily
nests in boxes provided for the purpose. It is a great insect-

9

130

BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

HEAD OF PURPLE MARTIN.

eater, but, unfortunately, it seems to include many beneficial
as well as injurious insects on its bill of fare. Apiarists
charge it with feeding on bees, although some observers con-
tend that it takes mostly drones. Dr. Packard found one of
the compartments of a martin-box " literally packed with the

dried remains of the little yel-
low and black squash-beetle."
Professor King found that the
stomachs of four eight-days-
old nestlings contained, re-
spectively, " (a) two butterflies
(^CoUas philodice and a skip-
per), six honey-bees, and many
bits of shells of small mol-
lusks ; (6) two large dragon-
flies, a large bee-fly, two honey-bees, and bits of shells of
small mollusks ; (c) one large dragon-fly, three honey-bees, and
fragments of the shells of small mollusks ; {d) two medium-
sized dragon-flies, one honey-bee, and small pieces of shells."
Another young bird recently from the nest had eaten tiger-
beetles. These young birds certainly make a poor showing
for the usefulness of the species, but I do not believe that
their food fairly represents the food of the birds as a whole.
The adults would be much more Ukely to give their young
the larger insects they caught, reserving for themselves the
smaller forms. Ten Nebraska specimens examined by Pro-
fessor Aughey had eaten two hundred and sixty-five locusts
and one hundred and sixty-one other insects. " No bird of
North America," writes Mr. Ridgeway, "is more deserving of
protection and of encouragement to live about the habitations
of man than the purple martin. One pair of them will destroy
more insects in a season than all the English sparrows in a
township will kill in their life-time. Besides, their notes are
pleasing to the ear, and their actions, both when on the wing
and when perching upon their boxes, are extremely interesting."

SHRIKES, WAXWINGS, SWALLOWS, AND TANAGERS. 131

THE TANAGERS.

The family of tanagers (Tanagridoe)^ which in tropical
Aiiierica contains many brilliant and beautiful species, has
several representatives in the United States, only two of
which connnonly hihabit the eastern region. All are brightly
colored birds, with a stout bill, notched at the tip and having
a tooth or lobe near the middle. They are migratory in
habits and subsist upon both insects and fruit.

The Scarlet Tanager is the most strikingly colored of any
of our birds. The male is of a brilliant scarlet, with deep-
black wings and tail ; the female is olive-green Eibove, green-
ish yellow below, with wings and tail more or less dusky.
This bird is connnon throughout the Eastern States, ranging
westward a little beyond the Mississippi. It nests in trees in
woods and groves, and wniters in the South. Its food
consists mostly of insects, of which it takes a varied assort-
ment. The stomachs of various specimens have been found
to contain ants, ichneumon-flies, including what was thouglit
to be the large Thalessa lunator, many caterpillars, crane-flies
and other Diptera, curculios, click-beetles, leaf-chafers, and
various other beetles, grasshoppers, a few bugs, an occasional
dragon-fly or spider, and several harvest-spiders. A single
Nebraska specimen shot in the autunni of 1874 contained
thirty-seven locusts. Three nestlings less than a week old,
examined by Professor King, had eaten four caterpillars, one
fly, one small grasshopper, one bug, besides undetermined
fragments.

The feeding habits of the Rose Tanageh, or Summer Red-
BuiD, seem to be less known than those of the last-named
species. One specimen taken in Maryland had eaten wild
blackberries, a bee, and a was[). Mr. Robert Ridgway says
that its food consists to a great extent of hornets, wasps, and
bees, because of which it is sometimes called " red bee-bird."
It is more southerly in distribution than the scarlet tanager.

CHAPTER XII.
THE FINCHES AND SPARROWS.

The family Fringillidce, to which belong the sparrows,
finches, buntings, and grosbeaks, contains more than one-
seventh of the species of North American birds. It is even
richer in forms than the warblers, althougli the latter doubtless
destroy many more insects than do tlie former. The finches,
as a rule, are birds of moderate size, of sombre colors, and
of both vegetivorous and insectivorous habits. The majority
of them subsist upon seeds and grains of various kinds ; but
some eat other vegetation, including buds and fruit, and
many feed to a large extent upon insects. They are more or
less migratory, and some of them usually go in small fiocks.
They are found in all sorts of situations. Many of the species
are excellent singers.

Of the true grosbeaks occurring in our fauna, the Evening
Grosbeak is a western form that occasionally migrates in
winter to the region of the great lakes and even farther east.
It feeds upon the seeds and buds of various trees, such as the
pine, poplar, spruce, maple, black ash, and cotton-wood, and
has been found sometimes to include grasshoppers in its bill
of fare.

The Pine Grosbeak is a northern form which in winter
ranges southward through the New England and other
Northern States. The birds travel in small fiocks, Avhich
spend much of their lime in coniR^rous forests, feeding upon
buds of pine and spruce ; they also eat the buds and seeds
of white ash, basswood, alder, birch, apple, jx^ar, and poplar,
as Avell as the berries of tli(^ red cedar and the high-bush
cranberry. In winter they often subsist largely upon the
pulp and seeds of frozen apples. In some instances they
132

THE FINCHES AND SPARROWS. 133

have been known to injure fruit orchards by feedui<,' upon the
buds, but this is a rare occurrence. Professor Aughey found
that five Nebraska specimens taken during winter had eaten,
along with various seeds, a large number of eggs of the Rocky
Mountain locust. The pine grosbeak is one of the largest
species of this family in the more northern States.

The Purple Finch is a handsome and somewhat famihar
bird, found throughout nearly all of the United States. It is
migratory and usually goes in flocks, except during the breed-
ing season. In the Northern States its nest of vegetable fibre
is frequently placed on trees near houses. Unfortunately, the
feeding habits of this species are not all that could'^be desired.
Many years ago an eminent ornithologist w^rote concerning
the purple fi.nch : "This is a winter bird of passage, coming
to us in large flocks from the North in September and Octo-
ber; great numbers remaining with us in Pennsylvania
during the whole whiter, feeding on the seeds of the poplar,
button- wood, juniper, cedar, and on those of many rank
weeds that flourish in rich bottoms and along the margins of
creeks. When the rainy season is very severe, they proceed
to the South, as far at least as Georgia, returning north early
in April. They now frequent the elm-trees, feeding on the
slender but sweet covering of the flowers ; and as soon as the
cherries put out their blossoms they feed almost exclusively
upon the stamens of the flowers ; afterwards the apple-
blossoms are attacked in the same manner ; and their depre-
dations on tliese continue until they disappear, wliich is
usually about the tenth or middle of May.'' Many later ob-
servers have seen the purple linch eating the tender portions
of the buds and blossoms of apple, cherry, plum, and peach,
although little real damage seems to be done by it, and, as a
partial offset, it is also known to devour aphides and various
caterpillars.

The beautiful little American Goldfinch, or Thistle-Bird,
is familiar to all residents of temperate North America who

134

BIRDS TX TIIEIR RELxVTIONS TO MAN.

pay the slightest attention to feathered beauty. Except
during the breeding season these birds wander about in small
flocks, stopping wherever a supply of seeds extends an invita-
tion. They are especially fond of the seeds of composite
plants, like the thistle, dandelion, and sunflower, and in winter
frequently dine upon the balls of the button-bush, although

they more commonly eat the
seeds of ragweed and various
other noxious plants. At tliis
season also they get much of
their food from the seeds of birch
and similar trees. They occa-
sionally attack seed intended by
man for other purposes, but the
benefits we derive from them
more than compensate for the
injury so done. They also take
a few insects, having been re-
port(^d to devour plant-lice, the
Hessian fly, and the Rocky Moun-
tain locust. The downy nest is built very late in the season,
generally in July, and from four to six young are reared, the
latter being fed largely upon the seeds of thistles.

The Snow-Bird, or Snow-Buxtixg, is one of the most
beneficial of the seed-eaters. It breeds in the summer in the
Arctic regions, and in winter visits the iN'orthern States in
large flocks. It commonly frequents cultivated fields, where
there is an abundance of seeds of weedy plants, like the fox-
tail grass (Setaria) and bindweed {Convolvulus). The snow-
birds keep close to the ground, seldom staying in trees, and
are welcome visitors, adding much to the scanty life of our
winter landscapes.

The lovely little bird celebrated by John Burroughs as
the Vesper-Sparrow, and known also as the Grass-Finch,
or Bay-winged Bunting, is one of the most abundant of the

AMERICAN C.OLDFINCH.

THE FINCHES AND SPARROWS. 135

sparrows, and can readily be distinguished from its relatives
by the white lateral tail-feathers shown when it flies. It is
widely distributed and partially migratory. It frequents
grass-lands and cultivated fields, in the Western States often
making its nest in corn-fields. Two or three broods are
reared each season, with from four to six young in each
brood. The food of a number of New Hampshire nestlings
consisted of spiders and larvae of various kinds. The diet of
thirty-seven Wisconsin adults was studied by King : of these
'' thirty-one had eaten various small weed seeds ; five, four
grasshoppers ; one, eight grasshoppers' eggs ; four, ten larvae ;
fourteen, twenty-seven small beetles ; three, eight moths ;
one, three flies ; one, three land-snails ; one, two kernels of
wheat ; and one, a kernel of rye."

The examination of one hundred and thirty stomachs of
this species at the United States Department of Agriculture
showed that two-thirds of the food of the year is of vegetable
matter, the rest being largely insects and spiders. In winter
the food consists chiefly of the seeds of weedy plants, espe-
cially ragweed, amaranth, lamb's-quarters, and purslane. In
summer the birds eat chiefly insects, especially grasshoppers,
beetles, cutworms, army-worms, and other sorts. In July
grasshoppers form nearly half the sparrows' food.

The Tree-Sparrow, which comes down from the far North,
usually towards the end of October and remains with us
until April, not only serves to enliven winter, but at the same
time does much good by destroying great quantities of weed
seed. The good work laid down by the chipping, field,
vesper, savanna, and the other sparrows, less hardy than this
boreal species, is quickly taken up and continued until their
return. In New Hampshire the date of the chipping-sparrow's
departure is almost precisely that of the tree-sparrow's arrival,
and vice versa.

In the Northern States, except along the coast, the snow is
so deep that but few seeds eaten by fliis sparrow arc left

136 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

uncovered, and for that reason comparatively few birds remain
there during the hardest part of the winter. A httle farther
south they are very abundant in cold weather, and the amount
of seed they consume is wellnigh incredible.

Professor Beal ^ has estimated that during the two hundred
days they average to remain in the State of Iowa, reckoning
ten sparrows to tlie square mile and one-fourth of an ounce
as the daily ration, eight hundred and seventy-five tons of
weed seed are eaten by this species alone. The only
complaint to be entered against it is that sometimes it eats
the seeds of cultivated millet left exposed in shocks out-of-
doors.

The White-crowned and the White-throated Sparrows
have much the same feeding habits as the tree-sparrow. The
seeds of ragweed and the various sorts of smartweed, knot-
W'Ced, and bindweed form a chief part of their winter food.
About tliree-fourths of the food of both species consists of
vegetable matter, the rest being insects and allied forms.
These two species differ from most of the other s})arrows in
that they take very few grasshoppers and comparatively little
grass-seed, while on the other hand they take a small per-
centage of wild fruit.

The Pacific coast form of the white-crowned sparrow —
sometimes called Nuttalfs sparrow — has been carefully
studied by Dr. T. S. Palmer. Unlike most of the native
sparrows, this subspecies is sometimes injurious through its
destruction of grain in newly sown fields or that ready to
harvest. As a partial compensation, however, the!=e birds
eat great quantities of weed seeds.

The Field-Sparrow is an abundant and widely distributed
species, occurring in summer in southern Canada and the
Northern States and in winhT in the Southern States. Its
food is approximately forty per cent, animal and sixty per

See Some Coiiiinoii Birds in their Reliition to Agi-iculliirc, \k 2S.

THE FINCHES AND SPARROWS.

137

cent, vegetable matter. Insects and the seeds of weeds and
grasses are eaten in a way very similar to that of the other
ground-loving sparrows.

THE FIELD-SPARROW.
{After Biological Survei/.)

The sombre-colored Savanna-Sparrow, either in the typical
form or in that of the closely related species and subspecies,
is found throughout almost all of North America. It is a
ground-loving bird, and abounds in meadows and pastures
and along highways, as well as by the margins of brooks and
in stul)ble or corn-fields. It feeds upon the seeds of weeds
and grasses, and also upon such insects as l)eetles, moths, and
caterpillars, animal and vegetable juatter being abont equally
divided. It has a special liking for beetles. lis nest is
placed in a clump of grass and carefully concealed from vi(nv.

The connnon Chipping-Sparrow, or IlAm-Bnu), is llic most
familiar of the sparrows, living freely abont lionscs and in
gardens. It is abundant and widely distribnicd, and an un-
assuming but extremely usefnl lifllf bird, wliicji j)r()])aJ)ly

138 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

suffers more from the attacks of cats than does any other
species. The neat hair-lined nest is placed in a shrub or tree,
often near a house. Its food consists of insects and small
seeds: of the former smooth caterpillars, like cutworms and
canker-worms, are favorites, but beetles, grasshoppers, moths,
ants, and bugs are also eaten. It has been observed feeding
upon the common cabbage-worm (Fieris rajjw).

Dr. Judd's studies of two hundred and fifty stomachs of
the chipping-sparrow show that insects and spiders form
thirty-eiglit per cent, of the food of the adults, the remainder
being seeds. The seeds of grasses alone form forty-eight per
cent., more than half of it being crab-grass and pigeon-grass.
In our study of the feeding of the nestlings of this species we
saw the parent birds come to the nest almost two hundred
tunes in one day from daylight to dark. The young are fed
with smooth caterpillars of various sorts, as well as grass-
hoppers, crane-flies, spiders, and similar creatures.

The JuNco, or Black Snow-Bird, is a common winter resi-
dent or migrant in most of the United States, breeding in the
northern tier of States and in Canada. Its principal food
consists of the seeds of weeds and grasses, although in
summer a good many insects are eaten, these forming about
one-half of its summer diet.

No bird is a more welcome harbinger of spring than the
Song-Sparrow. When one hears its cheery song on a bright
March morning, he knows that the frost king is vanquished
and will soon retreat before the living armies that usher
gentle spring to the front. This bird is indeed "a hearty,
sunny songster, Avhose quivering pipe is often tuned to
the most dreary scenes." The typical form inhabits the
United States and Canada, while the western region has
several closely allied subspecies. It abounds in shrubbery
everywhere, along road-sides, fences, brooks, and swamps.
It winters in the Middle States and southward, some speci-
mens migrating north very early in spring, into those States

Till-: FIXCHKS AM) ^IWHl^oW

l:;!l

THE SONG-SPARKOW.
{After Biohnjieiil Siirvei/.)

where llicy have iiol i)a.ssi'd llio wiiilcr. lis iicsl is placed on
the ground or in a low bush, and two or tlircc broods are
reared each season. " It seeks its food on the ground, gen-
erally among bushes or weeds, and has a peculiar mouse-
like way of rainiing
through the grass.*'
During the winter it
lives mostly on the
seeds of w e e d s,
while in sunmier it
is largely insectivo-
rous. In spring it
feeds upon the seeds
of dandelion. When
canker-worms are
abundant it feeds
freely upon them,
and at other times
takes a great variety of insects, such as ground-beetles, grass-
hoppers and their eggs, occasionally a lady-bird beetle and
various noxious beetles, moths, dragon-flies, crickets, spiders,
bugs, two-winged flies, and myriapods.

Considering its abundance, com])aratively few people are
familiar with the song or api)earance of the Swamp-Sparrow.
This bird is a recluse, living in the tangled shrubbery of
lowland swamps, where he may often be seen by the nature-
lover who will i)atiently penetrate to liis retreat. This spe-
cies breeds connnonly in New England, rearing two or three
broods each summer, and spends tlie winter in the South.
Insects appear to form about half its food: among those
taken from the stomachs of this si)ecies we may mention
beetles, moths, bugs (including plant-lice and leaf-hoppers),
grasshoppers, caterpillars (among them case-l)earers of the
genus Coleophora), and a tew parasitic Hymenoptera. They
also eat snails and the seeds of various grasses, sedges, and

140

BIRD^^ IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

other weedy plants, the latter forming fully one-half of their
food. The army-worm is perhaps the most destructive in-
sect w^hich the swamp-sparrow is likely to assist in checking,
because the insect develops especially in the marsh lands
where tlie birds live.

■ ''The DicKcissEL," writes Dr. Judd, in his admirable mono-
graph,^ '-formerly raised its broods over a considerable portion

I'

THE DICKCISSEL.
{Affrr liiolofjical Snrveit.)

of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains ; but two
or three decades ago it abandoned the Eastern States and now
rarely breeds east of the Allegheny Mountains. In autunm
it migrates to Central and South America. In some localities
it is known as the little meadow-lark, because its coloring is
like that of the meadow-lark, even to the black locket on the

^ The Relation of Sparrows to Agriculture, Bull. No. 15, U. S. Bio-
logical Survey.

THE FINCHES AND SPARROWS. 141

breast of brilliant yellow. Most sparrows are gregarious, but
dickcissels move about in pairs or little family groups. In
many places they are so numerous that a score of individuals
may be found in every hay-field and meadow ; and the species
is as characteristic of such localities as the robin is of the New
England lawn, or the mocking-bird of the Florida plantation.
The song consists of a series of monotonous insect notes, re-
peated incessantly from early morn to late afternoon, resembling
somewhat the heat-suggestive tones of the grasshopper."

The food of the dickcissel is especially noteworthy on
account of the grasshoppers and crickets eaten : in summer
these constitute more than half its dietary. The vegetable
food consists of the seeds of weeds and grasses.

In the shrubbery along the borders of woodlands one may
often see a black bird with chestnut sides skulking from bush
to bush or scratching the leaf-covered soil. This is the Che-
wiXK, or TowHEE Bunting, one of the larger fmches, which is
common in the eastern United States and Canada. It is
migratory ; its nest is placed upon the ground, and two
broods of young are reared each season. Its food consists
of small seeds, grains, and fruits, as well as many insects ;
among the latter are included . moths, beetles, ants, wasps,
and ichneumon-flies, cockroaches, grasshoppers, walking-sticks
and their eggs, besides larva? of many kinds. The young
are fed upon insects similar to those eaten by the adults.

The beautiful Rose-breasted Grosbeak is especially noted
for its destruction of Colorado potato-beetles. Observers in
Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa,
Wisconsin, Miimesota, and other States have repeatedly no-
ticed this habit, wliicli in some localities has given the species
the name of "potato-bug bird."' The following sentences
from the pen of Professor F. E. L. Beal illustrate its economic
value: "The rose-breasted grosbeak feeds upon the Colo-
rado potato-beetle in all its stages. I observed this habit in
central Iowa, and noficed that it became each year more

14!^

BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS T(3 MAN.

general, the birds of this species seeking the potato-field more
and more each season. I observed one small field near my
house that was much infested with the beetles, but the birds
found it, and in a few weeks I searched the field and could
not discover a single beetle young or old/' Of eight stomachs

THE ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK
(After Biulotjiail Survey.)

of this species examined by King, six contained small seeds,
two seven beetles, and one berries, w^hile specimens ex-
amined by Forbes had eaten canker-worms, army-worms, and
other caterpillars, wood-boring, leaf-chafing, and snout-beetles,
as well as Hymenoptera and weed seeds. Two Nebraska
specimens examined by Aughey had about a dozen locusts in
each stomach.

As a result of the examination of some four thousand
stomachs of sparrows of many sorts, collected all over the
United States, Dr. S. D. Judd concludes that '• during the
colder half of the year the food of these birds consists almost
entirely of the seeds of weeds." And he records this intensive
study of the effect of their work : " On a farm in Maryland,
just outside the District of Columbia, tree-sparrows, fox-

THE FINCHES AM) SPAHHOWS. 143

sparrows, wliilc-throats, son^-sparnjws, and juiicus fairly
swarnied during'- Decoiiibcr in tiie briers of the ditches be-
tween tlie corn-fields. They came into the open fields to
feed upon weed seed, and worked hardest where the siuart-
w^eed formed a tangle on low ground. Later in the season
the place was carefully examined. In one corn-lield near a
ditch the smartweed formed a thicket over three feet high,
and the ground beneath was literally black with seeds. Ex-
amination showed that these seeds had been cracked open
and the meat removed. In a rectangular space of eighteen
square inches were found eleven hundred and thirty half seeds
and only two whole seeds. Even as late as May 13 the birds
were still feeding on the seeds of these and other weeds
in the fields ; in fact, out of a collection of sixteen sparrows,
twelve, mainly song, chipping, and field sparrows, had been
eating old weed seed. A search was made for seeds of vari-
ous weeds, but so thoroughly had the work been done that
only half a dozen seeds could be found. The birds had taken
practically all the seed that was not covered ; in fact, the song-
sparrow and several others scratch up much buried seed.''

This summary of the economic relations of the commoner
members of the finch family shows that, on the whole, these
birds serve a very useful purpose by destroying the seeds of
noxious plants and the lives of injurious insects, but that
some species, like the purple finch and pine grosbeak, are
occasionally destructive to the buds of fruit-trees. The most
striking particulars brought out by a study of their diet are
the enormous amount of weed seed taken during winter and
the extent to which these so-called seed-eaters take insect
food in spring and summer, especially in the })resence of an
unusual abundance of an edible species. For example, in an
orchard infested by canker-worms forty-seven members of
this family had eaten ninety-one per cent, of insects and only
seven per cent, of seeds, canker-worms alone making forty
per cent, of the food.

CHAPTER XIII.
THE ENGLISH SPARROW AND THE STARLING.

THE ENGLISH SPARROW.

The European house-sparrow, familiarly known to Ameri-
cans as the English sparrow, was first introduced into the
United States in 1850, Avhen eight pairs were brought from
England to Brooklyn, New York. These did not thrive, and
two years later a large lot of the birds were brought to the same
city and liberated during the spring of 1853 in Greenwood
Cemetery. During the next twenty years extensive importa-
tions were made, the birds being brought from England and
Germany and liberated in Maine, Rhode Island, Massachusetts,
Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas. The
largest consignment was that received in Philadelphia, when
one thousand birds were set free. After the sparrows had
become established in these various centres, misguided men
assisted their migrations by carrying them to towns and cities
in wliich they were not yet found. Everywhere they were
petted and watched over; in some States special laws were
enacted to protect them : tlie people fostered an evil that is
not now easily subdued. Even when kindly Nature sent the
great northern shrike to check the sparrow's increase on
Boston Common, the authorities hired a man to shoot the
shrikes and save the sparrows, — a reversal of the wiser
process.

The sparrows seem to have been first imported to destroy
canker-worms and other insects affecting fruit- and shade-
trees. People annoyed by the defoliation of avenues of
shade-trees hailed with delight the feathered friends that
were to rid tlicni of their crawling foes. The enthusiasm
passed from town to town, resulting in a sparrow boom that
sent the prices of American-bred birds so high that European

144

THE EXGTJSIT RPARROW WD THK STARLIXG. 145

importations weiv clicapcr. Many iiniiii<,a-anls from tlic Old
World cherished the birds on account of their associations
witli the scenes of early Ufe ; and native Americans encour-
aged them because of tlieir supposed insectivorous habits,
or from the desire to have birds to enliven city streets and
premises. Without stopping to inquire the reasons for the
hospitalities they received, the sparrows made the mos+ of
iheir opportunities and throve apace. From the time of
their first general introduction to the present, says Professor
Barrows, "the marvellous rapidity of the sparrow multiplica-
tion, the surprising swiftness of its extension, and the pro-
digious size of the area it has overspread are without parallel
in the history of any bird. Like a noxious weed transplanted
to a fertile soil, it has taken root and become disseminated
over half a continent before the significance of its presence
has come to be understood.''

After the little foreigner liad been coddled through tlie
trying period of acclimation and had taken possession of the
country, the popular mind underwent a revulsion of feeling
towards liim. He was declared a nuisance because of his
noise, reviled as a humbug, and sh(jt for being a poacher.
But the sparrow kept on, like a true Anglo-Saxon, in the
even tenor of his way. In many places he suffered severely,
but he was so thoroughly disseminated and his fecundity was
so great that any loss man could inflict was of little conse-
quence to his race. Of late years there is less heard against
him than formerly, and it seems as if the people are at last
in the mood to make the best of a bad bargain.

As regards food habits of tlie English sparrow, it is defi-
nitely known that the adult birds eat a few insects, — cater-
pillars, moths, beetles, etc., — and that the young are fed quite
largely on insects. In the country and the suburbs of towns,
they may often be seen searching the lields for grasshoppers
and other insects, while feeding young, as assiduously as even
the chipping-s})arr()w.

10

146 • BIRI>^ 1^^ THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

A lew years ago tlie officials of I he United Stales Department
of iVgriciilture examined the stomachs of five hundred and
twenty-two sparrows from many different localities : insects
of any kind were found in only one hundred and two of
these ; and of the insects so found forty-seven were regarded
as belonging to noxious species, fifty to beneficial species, and
thirty-one to species having no economic importance. The
testimony of those best able to judge is almost unanimously
to the effect that as destroyers of noxious insects the sparrows
are worse than useless. In his report upon the insect con-
tents of the live hundred and twenty-two sparrow stomachs
just referred to, Dr. C. V. Riley says : '• I do not know of
any fact that more strongly indicates the relative uselessness
in destroying injurious insects of the sparrow, as compared
with many native birds which it drives away, than by a com-
parison of the insect food taken by a single cuckoo shot in
Washington, June 22, 1887, the stomach of which contained
about two liundred and fifty half-grown web-worms, one large
cerambycid beetle and its eggs, one large plant-bug, and one
snail, while in bulk the contents in this case rather exceeded
the combined insect contents of the five hundred and twenty-
two sparrow stomachs exannned." In 1880 Professor S. A.
Forbes examined the stomachs of twenty-five Illinois spar-
rows, and reports that at a 'Mime when thirty per cent,
of the food of the robin, twenty jxt cent, of that of the
cat-bird, and ninety per cent, of that of the bluebird con-
sisted of insects, no insects were found in the stomachs of
these birds except traces of three grasshoppers, making per-
haps six per cent, of the food." To show that results of
this kind in investigating the si)aiTow"s diet are not confined
to America, we may add that of an English ornithologist who
studied during a whole year the food of young and adult
sparrows. For the latter he found that seventy-five per cent,
of the food consisted of wheat and small grains, ten per cent,
of seeds of weeds, four per cent, of green peas, three per

THE ENGLISH SPARROW AND THE STARLING.

147

cent, of beetles, two per cent, of caterpillars, one per cent,
of flying insects, and five per cent, of other things. During
the first sixteen days of the nestlings' life, forty per cent, of
the food consisted of small grains, forty per cent, of cater
pillars, and ten per cent, of small beetles.

If the sparrow had no greater sin to answer for than that
of not destroying a sufficient number of injurious insects, he
might be left in peace. But he is charged with a long list of
sins of commission that are not so easily condoned. Obser-
vations frequently repeated in widely separated localities have
established beyond
doubt the fact that he
habitually destroys,
either for food or pleas-
ure, the buds and blos-
soms of a great variety
of fruit, shade, and or-
namental trees. On the
list of trees and shrubs
so attacked we find the
peach, pear, grape, plum,
cherry, apple, currant,
maple, elm, evergreens,
orange, lilac, and others.
This injury is accom-
plished in spring and

often results in the total destruction of the fruit crop. Not
content, however, with nipping the fruits in the bud, the spar-
rows continue their attacks later when the fruits are maturing:
among the ripe or ripening fruits they so attack we may men-
tion grapes, cherries, blackberries, straw^berries, raspberries,
apples, pears, peaches, plums, tomatoes, and currants. The
injury to grai)es is occasionally quite severe, and that to early
apples is ])articularly vexatious, as they peck holes, similar to

APPLE PECKED BY ENGLISH SPARROWS.
{After Biohigical Surveij.)

that shown in tin

tigur

al)()v

m

the rii)ening fruit. Garden

148 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

vegetables are often attacked, green peas being especially
liable to injury. In many localities it has become very diffi-
cult to get a crop of peas, on account of the sparrows, Avhich
destroy the blossoms at first and later attack the pods. Green
corn, lettuce, cabbage, and other vegetables are also attacked,
and not infrequently the newly planted seeds are scratched to
the surface and devoured.

The list of the sparrow's sins of commission is by no
means ended. In attacking grain of various kinds these birds
probably cause more loss than in all the ways mentioned above.
From the time small grains, like wheat and oats, are planted
until safely gathered in the bin, they are liable to suffer from
sparrow attack. The greatest damage is probably done when
the grain is in the soft condition which immediately precedes
ripening, but it also sutfers greatly at the time of planting and
in the ''shock" just after harvesting. Besides the grains
already mentioned these birds attack Indian corn, rye, barley,
sorghum, rice, and buckwheat.

These charges against the sparrow's food habits are grave
indeed. There is something to be said in Jiis favor, however.
Mr. Charles W. Nash ^ states that " Sparrows, like the majority
of birds, will not often eat the spiny larvae of Vanessa antiopa,
which is one of our shade-tree pests that few birds will touch.
Besides this I have seen them take moths of almost any kind,
including the large cecropia and luna moths and the tussock
moth (both the winged male and the wingless female), beetles
of many kinds, even such large species as the l)i/fiscu.% which
they find on the sidewalks beneath the electric lights, to
which the beetles are attracted at night, the green cabbage-
worm (the larva of the cabbage-butterfly) — of these they eat
great numbers. They also hunt about fences and take the
pupae of this same buttertly. The currant-worms and mature

1 See "The Birds of Ontario in relation to Agriculture," second edi-
tiou, ]). G8, ])ul)1i,sli('<l by the Ontario Dcparliiieiit of Agi'icullure.

THE EXriLlSH SPAIU^OW AND THF, STARlJXd. MO

insocls arr lakcii in laiv iiiiiiibers, us aiv also grasshoppers,
and both tiic black and green aphides that occur on apple-
trees and rose-bushes are eaten greedily. On one occasion
a Hock of si)an'o\vs c()ni})l('tely cleaned llie green aphis I'roni
some rose-bushes near my windows. It took tliem several
days to finish tlieir work, but they did it eti'ectually in the
end."

Of the food eaten by nestlings ^ more than half consists of
insects. In liis account of tlie food of nestling birds Dr. Judd,
of the Department of Agriculture, has the following to say of
the English sparrow.

" From April till August weevils and cutworms are taken
to the young from the Department lawns. Some interesting
observations on the insectivorous habits of young English
sparrows by Mr. George H. Berry, of North Livermore, Mahie,
are worth repeating in this connection.^ In a nest containing
three young he discovered the remains of two large moths,
the luna moth (Trojxea luna) and the cecropia motli (Samia
cecropia)^ a swallow-tailed butterfly (FapUio t(irniis), a mourn-
ing-cloak butterfly (Vanessa antiopa)^ and an unbroken speci-
men of the hairy larva of that pest of shade-trees, tlie tussock
moth (On/ijia Icucostigma). Wlien he i)laced a stick with
plenty of these larv?e near another brood, the parent birds
at first paid no attention to them, but subsequently they fed
three of them to their young. During three hours of observa-
tion a i)air of sparrows nottul by Mr. Berry fed to their nest-
lings sixty small green worms. ^lultitudes of insects may be
destroyed in this way. One morning, in the vicinity of the
Department of Agricultun^ thousands of winged while ants
(Termes flavlpes) were noticed by the writer swarming over
the sidewalk, and among these insects, picking them up with
surprising quickness, were half a dozen adult English spar-

^ See 1900 Yearbook, Dopt. Agr., p. 4i'l.

' Bulletin 1, Div. Ornilh. and Manini., D.'pl. A-r., \^. 21)1, 1889.

150 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN. .

rows of both sexes. All the birds were frightened aw^ay
except one female, which continued to snap up ants undis-
turbedly. She flew with a dozen up to her nest in the gutter
of a house, and immediately returned. At the end of five
minutes slie liad made three more trips, carrying to the young
forty-one, seventy-one, and fifty in the respective trips ; one
hundred and sixty-two white ants Avere thus disposed of in
five minutes. The systematic manner in which the bird
procured her supplies commanded admiration. She picked
up insect after insect in rapid succession, swallowed them
until her gullet appeared to be full, and then filled her
moutli so that a fringe of Avings stuck out on each side of
her bill. The destruction of white ants is a service, as they
have a habit of tunnelling into the wood-work of buildings.
Injuries occasioned in this way made it necessary in 1896
to remove the wooden floor of one of the largest rooms
of the United States National Museum and replace it Avith
cement."

More than one-third of the food of the nestlings, hoAvever,
has been found to consist of grain.

By large numbers of city people the sparroAvs are con-
sidered an umnitigated imisance on account of the filth they
cause. Wherever they appear abundantly, all available places
about houses and buildings are chosen either for purposes of
roosting or nesting. The excrement of the birds soils every-
thing beneath and is a constant source of annoyance. When
they roost among or over climbing vines, the foliage is often
killed outright by the droppings.

There yet remains another count in the indictment against
the sparroAV, Avhich many nature-lovers consider the most
serious of all. We refer to its influence upon native song-birds.
Nearly all competent observers agree that this influence is
very baneful. The sparrows drive the native birds aAA^ay
from their nesting-places and molest them upon all sorts of
occasions. The bluebirds, martins, swalloAvs, native spar-

THE ENGLISH SPARROW AND THE STARLING. 151

rows, orioles, vireos, the mocking-bird, and scores of others
are on the list of those thus molested.

In certain States an attempt has been made to check the
increase of sparrows by means of bounties. But these are
nearly always worse than useless, as they bring- about the
destruction of large numbers of native birds, and theoretical
considerations lead strongly to the conclusion that unless
enormous sums are expended for bounties very little perma-
nent good is accomplished.

There have been cases, however, where, under proper
direction, a town lias been kept fairly clear of these birds.
The following quotation from a letter received by the writers
from Mr. Rufus Kendrick, of Wakefield, Massachusetts, details
a plan that worked. After recounting instances in which he
had known the sparrows to interfere with nests of native
birds near his home, he went on to say : "I had cared for a
sparrow's nest as well as for the others, as I did not at that
time know the destructive qualities of the bird. Soon after,
I learned of other cases. Then I began my crusade. The
town, learning of their depredations, favored me with fifty
dollars. This, with many private contributions and another
fifty dollars from the town, is what I had to work with. I
began by paying one cent each for them, then, as they grew
scarce, I paid two, three, four, and five cents each for them.
I also paid one dollar per hundred for the eggs. The price
now is two cents for birds and one cent each for eggs. At
one time I had about fifty men and boys killing them. I took
in over one thousand the first year. This year, January 1, I
paid premiums amounting to two dollars and a half for once in
three months. To the party bringing me the largest number
of birds in three months I paid one dollar, for the second
largest number seventy-live cents, for the third fifty cents,
and the fourth twenty-five cciils, making ten dollars in prc-
niiums a ycai'. These are paid in addition to the regular
l)ricc. The native birds have increasiMl noticeably since the
crusade began.*'

152 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

Another notable example is that of Cheyenne, Wyoming,
recorded in Lange's "Onr Native Birds." Mr. Frank Bond,
editor of the Wyoming Tribune, largely exterminates the
sparrows from the city by the use of poisoned wheat. He
reports his method as follows :

"I take two small bottles of strychnine, one dram each,
and mix the contents with about three quarts of water, boiling
until the poison is thoroughly dissolved, using boiling water
to begin with. Into the hot poisoned water I stir nearly, if
not quite, a peck of wheat, and then set the mixture aside for
forty-eight hours. The grain absorbs all the water and
swells greatly. I then spread the grain over the bottom of a
large pan, one that will just slide into my wife's kitchen
range, k(^ep the grain liot and stir it frequently until it is
thoroughly dried. The grain must not be scorched in the
least, as then the birds, especially the old ones, will not eat
it. When the grain is thoroughly dried, it takes a better
expert than even an English sparrow to discover any change
in its appearance. If an exceedingly deadly grain is wanted,
another dram of the poison can be used, but the above will
be found effective. It needs but one grain of this wheat to
kill a sparrow in three minutes, as I have timed the experi-
ment, and the grain gets no farther than the crop and some-
times not so far. I scatter the grain sparingly near the
roosting places of the birds and in localities where they are
accustomed to feed. Snowy,- cold weather, when there is
little bare ground, is the best time. The baited places should
be visited daily, if possible, and the dead birds should be
removed. You will be surprised at the killings you will
make. By persistent effort, you can enormously reduce their
numbers, and that is worth working for."

According to Professor Barrows, " Large numbers of the
sparrows may be destroyed and their increase prevented by
the systematic destruction of their nests, eggs, and young.
I')V llic ;ii(l (tCnn iron rod and hook set in llic end of a long

THE ENGLISH SPARROW AND THE STARLING. 153

pole, most of their nests can be reached and brouglit down.
This method promises most satisfactory results. They may
be easily driven from their roosting places by disturbing them
on several successive nights. A very efficaf^ious method is to
throw water upon them when at roost. In cities where hose-
pipe is available, the process is simple an'd certain. They
may be kept out of ornamental vines in the same manner,
particularly in tlie breeding season, when a thorough soaking
not only disconcerts the old birds and kills their young, but
at the same time does much good by soaking the vines and
washing out their filth. If a part of the birds are shot or
caught each time they are disturbed at their roosts, the re-
mainder are much less likely to return.''

Mrs. Mary Treat has recorded an ingenious experiment in
discouraging the English sparrows on her premises. "A few
years ago," she writes, "they were here in great numbers,
driving bluebirds and wrens and martins from their boxes.
At last I had boxes made on purpose for the plagues, with a
hinged cover, and allowed each occupant to lay the requisite
number of eggs, usually six, and commence to incubate, when
I would destroy the eggs without disturbing the nest. At llrst
the little simpletons, after making a great ado, would in a feu-
days thereafter again lay eggs in the same boxes. Sometimes
over thirty eggs were laid in one box. But even the English
sparrow finally learns prudence. Each year they appeared
in diminished numbers, and last- year only one pair attempted
to pre-empt a box and they left after the first setting of egj?s
was destroyed, and the bluebirds and wrens had peace.''

THE STARLING.

The European starling in build and manner of flying re-
sembles the meadow lark. Its color is dark metallic green
flecked with cream-colored dots. In size it is similar to the
red-winged blackbird. Its food, like that of the robin, con-
sists of millipeds, spiders, bugs, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and

154 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

beetles in all stages. It nests in hollow trees, crevices in
buildings and in bird houses. It is gregarious and, excepting
the breeding season, is usually found in flocks numbering
anywhere from a dozen to several hundreds. As its name
implies, this bird is a native of the old worid, summering in
western and central Europe and wintering in Africa.

The first starlings brought to this country were liberated in
Central Park, New York City, in 1890. A few other importa-
tions were made subsequently to other localities, but what
became of them is not known. They are now found in Mas-
sachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, and, in winter, as far south as Virginia. Thus
far the starling has been on trial in America. As a destroyer
of insects it is undoubtedly useful. It has, however, some
undesirable traits which cause it to be regarded with suspicion.
For example : its gregariousness and its fondness for fruit are
an unfortunate combination. It goes without saying that gre-
garious birds are nomadic, as their numbers make it impossible
for them long to find sufficient food in one place. Such birds
sweep over the country and descend like a plague wherever
they discover food. If starlings continue to multiply as they
have during the past few years, the time is not distant when
flocks of hundreds, or even of thousands, will drift hither and
yon from orchard to orchard, from vineyard to vineyard in
late summer and early fall and commit unbearable depreda-
tions. Another reason for apprehension concerning this bird
is its habit of nesting in cavities, which makes it a competitor
of some of our most useful birds, as flickers, martins, tree-
swallows, bluebirds, crested-flycatchers and wrens. Already
complaints have been lodged against it on this score, and
the grievance must inevitably become increasingly acute.
Turning from probabilities to actualities, we find that the in-
troduction of this bird into Australia was followed by results
quite similar to the expectation suggested above. A writer
from Melbourne states that it attacks peaches, apricots, plums,

THE ENTtLISH srARROW AND THE STARLING. ir)o

cherries, apples, pears, figs, grapes, and strawberries, and thai
in several districts vine and fruit-growing will have to be given
up unless some radical steps are taken. He also says that
native insectivorous birds are driven from their nesting-places
in hollow trees by swarnis of starlings.^

It thus appears that the favorable traits of the starling in
this country are likely to be outweighed by its pernicious
traits. The trend of opinion is towards putting it on the list
of unprotected birds. The shipment of starlings from one
State to another is forbidden by an act of Congress. Never-
theless, they seem destined to increase and spread gradually
over a large part of the United States. If, eventually, they
become pests, they can be best combated during the breeding
season. Then not only can they be killed and their nests
destroyed at the usual breeding-places, but they can be en-
ticed to their destruction by nest-box traps, built especially
for them, as has been done for English sparrows.2

^Forest and Stream, vol. Ixiv, 1905, p. 313.

2 For a description of nest-box traps see Farmers' Bulletin 493, U. S.
Dept. Agriculture,

CHAPTER XIV.

THE ORIOLES, BLACKBIRDS. CROWS, AND JAYS.

Next to the scarlet tanager the Baltimore Oriole is the
most brilUant of our northern birds. It. seems a messenger
from the tropics when it arrives in May, flashing from grove
to orchard in its bright-hued suit and filling the air with the
rich melody of its song : this impression is strengthened later
when it builds its pendent nest, so different in architecture
from that of any of the rest of our birds. It chooses to live

THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE.
{After Biological Survey.)

in orchards or groves near the abode of man ; it is strictly
migratory and is found throughout most of the States east of
the Rocky Mountains. From the point of view of the econo-
mist it sometimes commits depredations on the pea-pods in
the garden, the cherries in the orchard, and the grapes in the
vineyard ; but these attacks are rare and are more than paid

150

THE ORIOLES, BLACKBIRDS. CROWS, AND JAYS. 157

for by the destruction of noxious insects. Its services in the
latter direction are especially helpful because it feeds freely
upon tent caterpillars and other hairy larvae that very few
l)irds will toudi. Even the spiny caterpillars of the Vanessa
butterfly are taken by it. Three of these orioles shot in an
Illinois orchard infested by canker-worms had eaten forty per
cent, of these pests and fifty per cent, of an injurious leaf-
chafer {AnoiiKthi hinofdta). Professor Augliey found that iu
Nebraska the nestliui^s were fed freely with youn^^ Rocky
Moiuifain locusts, of which also the old birds ate large num-
bers. In Massachusetts these birds have been observed
feeding their nestlings with canker-worms. Professor Beal
states that caterpillars alone formed thirty-four per cent, of
the food of one hundred and thirteen specimens examined,
while vegetable matter of any sort had been eaten only to
the extent of sixteen per cent. In Arkansas these orioles
have been found to destroy great numbers of the catalpa
sphinx larvae, which when unmolested defoliate the catalpa-
trees. This species is called the golden robin in some regions.
''I was sittiug at the window one day in May," Avrote
Wilson Flagg many years ago, "when my sister called my
attention to a golden robin in a black-cherry tree, devouring
the common hairy caterpillars ; and we counted the number
he consumed while he remained on the branch. The tune
that elapsed was just one minute by the watch, and during
this space he destroyed seventeen caterpillars. But it is
worthy of notice that he did not swallow the whole insect.
After seizing it iu his bill, he carefully set his foot upon it,
tore it asunder, and swallowed a small portion taken from
the inside, llr llicu seized olhers in siicce.^.^ion, and in like
maimer selected and devoured his favorite morsel. Had he
consumed the whole cater])illar live or six only would i)robably
have satistled his apix'tite." •

' Agrirulfurc of M;issai-Inisetts, 18(51, I'nrf II. p. 52.

158

BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

From the Rocky Mountains eastward the Crow Blackbird,
either in the form of the Purple Grackle or the Bronzed
Crackle, is w^ell known, in the North as a summer visitor and
in the Central and Southern States as a resident. Occasion-
ally a few winter in the realm of snow, and there is one
record where one bird even stayed in New Hampshire till
well into January. In New England they are only locally
distributed, usually selecting homes in or near villages. Else-
where in their range they are much better known. Like

"^!>n^iS\^;»i^^^^^^^/;^'^

THE CROW BLACKBIRD.
{After Biologkal Survei/.)

others of their tribe, they are accused of various misdeeds :
the eating of grain is the Avorst of these. Throughout the
year more or less grain is taken, though in summer insects
receive the major part of their attention. All sorts of grain
as well as wild and cultivated fruits and many kinds of seeds
are eaten.

Of the grains, Indian corn is taken in greatest amount.
It has been shown, by the examination of two thousand two
hundred and fifty-eiglil sloinaclis al AVashington, tli;il coni is

THE ORIOLES, BLACKBIRDS, CROWS, AND JAYS. 159

consuiried every month in the year, and that it forms about
half of the ve^^etable food, or a fourth of the entire con-
sumption, — the animal and vegetable materials being about
equal. There was little evidence to show that sprouting corn
was pulled u]), and it appeared that much of the grain was
waste matter picked up after the harvest. The record of the
September Inrds was bad : more than half the food for that
month was corn, evidently taken from the ear. In October
the ratio was nearly as great.

Among the animal food Avere found insects, spiders, rny-
riapods, crawfish, earthworms, sowbugs, hair- snakes, snails,
fishes, tree-toads, salamanders, lizards, snakes, birds' eggs,
and mice. While this is an astonishing variety, everything but
insects must be considered exceptional, as out of the forty-
eight per cent, of animal food forty-six per cent, consisted
of insects. Of these, beetles were consumed in greatest
cpiantities. Scarabaeids, adult and larval, come first in point
of numbers. As is well known, these beetles either as larvae
or adults are consumers of vegetable matter, and many of
them are distinctly noxious. The large white grubs so often
unearthed by the plow form a favorite article of food : many
stomachs were crammed with them. Snout-beetles, among
which were curculios and weevils, were found in great num-
bers in stomachs taken during summer. Bollworms and
army-worms are also eaten by these birds. Grasshoppers
were found to be largely eaten also : more than thirty were
often found in a single bird. This fact, when coupled with
the fact that many 'hoppers and caterpillars are fed to the
young, demonstrates that in sunmier at least the crow black-
bird is a good friend in helping to keep down the grasshopper
pesL Caterpillars and stink-bugs were often in evidence.

In writing of the food of the young crow blackbirds Dr. S. D.
Judd says: "The first meal of the nestlings often consists of
plum[) spiders of soil texture, which suit the delicate embry-
onic stomach ; and these, together with tiny young grasshopper

160 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

nymphs and soft small cutworms, continue for a while to
form the food. As the stomach develops, however, the diet
changes ; such hard insects as beetles soon become a part of
the fare, and by the time the young blackbirds are nearly or
quite half grown their stomachs are strong enough to digest
corn. Corn is then given to them freely, and in increasing
quantity, until, when they are ready to leave the nest, it forms
about one-quarter of their food."

Practically all of the insects taken by this species are nox-
ious : if allowed to increase without stint, they would eat us
out of house and home. The evidence that many of them
are consumed is conclusive. It is also evident that at times
blackbirds are an insufferable plague. " As soon as the
grain is in the ground,'' writes j\Ir. Charles W. Nash, of
Toronto, Canada, " they visit the newly sown fields and help
themselves liberally, varying their diet by taking as many
small birds' eggs and young as they can conveniently get at.
I have on several occasions seen them attack and carry off
young robins, in spite of the vigorous defence set up by the
victims' parents." Looking at the record from both sides
there seems but one thing for a sensible man to do, — namely,
so long as the bird does well, let him alone ; wlien he becomes
pernicious, drive him off or kill him.

In Stanley's "History of Birds" (p. 197) attention is called
to the fact that a bounty for the " Purple Crackle or New
England Jackdaw" is recorded in King's "Narrative" (vol. ii.
p. 217), where it is stated : " A reward of three-pence a dozen
Avas once awarded in that country for the- extirpation of the
Crackles; and the object was almost affected, at the cost of
the inhabitants, who at length discovered that Providence had
not formed these supposed destructive birds in vain ; for, not-
withstanding they caused great havoc among the grain, they
made ample recompense by clearing the soil of noxious worms,
particularly of one called the pease-beetle. For no sooner
were the birds destroyed, than the insects multiplied to such

THE OlllOLKS. HLACKI^.IHDS, CliOWS. AM) JAYS.

101

a degree, as to cause the total loss of tlie i,Tass in 1749, when
the colonists liad to get their hay from Pennsylvania and
even from Great Britain."

The Red-wixged Blackbird is a summer denizen of swamps
and marshes throughout temperate North America. It is one
of the earliest birds to ai)pear in spring and one of the earliest
to leave its breeding-places, though the final departure of the
great flocks that congregate in suitable places in August is

[;,■:- .;■- mfi,:iii,

THE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD.
{Afli'r liiologiiitl Survey. )

often delayed till October or November. While feeding their
young, red-wings frequently come to the field for grasshoppers
and such other insects as are to be found there. At other
s(^asons they are seed-eaters for tht^ most ])art. Where a])un-
dant, thry do considerable injury both to newly sown grain
and to ri|)ening croi)s. In some States boiuities have been
offered for their heads. Their custom of congregating in
large flocks makes their ovW work very great where it occurs.

n

162 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

Their greatest depredations are committed in the grain-fields
of the Mississippi Valley and in the southern rice-fields.

In an examination of seven hundred and twenty-five
stomachs the Department of Agriculture found seventy-four
per cent, of the food to be vegetable matter, the remainder
being animal, mainly insects. Weevils and snout-beetles
amounted to twenty-five per cent, of the June food. Beetles
formed ten per cent, of the food for the year ; grasshoppers
formed about five per cent. Of grain only corn, wheat, and
oats were found : together they constituted thirteen per cent,
of the whole food. Weed seed, mainly ragweed, barn-grass,
and smartweed, amounted to fifty-seven per cent. A sum-
mary of the food examined reveals the fact that about seven-
eighths of the red-wing's diet is made up of noxious insects
and weed seed. Therefore, while locally guilty of damage
sufficient to justify its slaughter, it would be very poor
economy to persecute this bird generally.

The food of the young birds consists almost wholly of in-
sects of the sorts commonly eaten by the adults.

The Cow-Bird is found throughout the United States, except
along the Pacific coast. Its name was given in recognition of
its fondness for bovine society. It is essentially a bird of the
field, spending nearly all its time sean^hing for food in fields
and pastures. It eats insects, grasshoppers, beetles, larva?,
etc., in summer, and takes seeds of weeds and occasionally
small grains at otlier seasons to a considerable extent. So
far as its food habits are concerned, there is much to commend
it, but as a parasite on other birds it is undoubtedly noxious.

Its domestic relations are decidedly irregular. Males are
more numerous than females. Polyandry is a common prac-
tice. They never pair. They never build nests. By stealth
eggs are deposited in other birds' nests, to be hatched and the
young raised by foster-parents. Here is where the cow-birds
are criminal in effect if not in intention. The cow-bird egg
is laid with an uncompleted clutch. It hatches more quickly

THE ORIOLES, BLACKBIRDS. CROWS. AM) JAYS.

163

than the rightful occupants ; it is larger than they, as the
hosts are almost invariably smaller than cow-birds, — warblers,
vireos, etc. Thus the young cow-bird is able to grow rapidly,
and williiii (wo or three days is so much ahead of his foster-
brothers and -sisters that he gets all the (bod and they die.
it appears to be the rule that a co\v-bird"s L^i^i^ laid in a nest
ruins the hopes of the birds that built it. Every young cow-
bird is reared at the expense of anywhere from two to five
other birds, each of which is of more vahie than he. This
makes cow-birds costly. Whatever benefits we derive from
their food habits are more than overcome by their parasitic
habits.

sv P' 4r,

17//'

THE BOBOLINK.
{After Biuluijical lynrvey.)

In th(^ northeast quarter of the United States, it is safi^ to
assert, there is no more popular bird among country folk than
the Bobolink. He announces his connng by a shower of
melody from the clouds. For a fortnight lie revels in bachelor
freedom, in glor'ions apple-blossoms, and pours foi'lli a flood

164 BIRDS IX THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

of song. On the arrival of the females, he quickly makes a
match by ardent wooing, and with all the impetuosity of his
nature settles down to family cares. No bird is a more de-
voted parent. Every one on the farm is a witness to his
solicitude. The mother bird is perhaps no less anxious for
the welfare of her children, but she is more timid. Not alone
for sentimental reasons are bobolinks prized by the inhabi-
tants of their summer home-land, for they are highly thought
of on account of their destructiveness to insects. During
this season they eat insects almost exclusively. To the young
11 ley bring grasshoppers. Careful watching at the nest has
shown that they discriminate as to color. No less than nine
out of every ten 'hoppers brought to the nest are green.
There appears to be no choice of species, for long-horned and
short-horned 'hoppers were brought in about the same num-
bers. As a rule, nymphs are preferred to adult specimens.
So far as the bobolink's conduct in the North is concerned it
is above reproach.

Early in August there is a gathering together of families
into flocks, and the movement southward is begun. Then
come trying times for "bob" and his enemies. Along the
coast of the Middle Atlantic States reed-birds, as they are
called there, are slain for the table by untold thousands.
Further south they enter the rice-fields when the grain is in
the milk, and it is there they cast off virtue and become
thieves. The rice-planters have abundant cause for hating
them and employ destruction. There is mutual distress. It
has been stated that two million dollars' worth of rice is
annually destroyed. The number of birds slain is beyond
reckoning.

In spite of the enormous drain upon their numbers, the
flocks seem as numerous as ever. It is probable, however,
that they are actually decreasing. It does not seem possible
that the immense numbers annually slain in the South can be
made good. Then, in Ncav Hampshire, at least, farmers past

THE ORTOLES. BLACKBIRDS. TROWS. A.\l> .lAV

]C:.

middle asj;e state that bobolinks are not nearly so coiiinion in
the fields as they were fifty or sixty years ago. While it may
be that the rice destroyed is worth more than the slaughter
of insects, there is no certainty that it is so, though no one
can blame rice-planters for attempting to exterminate the
birds. In any case, those Avho know the bobolink in his
northern home can but regard with complaisance the fact
that he has a place among tilings that yet exist.

The ]\Ieadow-Lark, with its "bosom of prairie buttercups,
its back hke the dead grass of autumn, and its song Avhich

THE MEADOW-LARK.
{After Biological Siirvi'i/.)

harmonizes Avell with the prairie winds," is essentially a bird
of tlie prairies. But it is not confined to the prairie States:
from New England to Florida, from Florida to Mexico, from
Mexico to Oregon, and from Oregon back again to New Eng-
land, where there are open stretches of pasture and jiieadow
lands, one is likely to lind the eastern meadow-lark or its
western representative. In northern localities it dwells only
in summer, migrating southward for the winter, ])ut in many
Central States it remains throughout the year, lis nest is
built on the ground in a clunip of grass and four or live
young are reared.

166 HIRDS L\ THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

The record of the food of the meadow-lark is unusually
full and complete. The stomach contents of nniety-three
specimens from seven widely separated States (New York,
Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, Wisconsin,
and Nebraska), taken during March, April, May, June, July,
August, October, and November, have been examined by
competent investigators ; the results prove beyond all doubt
that this is a bird of extraordinary economic value. Thirty-
three specimens from various parts of Illinois, taken during
March, April, May, June, and July, were studied by Forbes,
who found that three-fourths of the food consisted of insects,
the peculiar animals known as "thousand-legs" and grains
of corn and wheat constituting the remainder. Caterpillars
formed twenty-eight per cent, of tlie food, one-half of them
being cutworms and army-worms and one-fourth the hairy
larvae of the family of "tiger-moths." Even during these
early months grasshoppers formed thirteen per cent, of the
stomach contents, and beetles of various kinds twenty per
cent., one-fourth of them being ground-beetles and the others
including June-beetles, blister-beetles, curculios, click-beetles,
and plant-beetles. One bird had eaten twenty chinch-bugs,
and others had eaten various soldier-bugs. Crane-flies had
been occasionally devoured. "Considering these data with
reference to the interest of the farm and garden," writes
Professor Forbes, " Ave must admit the jjrobable eminent
usefulness of this bird. Its great destruction of grasshoppers
and of cutworms and other caterpillars, and the absence of
all depredations other than the appropriation of scattered
grains of corn (often picked, no doubt, from the droppings of
stock), taken in connection with the fact that it eats only the
normal average of predaceous insects, are. all strong indica-
tions of valuable service rendered, with unusually few draw-
backs. It supervises our grass-lands much more closely than
the bluebird or the robin, and should be carefully protected
from the shotgun and birds-nesting school-boy."

THE ORIOLES, BLACKBIRDS, CROWS, AND JAYS. 107

Twenty-nine Wisconsin meadow-larks studied by Professor
King had eaten forty beetles, including a May-beetle, weevil,
tiger-beetle, and ground-beetles ; nineteen grasshoppers ;
many caterpillars ; one dragon-fly, and a single thistle-seed.
Ninety-nine per cent, of the stomach contents of thirty
specimens from various places in New York, Pennsylvania,
North Carolina, and Tennessee, shot during October and
November and studied by Dr. C. H. Merriam, consisted of
insects, including twenty-five caterpillars, fifty-seven grass-
hoppers, and more than eighty beetles. The seeds of clover,
wheat, oats, corn, and various weeds and grasses were also
eaten to a slight extent. Eight Nebraska meadow-larks had
eaten two hundred and thirteen locusts as well as locusts'
e^s and many other insects.

"The farmer cannot afford," writes Dr. S. D. Judd, "to
dispense Avith the services of the meadow-lark, for it
busies itself all summer eating grasshoppers and noxious
insects, and when autumn comes varies its diet with rag-
weed, pigeon-grass, and other weeds, until in December
these noxious plants comprise twenty-five per cent, of its
food."

There has been much discussion concerning the economic
status of the Common Crow. By some people its merits are
believed to be greater than its defects : by others it is con-
sidered an unmitigated nuisance. There seems to be no doubt
that, on the whole, the crow is not a bird to be encouraged,
although it is not desirable that it be altogether exterminated.
It is a widely distributed si)ecies, occurring throughout the
United States, though much more abundant iu some localities
than in others. The birds are wary, having learned wisdom
from experience, and it is very difficult to get within shooting
range of them. The crime that is most commonly laid
against them is that of digging or pulling up newly planted
grains, such as wheat and Indian coimi, especially tlu* latter;
in the Kash'ni Slates this lias leil to the almosf nnivtTsal use

168

BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

of scarecrows of some kind. The damage done in this way-
is sometimes very great, often causing the loss of one-third
of the crop, although, as a rule, the injury is slight. This
seems to be an acquired habit, belonging to comparatively
few of the crows. One Missouri observer reports that he
once saw eight crows in his corn-field, two parents and six
young. " One was pulling the corn, one standing idle, and six
eating the grain after it was pulled up.*' Isolated fields and
those near the nesting-sites are usually much more liable to

^

^^^^ Jamty' ^' ' '1

1 ^ 4v<^ykif

\i >,^ tiBBS^^^jir^ • .'I'-l

ijiitt

THE COMMON CROW
{After WarrtH.)

injury than others. Later in the season, when the corn is
in the soft, milky stage preceding ripening, the crows again
attack it, tearing the husks from the ears and picking out the
kernels.

In some parts of New England and Canada the crow is
accused of serious injury to recently planted potato fields.
When the plants appear above ground the birds pull them up
to get at and devour the partially decayed tubers that were
used for "seed.'" In the South rice and ])oa-nnts are said lo

THE ORIOLES, BLACKBIRDS, CROWS, AND JAYS. 169

be also attacked, while in various regions injuries to small
fruits have been reported.

One of the most serious flaws in the character of the crow
is his fondness for eggs and young birds, either in the poultry-
yard or out of it. In some localities crows are more dreaded
by the poultry-keepers than hawks, as they destroy young
chickens before the latter are past the downy stage. The
eggs of hens, ducks, and turkeys are also appropriated. Like
the corn-pulling habit, tliis thieving seems to be confined to
certain individuals, and it is done chiefly to get food for the
nestlings.

That the crow is an inveterate enemy of many of our wild
birds there can be no doubt. The evidence in hand con-
clusively proves that it robs the nests of the commoner
thrushes, such as the wood-thrush, brown thrasher, and
robin, as well as tliose of the orioles, blackbirds, sparrows,
quail, grouse, woodpeckers, swallows, warblers, and otliers.
Both eggs and young birds are taken. '' In all the dark history
of the crow's relations to other birds," writes Professor Bar-
rows, '' there is* nothing which can fairly be called a bright
spot, and only here and there a record is found which serves
to render the page a little less gloomy. One of the grains of
comfort is found in the fact that in its wholesale attacks on
other birds a few species suffer which are scarcely better than
itself." Any claim to favor which the crows may have is
})ased largely on its insect-eating proclivities. But the defi-
nite knowledge as yet obtained goes to show that the crow
can scarcely prove itself a philanthropist on this score.
While the bird undoubtedly eats large numbers of grass-
hoppers, the other elements of its insect food arc not of great
ecoiK)mi(^ importance, consisting as largely of the so-called
beneficial species as of the injurious ones. This is shown by
the following table, which gives the economic results of a
study, made at the Dejjarlinent of Agriculture, of the insect
food of sixtv-six crows:

170

BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

Orders.

Hyiiienoptera
Lepidoptera
Diptera . .
Colcoptera .
Hemiptera ,
Orthoptera .
Neuroptera .

Total

16

1

28
1

41

41

10

17
6
1

47
3

17
1

92

Individuals.

126

1
85
1

21!

8
16

57

1
150

232

32

1

18

134
16

1

174

3

150

18

51 496

A nuiiiber of observers have rei)orted that the crow kills
and eats field-mice and i)ocket gophers. Others clami that
it is useful as a scavenger, feeding on carrion. It is also
known to feed largely on various wild berries, such as those
of the Virginia creeper, dogwood, bayberry, red cedar, elder,
wintergreen, pokeweed, smilax, poison-ivy, and poison-
sumach. It scatters the seeds of these plants far and wide,
and the fact of its thus aiding in the distribution of poison-
ivy and poison-sumach has been considered one point against
the bird.

Professor Barrows has sununarized the evidence for and
against the crow as follows : " (1) Crows seriously damage
the corn crop, and injure other grain crops, usually to a less
extent. (2) They damage other farm crops to some extent,
frequently doing much mischief. (3) They are very de-
structive to the eggs and young of domesticated fowls. (4)
They do incalculable damage to the eggs and young of native
birds. (5) They do much harm by the distrO^ution of seeds
of poison-ivy, i)()ison-sumacli, and perhaps other noxious
plants. (6) They do mucli harm by the destruction of bene-
ficial insects. On the other hand, (1) They do much good
by the destruction of injurious insects. (2) They are largely

THE OIIIOLKS. liLACKHlllDS. CUOWS, aXD JAYS. 171

hciiclicial I1ii'()Ii,l;Ii llicir (Icslnict'Kni of mice and other rodents.
(.">) Tliey are valnal)le occasionally as scavenj^-ers."

The MAia'iE, raiiiiinii' from Arizona to Alaska and I'roin the
Rocky Monnlains to the coasi, except a part of ( alifornia in
wliicli it is replaced by the yellow-billed variety known as
Nnttall's mai^pie, althouiih of handsome appearance, has some
traits tliat are utterly disrei)utable and scarcely one that may
be called valuable. He is a thief, stealing the hunter's game,
the traveller's supplies, eveu his very dinner before him.
Worse than all, he is an assassin, a torturer without a heart,
merciless. Young birds are tidbits for him. With bound-
less audacity he assaults horses and mules, galled by their
harnesses and reduced by continuous packing over rough
trails, lacerating their raw flesh and sometimes even going so
far as to put out their eyes. If people will have cage-birds,
here is a proper victim. A criminal by nature, he may be
confined without compunction. His odd and knowing ways
make him an interesting pet, and after once becoming accus-
tomed to a cage, captivity does not appear a hardship for him.
Economically the magpie is a failure.

The Blue-Jay is a resident over the whole of the United
States east of the Great Plains. Its home is in the woods,
though it makes frequent excursions to orchards and orna-
mental trees about the farmstc^ad. These birds are seen to
best advantage among the nut trees in autumn. Then is tin*
tune of their harvest. From tre(^ lo tree they go in troops,
calling in glee, swishing the branches, rattling down nnts,
forcing an opening by well-directed blows of tluMr powerful
bills through hard shells, or busily engaged in hoarding snp-
plies in crevices for use in the coming season of want. Hearty,
energetic, versatile, the jay at this season is worth watching.
As to food, he is essentially a vegetarian by. preference.
Nothing suits his taste quite so well as luits. — acorns, chest-
nuts, beechnuts, and similar kinds, having rather thin shells.
Sometimes a flock will develop a taste for corn, and do more

172

BIRDS TX THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN,

or less damage as il stands in tlie field, but tliis is by no
means chargeable to all blue-jays, as there are undoubtedly
many that never tasted a kernel.

In spring and summer, insects, fruit, and a variety of mis-
cellaneous matter are eaten. The jay is cpite as unscrupulous
as the crow, which it resembles in many ways. Birds' nests
are occupied at the season when it is obliged to forage widely
for supplies, and eggs and young are sometimes carried off
and devoured. Just how prevalent this unfortunate habit is
has not been determined, but there can be little doubt that
individual jays, at least, do much damage in this manner.

THE BLUE-JAY.
{A/ler Bioloijkcd ISurvey.)

An examination of two hundred and ninety-two stomachs,
collected in every month of the year from twenty-two States
and the District of Columbia, made by the Department of
Agricultun^ at Washington, showed that })ractically three-
fourths of tlie food was vegetable. Forty-two per cent, of
the year's average was "mast," — a comprehensive term for
nuts and large seeds of trees and shrubs. Corn was found
in seventy-one stomachs and amounted to about eighteen per
cent, for the year. The stomachs taken in autumn showed
conclusively tliat these birds prefer nuts to corn.

THE ORIOLES, BLACKBIRDS, CROWS, AND JAYS. 173

In spring more or less fruit is consumed. In March apples
frozen on the trees amounted to thirty-two per cent. Fresh
fruit is taken quite largely in June and July, averaging about
thirty-five per cent, for the two months. Of this strawberries,
currants, blackberries, and mulberries were the only cultivated
species, and none of these were taken in much quantity.

The insects eaten were mainly beetles, grasshoppers, and
caterpillars. Most of the beetles belonged to the familes
Carabidce and Scarabcekke. Grasshoppers and caterpillars are
both eaten cjuite extensively. Wahuit caterjiillars (Thikina)
are sometimes destroyed in great numbers.

In this analysis only two stomachs contained traces of
egg-shells of small birds, and only one, remains of young.
In a few stomachs w^ere found remains of fish, salamanders,
frogs, mice, and a shrew.

Except in cases where blue-jays are actually engaged in
depredations it is unwise to destroy them. As a rule, they
are beneficial.

HEAD OF PURPLE URACKLE.

CHAPTER XV.

THE FLYCATCHEKS, HUMML\(i-BlHDS, SWIFTS, AND NIGHT-
HAWKS.

THE FLYCATCHERS.

To the naturalist who wanders much afield the Ph(ebe, or
Pewee, is one of the dearest of feathered friends. For it is
a familiar companion in the North from spring until autumn
and in the South throughout the winter. It makes its home
on almost every farm, so that tlie sight of it evokes in the
mind of every one brought up in tlic country tender memo-
ries of early associations. Nearly all of its food consists of

insects, most of which
are captured in tlie air.
JN'rclicd upon an ex-
Ijosed twig or a dead
nmllein-stalk, the bird
scans w ith eager eye the
surrounding space, alert
for any winged thing
that may come within its
range of vision. When
a beetle or a moth flies
by, the bird darts quickly
towards it, snaps its ca-
pacious beak, and the career of the insect is ended. Return-
ing at once to its perch, the phoobe waits patiently for another
morsel. Thus it spends its days.

A careful examination of the contents of many phoebe

stomachs by experts at Wasliington "showed that over

ninety-three per cent, of the year's food consists of insects

and spiders, while wild fruit constitutes the remainder.'' The

174

THE I'HCEBE.

THE FLYCATCHERS. 175

insects are chieny of species injurious lo man's interests, so
that tliese feathered friends are of <,TeaL utilily in reducin<^'
the liordes of noxious pests.

The nest of the phoebe is built by preference upon the
timbers of a bridge, witli the murmur of running water just
beneath. It is composed of mud and moss plastered against
the side of the support. When it is completed the mother bird
lays four or five white eggs, which are faithfully incubated
until they hatch into hungry birdlings that keep the parents
busy bringing food. The young are fed wholly witli insects
and theu" allies, including chiefly moths, grasshoppers, ants,
spiders, and similar creatures.

The phoebe is so universal a favorite that it has not wanted
champions wherever it is found. But the knowledge of its
exceeding usefulness should win for it more friends, who
shall encourage its increase in every way possible. For
surely there can be no straining of the quality of mercy in
protecting these feathered creatures : such mercy is thrice
blessed, — for it blesses first the birds, second ourselves, and
third our children and our children's children in trans-
mitting to them undiminished Nature's heritage of man's
allies.

The KiNGBmo is noted for its pugnacious antipathy to
hawks and crows, and is esteemed by agriculturists for this
quality whicli makes it a veritable knight of the farm. H is
familiar with mankind, makes its home in the orchard, and
takes no pains to hide its nest. The protection it affords
against marauding birds is not more important than its
benefits as an insect destroyer. Ninety per cent, of its food
consists of insects, including such noxious species as May-
beetles, click-beetles, wheat and fruit weevils, grasshoppers,
and leaf-hoppers.

Bee-keepers liave made the claim againsl (lie kingbird fliat
it is destructive to bees, but evidence furnished by dissections
tends to prove that this damage is really of slight conse-

176

BIUDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

quence. It is recorded of an Iowa apiarist that he suspected
these birds of eating his bees and shot several near his hives,
but when examined by an expert entomologist no bees were
found in their stomachs. Of Iavo hundred and eighty-one
stomachs opened by the Biological Survey, only fourteen
contained honey-bees, fifty in all, forty drones, four workers,
and six undetermined. The destruction of the drones was a
benefit, and the few workers were more than compensated
for by nineteen robber flies that had been eaten. Small
fruits, such as elder-berries, blackberries, and wild cherries,

make up ten per
cent, of its food.
In southern Louisi-
ana it partakes of
berries of the prickly
ash and tobasco pep-
l)ers and is regarded
as a pest by pepper-
planters. This spicy
diet gives its flesh a
p u n g e n t flavor
which makes it
sought for the table,
and numbers are
annually killed for
market. The food
of the young kingbirds consists almost wholly of insects,
nearly half of it being crickets and grasshoppers when these
are abundant.

The other common flycatchers — the (iREAT Crested, the
Least, and the Wood Pewee — appear to have feeding habits
very similar to the phoebe and the kingbird, although, of
course, woodland species find insects of quite ditferent sorts
from those in cultivated spaces.

THE KINGBIRD.
{After Biological Sitrreii.)

THE HUMMINC-IUIU) AND THE CHIMXEV-SW H"T.

THK IirM.MI\(;-liIKl).

Only one species — the llrmTHROAT — of the beautiful family
of humming-birds {Trochilidce) occurs in the Northern States.
This feathered sprite is rather common and may often be seen
hovering before flowers, from which it extracts nectar and
minute insects and spiders. Considerable discussion has
taken place as to whether its food consisted mainly of insects
or nectar : the relative proi)ortion of the two elements prob-
ably Taries with the season and locality. When the sap of
trees is obtainable, the birds appear to prefer it to any other
food. They regularly visit trees perforated by yellow-bellied
sapsuckers : Mr. Frank Bolles says that in the White Moun-
tains of New Hami)shire, '• the humming-birds, at ' orchards'
Avhere they are not molested by the woodpeckers, drink scores
of times in the course of the long summer day. When not
drinking they are usually perched on twigs a few yards from
the holes, keeping their nervous heads w^agging from side to
side while watching for intruders. In a few instances I have
seen humming-birds perch upon the bark below the holes, in
order to drink long without being forced to keep their wings
moving while enjoying the sweet sap."^ The young are fed
chiefly upon minute insects, such as gnats, ants, and small
bees. According to Mr. William Brewster's observations, the
young are fed by regurgitation.

THE CHIMXEY-SWIFT.

The swifts {Cypi<clU1(i') are repn^sented in eastern North
America by but one species, the abundant Chimney-Swift, or
Chimney-Swallow, a bird of marvellous powers of flight,
with small and slender body, long, poinfed vings, and not a
grain of superfluous flesh : an aerial thoroughbred, built for
cleaving the air in chase of the insect quarry that forms its

^ Science, vol. xx. p. 8 IS.

178 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

food. Before I lie (Uscoverv of America, when the rude
smoke-holes that served as eliimneys for the wigwams and
long-houses of ( 'hocfaw or of Iroquois extended no invitation
for these hirds to nest in tliem, hoHow trees more or less
open at the top took the place of the modern chimney. In
thinly settled districts of the West such trees are still used
for the purpose. The nest is built of little twigs broken off
from the trees while the bird is in full flight, which are stuck
together and to the sides of the chimney or tree by saliva.
The same nest is sometimes used for two or three seasons.
A large number of birds often choose the same tree or
chimney for breeding and roosting purposes.

The chimney-swifts are abroad at all hours of the day and
night, but fly most freely from earliest dawn till soon after
sunrise, and again before sunset till after dark. Doubtless at
such times the insects on which they feed are most abundant
in the air. Their food is varied, probably consisting of almost
all the flying insects with which they come in contact. Three
specimens studied by Professor S. A. Forbes had eaten ants,
moths, ground-beetles, rove-beetles, plant-beetles, flies, bugs,
and spiders. The young are fed largely upon grasshoppers
when these are abundant, and at other times on various kinds
of insects.

There has long been prevalent a popular idea that these
birds winter in a lethargic state in chimneys and hollow trees,
but all well-informed ornithologists declare this statement to
be preposterous. According to Stejneger the chimney-swifts
are found in Mexico in w^inter. It would be very strange if a
bird of such powers of flight as this should choose to sleep
away the cold season, instc^ad of basking in the sunshine of
the South to be readied in so short a time.

THE NIGHTHAWK AND THE WHU^POORWILL.

The strange family of goatsuckers, or night-jars (Caprimul-
gidce), is represented in the United States by eleven species

THE NIGHTHAWK A\D THE WHIPPOORWILL. 179

and subspecies, only two of which, however, are commonly
found over the largest portion of our country, the otliers
occurring in the Southern or Southwestern States. Every
one is familiar with the plaintive cry of the Whippoorwill,
one of the connnonest members of this grou]). II is a noc-
turnal bird and secludes itself by day in the darkest recesses
of the woods. In such places also the young are reared, the
two creamy white, brown-blotched eggs being dei)()sile(l on
the ground or on a log or stump, with no attempt at a nest.
By night it Hies rapidly through tlie air, catching in its capa-
cious mouth flying insects of many kinds. The few stomachs
that have been examined sliow that it feeds lai^ely on night-
flying moths, sometimes taking those having a wing exjjanse
of two inches. Click-beetles and other beetles are also otten
devoured. Four-fifths of the food of one specimen consisted
of injurious grasshoppers. One Ontario specimen had its
stomach fdled with '' the large female wingless ants, which
could only have been obtained upon the ground, and in all
probability in the daytime.**^

The NiGHTHAWK, or Bull-Bat, is seen much oftener than
the whippoorwill, on account of its greater abundance and its
habit of flying about everywhere, especially on dark days and
towards dusk. Small flocks of them may frequently be seen
cleaving the air in all directions, coming close to men and
houses in their rapid evolutions. Hs two eggs are laid on the
ground, generally in secluded situations, although of late it
often uses the flat roofs of Boston houses as nesting-places.
It is a great insect eater, its food consisting of May-flies,
dragon-llies, beetles of many kinds, •• waler boatmen,*' scor-
pion-flies, bugs of various sorts, and many grasshoppers.
From seven Nebraska specimens Professor Augliey took three
hundred and forty-eight Rocky Mountain locusts, an average
of forty-nine to each bird. An Arkansas specimen examined

' Nash, Birds of ( Mitario, \k 29.

180 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

by F. L. Harvey contained more than six hundred insects, —
gnats, beetles, flies, ants, and grasshoppers. Professor Her-
rick has found tliat the young are fed largely on firefly beetles.
The nighthawk frequently suffers from the thoughtless
cruelty of amateur gunners who shoot at tliem as they fly in
the air. This is unworthy " sport" for boy or man. These
birds are not only Aery useful as insect destroyers, but, as Mr.
E. B. Williamson has written, they are also "handsome birds,
adding uuich to the twilight beauty of a summer evening as
the scattered flocks }jass with easy and graceful flight over
fields and woodland.'"

IHE J.l NA .MOTH

Slightly reduced.

CHAPTER XVI.
THE WOODPECKERS, KINGFISHERS, AND CTCKOOS.

THE WOODPECKERS.

In a general way each family of birds is set apart to perform
certain special functions in the economy of nature. To the
woodpeckers lias been assigned the task of keeping in clieck
the borers concealed beneath the bark of trees, and, inciden-
tally, of devouring any other insects which may be scattered
about the trunk and branches. With the single exception
of the yellow-bellied species, all our woodpeckers appear to
be eminently beneficial. The peculiarities of their structure
eminently fit them for their special work : the feet generally
have two toes in front and two behind, all armed with sharp
claws, enabling the birds to hop up trees with ease ; the tail
feathers are short, stiff, and rigid, serving as a support when
the bird gives hammer-like strokes with its chisel-shaped beak ;
and the tongue, in all except the yellow-bellied species, is
extensile and generally barbed on the edges near the tip, so
that it can be thrust into burrows to impale the occupants.
There are about thirty forms of the Picida^ — the woodpecker
family — recognized in North America. Most of them remain
throughout the year in the localities in which they occur.

The Ivory-billed Woodpecker is the monarch of the family.
It is a large, handsome, powerfully built bird, twenty inches
long, with a wing expanse of thirty inches. Occurring only
in the Southern States, it there is found in the deepest woods
and swamps, far away from human habitations. The Pu^eated
Woodpecker is a species nearly as large as the one just men-
tioned iuid li;is siiiiihir liabits, though it is more generally
distributed over the United States. Ijoth are rare birds,
inhabiting solitary forests; on account of their shyness, they

181

182

BIRDS IX THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

are not likely ever to have much economic importance in
civilized communities. Analyses of the stomach contents
of the pileated species have shown that it feeds largely on
ants, beetles, and other insects which it finds in dead trees
and logs, the beetle larvie that bore into the trunks of trees
being especially taken. It also feeds upon the seeds and
berries of many sorts of wild fruits, such as the sour-gum,
flowering dogwood, black haw, hackberry, persimmon, wild
grapes, Virginia creeper, greenbrier, sumac, and poison-ivy.
In the stomachs analyzed by the Biological Survey the animal
and vegetable matter was about equally divided.

.'III ^ '"' ^ -^^

THE HAIRY WOODPECKER.

(Afhr niolnginil Survey.)

Either the typical form or that of some variety of the
HAmv Woodpecker occurs counnonly in most parts of North
America. This is a particularly useful bird, visiting freely the
kings of the forest, as well as the fruit-trees of the orchard
and the shadc^ aud ornamental trees of the home grounds,
the park, or llic public thoroughfare. It nests in holes in

THE WOODPECKERS, KINGFISHERS, AND CUCKOOS. 183

trees, usually in the forest, and rears from four to six young.
No birds search more persistently for the wood-boring grubs
living beneath the bark of trees, many of which — like the
flat-headed Jjorer — are the must vexatious enemies of the
fruit-grower. During their meanderings over the trunk and
larger limbs they often startle moths and other nocturnal
insects, which tliey devour whenever opportunity offers, and
they also ptMietrate the disguise of many geometric caterpillars
and cut short their deceptive careers. A good idea of the gen-
eral diet of the species may be obtained from Professor King's
statement that of twenty-one specimens examined, ''eleven
had eaten fifty-two wood-boring larva^ ; five, thirteen geometric
caterpillars ; ten, one hundred and five ants ; six, ten beetles ;
two, two cockroaches ; two, nine egg-cases of cockroaches ;
two, two moths ; one, a small snail ; one, green corn ; one, a
wild cherry ; and one, red elder-berries.*' More than two-
thirds of the food of eighty-two specimens studied by the
Department of Agriculture was animal matter, chiefly insects.

In the presence of an unusual abundance of grasshoppers
the hairy woodpeckers feed freely on them ; four Nebraska
specimens had eaten one hundred and fifty-seven of these
insects. They also do good service in penetrating the cocoons
of the cecropia emperor moth, the larva^ of which devour
the foliage of fruit- and shade-trees. A number of observers
have reporte(t that these birds push their beaks through the
tough cocoons until the piip^e inside an^ reached, the juices of
the latter being sucked away. They have also been credited
with having in 1880 "cleaned elm-trees in Cleveland, Ohio,
of the cocoons of the tussock-moth."

Concerning the l)eneficeiit habits of the hairy woodpecker.
Dr. 1*. ]\. Hoy, a well-known naturalist, wrote many years
ago: "Cheerful ;nnl iii(liislfioiis, he is always on llie h)okoiit
for tiiose worms Ihai ixirrow in Ihe siii)stance of the wood or
under the hark of lives. ! le is an experl al anscnlhiiion and
pei'cnssion, and he is nol indihh'il h> Laeniiec for Iht- art

184

BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN,

either. As he explores suspicious locahties with gentle taps,
he quickly detects the evidences of unsoundness, and is not
slow to learn the cause. Worms is his hobby : soon he chips
an opening, and with his long, slender tongue, armed with a
barbed lance-point, — a capital tool, — he soon extracts the
cause of the evil. While engaged in ' wonuing' he continues
to utter his clieerful FVwk, pUck ! m a major key, as if con-
scious that he is engaged in a good cause and not ashamed

THE CKCROPIA MOTH AND ITS COCOOX (REOXTED).

to own it. You can always tell where he is. A few ears
of corn is about all the pay he takes for his valuable work.
Protect him ; he is our friend."

In habits, manner, and dress the Downy Woodpecker seems
but a miniature copy of its liairy cousin. It more com-
monly frequents orchards and is often called the " sapsucker,"
but this is a misnomc^r, as fliat nanu^ should ])e confined to
llic y('ll()w-b('lli(Ml species. Alllioiigh il boi'cs liolcs in tlie

THE WOODPECKERS, KINGFISHERS, AND CUCKOOS. 185

bark of apple-trees, it does not revisit them to suck the sap,
according to the habit of the last-named bird ; and the holes
seem usually not to injure the tree. Seventeen AVisconsin
specimens had eaten forty insect larvae, including twenty
wood-boring grubs and three caterpillars, seven ants, four
beetles, a chrysalid, one hundred and ten small bugs, and a
spider, together with a few acorns and small seeds, and a
little woody fibre apparently taken by accident along with tlie
grubs. Three-fourths of the food of one hundred and forty
specimens examined by the Department of Agriculture con-
sisted of insects. Nearly one-fourth consisted of ants, taken
chiefly from those which are attending aphides or burrowing
in wood. Audubon states that in autumn these woodpeckers
eat poke-berries and wild grasses. Mr. W. E. Cram observed
one of these birds opening the seed cases of mullein in Au-
gust. " I found that seed vessels that contained grubs were
brown, while those on the same stalk free from them were
still green, and observed that the woodpecker only opened
the brown ones." Dr. D. S. Kellicott has reported that the
downy woodpecker has been ''most industrious in Columbus,
Ohio, in boring for the larvae of the maple aegerian," a pest
of shade-trees. Mr. A. W. Butler has " often found them
feeding upon sunflower seeds, of which they are very fond."

The young birds are fed with insects, ants forming a large
percentage of their diet.

The only injur^^ that can be charged to the account of this
I)ir(l is that of spreading the seeds of poison-ivy, the berries
of which it eats. The seeds pass through the body unharmed
as to their germinating qualities. Probably this is a chief reason
why these plants are so generally found growing around the
bases of trees.

The FLicKEFi, although one of the woodpeckers, has habits
quite different from the majority of its tribe. Instead of
drilling holes in trees for a living, it gets most of its food from
the ground. Its structure, esix'cially Ihat of ils bill, is nioditicd

186 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

to suit its peculiar habits. Tlie ordinary woodpecker's bill is
shaped like a chisel at the tip, but that of a flicker is like a
l)i('kaxe. It has the same long, extensile tongue which charac-
terizes most of the woodpeckers. This is used for catching
small insects, by being thrust out covered with sticky saliva
and entangling them. Larger insects are grasped by the bill.
Flickers relish fruit as much as robins do. The two species
are usually associated when the berries of the sour-gum and
black-cherry trees are ripe. In winter flickers eat the berries
of Ampelopsis. Nearly half the flickers' diet consists of ants.

HEAD OF FLICKEK.

In two hundred and thirty stomachs examined at Wash-
ington fifty-six per cent, was animal matter, thirty-nine per
cent, vegetable, and five per cent, mineral. Two of them
contained over three thousand ants each. Other insects were
beetles {Coleoptera)^ bugs (Hcmipfera), grasshoppers and
crickets (Orthoptera)^ caterpillars {LrphJopfera), May-flies
(Ephemerida), and white ants {Isoptera). In 1860 a writer in
the Soidhern Planicr stated that flickers wcTe the only birds
he had ever seen pulling out worms from the roots of peach-
trees, — referring evidently to the deslrurlive peach-tree honM'.

The PvEU-HEADEi) WooDi'ECKEii is auollier species IIkiI, like

Photugraphvd fromlifrhil hr. //. W. SI,,,/. I.li.

THE I{KI)-1I1:A1)KI) W (XtDl'Ki KKK.

THE WoODI'KCKF.PiS. KfXCFISHKIlS. AM) ( TCKOOS. 187

IIk' IlickL'i', has got above hard work. Instead of delving in
wood, he sits on a post or a telegraph-pole or similar point
of vantage, taking beetles, grasshoppers, and other insects
which come along or are seen on the ground. At times he
darts out for flying insects and captures them on the wing.
He is fond of corn and nuts. In autumn these birds store
nuts in all sorts of crevices for future use. It lias been

l';| }i''iM;'V

f

y. .y

wm

observed that in years when there are many beechnuts, red-
headed woodpeckers spend the winter in the Northern States,
except New England where they are rare.

About half the food taken by this species is anunal and
half vegetable. Beetles are eaten oftener than any other order
of insects, forming about a third of the total food. Among
these beetles are many carabid and tiger beetles, whieli, ])eing
carnivorous, are more or less useful. There are other com-

188

BIRDS IX THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

plaints against tliis woodpecker besides that of killing useful
beetles. It sometimes devours cultivated fruits, — blackberries,
strawberries, cherries, apples, pears, etc., — thereby raising
the farmer's ire, and at times robs birds' nests of their young.
On the other hand, many of the beetles and other insects are
harmful and most of its vegetable food is valueless. Even
though it were proved that its food habits were against it, a

SPINES ON ROOF OF TONGUE.
Magnified. {After Luras.)

TONGUE OF RED-HEADED WOODPECKER.
Magnified. {After Lucaa.)

bird of its rare beauty is worth seeing now and then, though
we may have to pay for the pleasure.

One of the most notable illustrations of the value of wood-
peckers has been l)rouglit to light through the investigations
of spruce insects in the Northeast by Dr. A. D. Hopkins,
forest entomologist of the United States Department of Agri-
culture. Dr. Hopkins found that great damage was being

THE WOODPECKERS, KINGFISHERS, AXD CUCKOOS. 189

done by the spruce-destroying bark-beetle {Bendrodonus
piceaj)erda), but that its work was being largely checked by
woodpeckers, probably chiefly the Arctic Three-toed Wood-
pecker and the Banded Three-toed Woodpecker, as these
species come from the far Xorth in winter and live in
northern New England in numbers. Dr. Hopkins writes:
"Woodpeckers are the inost important enemies of the bark-
beetle, and appear to be of inestimable value to the spruce-
timber interests of the Northeast. Indeed, I feel confident that
in the many hundreds of infested trees examined, at least
one-half of the beetles and their young had been destroyed
by the birds, and in many cases it was evident that even a
greater proportion had perished from this cause alone.

'- Estimating one hundred beetles to the square foot of
bark in the average infested tree and an average of sixty
square feet of infested bark, it is possible for each tree to
yield an average of six thousand individuals, one hundred
trees six hundred thousand, and so on. It is therefore plain
that if one-half or two-thirds of tliis number are destroyed
by the birds and other enemies, the amount of timber the
remainder can kill will be lessened. This is all the more
apparent when it is remembered that it is only when the
beetles occur in great numbers that they can overcome the
resistance of the living trees."

In California, however. Dr. Hopkins has found the wood-
peckers to be in some respects of doubtful utility in their
relations to forest insects. There certain clerid beetles and
other enemies of bark-borers are abundant, and are especially
exposed to the attacks of woodpeckers. Tlie result is that
they are eaten to a large extent and so are prevented from
killing the bark-beetles.

The Yellow-bellied Woodpecker, or true Sapsucker, either
in the typical or a varietal form, occurs throughout the Ignited
States. Although seldom an abundant species, it is rather
common within its range. The structure of its tongue dilfers

190

BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

from that of its congeners : it is only slightly extensile and is
not adapted for penetrating the channels of and dragging
forth wood-boring larvae. Consequently these pests are
seldom found in its food. Its usual diet appears to consist
of insects and berries of A^arious sorts, together with the sap
and more or less of the inner bark (cambium) of trees.
Like the flicker it takes great numbers of ants, the other
insects eaten including beetles, crane-flies, grasshoppers,
caterpillars, and bugs. Fifteen out of thirty Wis-
consin specimens had eaten nothing but ants. Of
berries, wild grapes and dogwood-berries are de-
voured.

There can be no question that the yelloAv-bellied
Avoodpecker habitually feeds upon the sap of trees:
the testimony of naturalists and fruit-growers in
many widely separated localities is conclusive on
this point. To obtain the sap the birds make
horizontal series of punctures in the bark of many
trees ; these holes extend through the bark and
slightly into the wood. They are deeper than those
made by the downy woodpecker and run horizon-
tally around the tree, a half-inch or more apart.
Two or more series, one above the other, are usu-
ally made in the trunk of the chosen tree. The sap
oozes into these holes and the birds revisit them
constantly to suck it up, just as the owner of a
sugar-orchard visits his pails to gather the sap from the maple-
trees. During recent sunnners we have repeatedly seen these
birds thus visiting the hundreds of punclures they had made
in a row of English wliite birches along the border of Dart-
mouth College park. The woodpeckers w(^re by no means
the only visitors attracted by the flowing sap : humming-birds,
hornets, wasps, flies, and ants were there in abundance. The
two first named were not on good terms, for whenever a ruby-
Ihroal would appear, one or more of I lie gi'cat while-faced

THI-: WOODI'ECKEHS. KL\(;FISHEI{S, A.Xl) (TCKOOS. l<il

liunu'ls would atiuiiipl, ol'lcii siiccessfully, lu cliast' ii away.
J^)Ul they did Jiol iiilerlc'rc with tho proprietors of the saccha-
rine establishment.

These sapsuckers seem to have surprisingly little choice in
the trees selected to sui)ply tlieir food ; besides tlie English
white ])ircli, they puncture the common bircli, sugar-maple,
pignut-hickory, pine, apple, white beech, and probably many
other trees. Mr. A. W. Butler, the well-known Indiana or-
nithologist, writes concerning this species : '' They do great
damage in spring to fruit- and shade-trees, especially the sugar-
maple. They perforate the bark with holes arranged in bands
on spirals about the trunk of the tree or larger limbs, from
which the sap sometimes flows in streams. I haA'e counted
six of these birds on a dozen sugar-maples in front of one lot
in my own town. In winter they are especially severe on
coniferous trees. Norway pines in my yard have been girdled
until they became puny, sickly trees and were cut down.''
Mr. Butler further reports that a friend, spending a day in
the woods, " was attracted by the actions of a yellow-bellied
woodpecker which had tapped a young tree near its top. It
would sip the sap and then wait for it to collect and feed
again. This was continued for several hours. The observer
watched until five in the afternoon and left the woodpecker
just where he first saw it. It had not moved more than a
yard from the hole in the entire seven hours." The young
of this species seem to be fed with both sap and insects.

There is no doubt tliat this species is undeserving of en-
couragement, and when it appears to be injuring valuable
trees it should be shot. The fruit-grower, however, should be
sure that the birds in his orchard are not of the other species,
which are highly beneficial and deserving of protection.

THE K1^'(;FI^^IIEH.

The northern United Stales have but one representative
of the interesting family of kingfishers (Alcedinidce). This is

192 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

the well-known and widely distributed Belted Kingfisher.
"Amidst the roar of the cataract or over the foam of a
torrent, he sits perched upon an overhanging bough, glancing
his piercing eye in every direction below for his scaly prey,
which with a sudden circular plunge he sweeps from its
native element and swallows in an instant. His voice, not
unlike the twirling of a watchman's rattle, is naturally loud,
harsh, and sudden, but is softened by the sound of the brawl-
ing streams among which he generally rambles. He courses
along the windings of the brook or river at a small height
above the surface, sometimes suspending himself by the
rapid action of his wings, like certain species of hawks, ready
to pounce on the prey below ; now and then settling on an
old dead limb to reconnoitre. Mill-ponds are particularly
visited by this feathered fisher ; and the sound of his pipe is
as well known to the miller as the rattling of his own
hopper."* So wrote Alexander Wilson many years ago; the
same picture might be drawn to-day.

The kingfisher goes south late in autumn, winters in
Florida and other Southern States, and returns north early
ill spring. Many reside at the South throughout the year.
The nest is made in a horizontal burrow, five or six feet long,
excavated by the birds in river or other banks. The food
consists principally of fish, but occasionally mice, frogs, or
grasshoppers are captured. The young are fed chiefly upon
fish, but are also given various sorts of aquatic insects. The
kingfisher is a handsome bird, whose presence adds much to
the enjoyment of excursions — by boat or on shore — along
the margins of streams and lakes, although in trout-streams
it is sometimes troublesome from the point of view of the
fisherman.

THE CUCKOOS.

With a large proportion of the general public the word
" cuckoo" brings to mind a bird Avhich has the habit of placing
its eggs in the nests of other birds, the resulting young ousting

THE WOODPECKERS, KINGFISHERS, AXD CUCKOOS. 193

the righiful (){*ru[)ciiils from the nest. This picture is due to
the influence of the European cuckoo upon our Uterature, and
it by no means portrays the domestic habits of the American
species, of which we have two, the Yellow-billed and the
Black-billed, the latter having the more northerly range.

Both of these cuckoos are shy and secluded in habits, oc-
curring mostly in woods and underbrush along streams, but
often visiting orchards and groves. They now appear to be
more worthy, since their food habits have been investigated,
than they were formerly held. It is a well-known fact that
the common birds
of the orchard, par-
ticularly the robin,
expostulate loudly,
and frequently
show fight, when a
cuckoo comes on
the scene. From
this it might be
inferred that tlie
cuckoo is an enemy.
Some of the older
writers on ornithol-
ogy ascribe to it the
habit of invading
birds' nests. If such a habit exists, it is an exception, and not
a rule. Both species feed upon practically the same matter.

Fruit is seldom eaten. Of one hundred and fifty-five
stomachs of cuckoos taken between May and October, inclu-
sive, by the Biological Survey, only one contained berries.
Nearly half of the food consisted of ditl'erent kinds of cater-
pillars, mainly hairy ones.

During May and June, when tent caterpillars (Clishcaiupa
americana) are stripping orchards of everything green and
leaving on the bare branches their unsightly nests, they forni

13

YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO.
{After Biolotjical Snrveii.)

194 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

nearly half of the cuckoos' fare. These birds are unique in
having a taste for insects that other birds reject. Most birds
are ready to devour a smooth caterpillar that conies in their
Avay, but they leave the hairy varieties severely alone. The
cuckoos, however, make a specialty of devouring such unpal-
atable creatures : even stink-bugs and the poisonous spiny
larvae of the lo moth are freely taken. About six per cent,
of the food for the year consists of beetles, among which are
a few potato-beetles. No preference for any particular sort of
beetle is apparent : probably any beetles found crawling over
branches of trees Avould be eaten. Investigation lias shown
scarcely more bugs [Hemiptera) than beetles, probably for the
same reason, — both live principally on the ground, — those
that were found being largely cicadas, Avhich dwell almost
wholly in trees. Grasshoppers, katydids, and tree-crickets are
eaten to a considerable extent, orthopterous insects amount-
ing to about thirty per cent, of the years food. Flies, ants, and
other hymenopterous insects are taken in small quantities.

The nestling birds are fed chiefly Avith smooth caterpillars
and grasshoppers, their stomachs probably being unable to
endure the hairy caterpillars.

All in all, the cuckoos are of the highest economic value.
They do no harm and accomj^lish great good. If the orchardist
could colonize his orchards with them, he would escape much
loss.

That curious member of the cuckoo fainily known in the
Southwest as the Chaparral Cock, or Roadrunxer, is especially
noted for its speed on foot and its droll manner of darting
about in })ursuit of its food. Its economic interest lies
wholly in what it eats. Insects, snails, lizards, small birds,
and snakes are food for it. It is even credited as an enemy
of the rattlesnake. It is occasionally tamed and allowed to
go at will about the premises to Avage war on mice and other
household pests, though it generally becomes so mischievous
that it proves a nuisance rather than a benefit.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE OWLS.

Few birds make a stronger appeal to the iiuaginatioii than
do the owls. Tlieir nocturnal habits, tlieir grotesque appear-
ance, tlieir weird and unearthly voices, and their secluded
haunts all conibnie to render them birds of note to the human
mind. Our literature is full of allusions to the owl, such
allusions, especially in the older writings, being chiefly due to
the barn-owl, which in Europe commonly inhabits the belfries
and towers of churches and castles.

With few exceptions the owls are nocturnal birds, though
many of them can see very Avell by daylight. Their eyes are
large and of peculiar structure, the ears are remarkably de-
veloped, and the plumage is so soft and fluffy that the birds
seem nmcli larger than they really are. Many of the species
have a wide distribution, being found almost the world over
under the guise of slightly varying geographical races. The
nest is generally placed in a hole in a tree, the cupola of a
building, or some other sheltered situation. The eggs are
whitish and vary from two to eight or more, according to
the species.

The owls live wholly upon animal food, which, as a rule, is
captured alive. Small animals, especially mice and gophers,
birds, frogs, reptiles, and the larger insects form their staple
diet, though fish are sometimes caught in the water and eaten.
The indigestible portions of the food are regurgitated in the
form of small })ellets, in which the hair and bones of the
victims are all j)resent. On this account it is an easy matter
to determine precisely the food of a givi^n species of owl by
examining the pellets in the nest or beneath the roosting-site.
Large numbers of such pellets have been examined by com-

196 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

petent naturalists, both in Europe and America, and the re-
sults prove beyond question that the owls as a group are of
great value as vermin destroyers. The most complete ac-
count of the economic status of these birds as yet published
is the report of Dr. A. K. Fisher, of the United States Depart-
ment of Agriculture, to which we are indebted for much of
the information in this chapter.

There is but one North American representative of the
family Strigidce^ the common Barn-Owl of the Southern and
Western States. This handsome bird is occasionally found
as far north as New England on the Atlantic coast, while in
the Pacific region it extends northward to Oregon. In most
parts of the United States it is not an abundant species, but
in California it is said to be the commonest of the owls. It
nests in towers or hollow trees, depositing from three to six
yellowish-white eggs on the mass of regurgitated pellets which
have accumulated in its abode.

The barn-owl is a crepuscular or nocturnal bird, hiding
during the day and sallying forth in search of prey during the
evening. The record of its food is unusually complete, and
shows that on the whole it is a very useful species. Of thirty-
nine stomachs examined by Dr. Fisher, one contained a pigeon;
three, other birds ; seventeen, mice ; seventeen, other mam-
mals ; four, insects ; and seven were empty. These stomachs
were collected from Delaware to California, and contained
specimens of the following small mammals : meadow-mice,
jumping mice, harvest and house mice, white-footed mice,
shrews, cotton-rats, pocket-rats, kangaroo-rats, wood-rats, and
pouched gophers. Two hundred pellets from beneath a nest
of these birds in Washington, D. C, contained four hundred
and fifty-four skulls, of which ''two hundred and twenty-five
were meadow-mice ; two, pine-mice ; one hundred and
seventy -nine, house-mice; twenty, rats; six, jumping mice;
twenty, shreAvs ; one, a star-nosed mole ; and one, a vesper-
sparrow."'

THE OWLS. 197

Mr. J. H. Reed, who has made a special study of the barn-
owls in Pennsylvania, says that their food consists chiefly of
meadow-mice.

A German ornithologist thirty years ago examined seven
hundred and three pellets regurgitated by barn-owls. Of the
two thousand five hundred and fifty-one skulls found, one
thousand five hundred and seventy-nine belonged to shrews,
nine hundred and thirty to mice, sixteen to bats, one to a
mole, nineteen to English sparrows, and three to other
birds.

In the Southern States the barn-owl feeds very largely upon
the destructive cotton-rat, and in California the main staple
of its diet is the pouched gopher, an abundant and vexatious
rodent, and the ground-squirrel, a related pest. All accounts
agree in showing that it is a rare and exceptional trait for the
barn-owl to feed on small birds.

The Short-eared Owl is said to have the greatest geo-
graphical range of any land bird. It is found in all the
principal divisions of the globe except Australia, and is com-
mon throughout most of North America, going northward to
breed in summer and returning southward for the winter.
It prefers open to wooded country, and in many regions is
the most abundant of the owls. Its food consists principally
of field-mice, but moles, shrews, gophers, small rabbits,
crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, and rarely small birds are also
eaten. Fully ninety per cent, of the stomachs of about fifty
specimens examined in tlie Department of Agriculture con-
tained nothing but meadow-mice. In England this species is
noted as being one of the chief agencies in subduing the up-
risings of field-mice that periodically occur.

The Barred Owl is a larger bird than either of the pre-
ceding species. The typical form is found in eastern North
America, while closely related representatives inhabit the
West and Southwest. It is generally accused of being a
serious enemy to poultry-, and in southern regions where

198 BIRDS L\ THEIR RELATIONS TU MAN.

fowls roost in trees it probably does considerable damage ;
but of the one hundred and nine stomachs examined by Dr.
Fisher only three contained domestic fowls, while in one was
a pigeon, in another a ruffed grouse, and thirteen contained
smaller birds, including screech-owls, sparrows, and a red-
bellied woodpecker. Mice were found in forty-six stomachs ;
rats, red squirrels, and chipmunks in eighteen ; insects and
spiders in sixteen; crawfish in nine; frogs in four; fish in
two ; a lizard in one ; while twenty of the stomachs were
empty. Audubon records the fact that these owls are very
fond of a brown wood-frog found in Louisiana. '' Dr. C. Hart
Merriam took the remains of at least a dozen red-backed
mice from a single specimen killed near Moose River in
northern New York.''

" In summing up the facts relating to the food habits of this
owl," writes Dr. Fisher, "it appears tliat, while the general
statements of certain authors, especially the earlier ones,
charge the bird with the destruction of poultry, game, and
small birds, such destructive habits are comparatively un-
common. That it does occasionally make inroads upon the
poultry-yard and does more or less damage among game-
birds is true ; but the systematic collection and examination
of a large number of stomachs show the exceptional char-
acter of such acts and reveal the fact that a large part of its
food consists of mammals. And it is to be noted that among
the list are some of the most destructive rodents that the
farmer has to contend with. If a fair balance be struck,
therefore, it must be considered that on the whole this owl is
beneficial, and hence should occupy a place on the list of
birds to be protected."

Tlie barred owl makes its nest in hollow trees or among
the upper branches. It often uses the deserted nest of a
crow or hawk for the purpose, remodelling it slightly to suit
the new occupant. The complement of whitish eggs is usually
two or three, but four or five are sometimes found. These

l'hotu(jruj,li,,t J'rr>n, lin hij hr. II. W. Shu/. I, II.

YOUNG 15AKKi:i> OWLS.

THE OWLS.

199

owls prefer heavy woodlands or wooded swamps — such as
the cypress swamps of our South Atlantic regions — where
they may be found much oftener than in more open regions.
The ScREECH-OwL is one of the best-known and most
abundant of the grou}) : it inliabits all parts of the United
States, and is found throughout southern Canada. It is one
of the most beneficial birds of prey and deserves the encour-
agement and protection of farmers everywhere^ Its food is
varied, consisting of
insects, crawfish,
frogs, fish, lizards,
small birds, and es-
pecially mice, of
which ' it destroys
enormous numbers.
In summer insects
form a large part of
its fare : an owl in
captivity has shown
a fondness for cater-
pillars, and the
stomachs of two
examined in New
Jersey were full of
full-grown nymphs
of cicadas or harvest-
flies. In warm win-
ter weather it stores
up in its hiding-place mice, moles, and similar creatures to
serve as food during more inclement periods. The only bad
habit attributed to it is that of occasionally catching small
birds, but since the introduction of the English sj)aiTow this
trait is favorable to the owl's usefulness, since it is known to
prey to a considerable extent upon these unwelcome immi-
grants, in the nest of a screech-owl at Columbus, Ohio, were

SCREECH-OWI^.
{After liioloijical Siirvei/.)

200

BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO xMAN.

found the bodies of two English sparrows and one field-
mouse.

The Long-eared Owl is a common and widely distributed
species in North America. In some parts of the Southwest
it is considered the most abundant of the owls ; and the tes-
timony of all competent observers points to the fact that it is
one of the most beneficial members of its family. That its
food consists very largely of mice is shown by the fact that
out of one hundred and seventy-six skulls taken by Dr.

Fisher from beneath
the roosting-site of one
of these owls, one hun-
dred and thirty-seven
were of mice of various
species, while twenty-
six were of shrews,
the remaining thirteen
consisting of eleven
sparrows, one warbler,
and one bluebird. The
same observer found
that out of one hun-
dred and seven stom-
achs from many parts
of the country eighty-
four contained mice ;
iive, other small mam-
mals ; sixteen, small
birds, one being a
quail ; while one contained insects and fifteen were empty.
Dr. B. H. AVarren found that twenty-two out of twenty-three
Pennsylvania long-eared owls had eaten only mice, while the
twenty-third one had taken beetles and a small bird. The
remains of eight field-mice were taken from the stomach of
one specimen by Mr. Townend Glover; wliilc in Oregon

AMERICAN LONG-EARED OWL.
{After Biological Sxrvei/.)

THE OWLS. 201

Captain C. E. Bendire found the food to consist principally of
mice and the smaller rodents.

The long-eared owl commonly breeds in trees, using the
deserted nest of a hawk or crow for the purpose. From
three to six eggs are deposited. It is a nocturnal bird, hiding
in groves of evergreens and other sheltered retreats during
the day.

There are a number of very small owls in the United
States. In the South and Southwest are found two species
of pygmy owls, usually less than seven inches long; while
in Arizona occurs the little Elf Owl, the smallest species of
its family in North America. These owls feed upon insects,
the smaller mice, and occasionally small birds.

In the Eastern and Northern States the smallest owl is the
Acadian or Saw-Whet Owl, a bird usually about eight inches
long, which is occasionally found from Canada as far south as
North Carolina. Its nest is built in hollow trees, generally in
holes made by flickers, during early spring. Its food consists
chiefly of mice and shrews, Avith the addition of insects in
summer, and an occasional sparrow or other small bird. The
young are fed chiefly upon mice of various kinds and small
birds.

The Great Horned Owl is found over almost the whole
of North America. In strength and ferocity it lias no equal
among our rapacious birds. Of all the owls which we have,
it is the only one distinctly harmful. During the day it keeps
very closely hidden, more to escape i)ersecution from crows
and other birds that delight to toriiient it than because the
light of day is painful to it. As a matter of fact, there is
scarcely a keener-visioned creature in the A\oods than this
owl, in spite of the general impression that it cannot see well
when the sun shines.

Its food consists mainly of mammals and birds, though it
sometimes catches insects. A sjxM'imen examincMl by us had
eaten a ('atrr|>illar (Kachs Inijxrid/is) in afldition to a cliickcn.

202 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

Nocturnal mammals are frequent victims. Four out of every
five of these owls that are brought in have been scented by a
skunk. Two nests that have come under the writers' obser-
vation both had the remains of skunks upon them beside the
young. Rabbits are caught in large numbers. Musk-rats,
rats, mice, and shrews are on the regular bill of fare. Many
birds are snatched from their roosts and borne away by this

HEAD OF GREAT HORNED OWL.

literally '' silent messenger." The ruffed grouse is often taken.
Farmers who carelessly allow their turkeys, chickens, or
guinea-fowls to roost on fences and trees are frequently made
to repent. The writers have known an owl to dispose of two
guiiica-liciis ill one night, leaving oidy a fcnv bones and a lot
of fcallici's on llic snow to Idl llic talc in liis account of

THK OWLS. l>(i;)

this uwl, Dr. C. Hart JMeiTkun ' states tiiat he has known one
to decapitate three turkeys and several hens in a single night,
leaving the bodies fit for the table.

It oecasionally caiclies flsli. Of one hundred and twenty-
seven stoniaclis of the great horned owl tliat were examined
at the Department of Agriculture, thirty-one contained
poultry or game-birds ; eight, other birds ; thirteen, mice ;
sixty-five, other mammals ; one, a scorpion ; one, fish ; ten,
insects ; and seventeen were empty.

In the arctic regions of North America the beautiful Sxowy
Owl is a rather conmion species. It is one of the largest
members of its family, often being more than two feet long.
In winter it is occasionally found in the Northern States,
especially in New England, but during summer it remains in
the far North.

The summer food of this bird consists very largely of the
small rodents known as lemmings, which abound in most
arctic regions. These and related rodents seem to be the fa-
vorite food except in winter, when other animals, including
the ptarmigan and arctic hare, are eaten. During its winter
visits to southern Canada and the Northern United States, it
lives upon rabbits, rats, mice, and A^arious birds. It is expert
in catching fish, which form a favorite article of food.

The snowy owl is so rare in our country that it has little
economic importance, but it probably deserves to be letl un-
molested when it visits us.

The Burrowing Owl is found in some parts of Florida, but
is best known on the Great Plains, where it is abundant,
living in prairie-dog towns and the burrows of ground-
squirrels. Its food is varied, but consists chiefly of rodents,
young rabbits and prairie-dogs, chipnumks, goph<'rs, mice,
and shrews. It also feeds on grasshoppers, crickets, b(M^tl(*s,
scorpions, and centipedes. In localities where prairie-dogs

^ Birds of Connecticut, 1877, p. 97.

l>04

mnm ix their relatioxs T(j man.

are plentiful, the young' ones form a large share of the food
of this species.

The old story of how these owls live in harmony with
prairie-dogs and rattlesnakes, all in the same burrows, is a

^

'M

%

i,,

_^^^Ik&|^^H^^^^i2^ iHfll

v^H

k^

HIHUOWING OWL.
(AftiT Biulo<jical Snrvey.)

myth. The owl and the snake are both parasites, the dog,
an unwillinii: host, being- forced to yield its home and often its
life to its unwelcome guests.

CHAPTER XVIII.
THE HAWKS, EAGLES, KITES, AND VULTURES.

THE HAWKS.

The Sparrow-Hawk is one of the most abundant species
of its family in many parts of North America. It is a small
and handsome hawk, and breeds throughout the United
States, as well as in Mexico on tlie soutli and in Canada on
the north. It goes south in autumn, occasionally passing the
winter as far north as southern New York. Its nest is built
in holes in trees, those made by the larger woodpeckers often
being appropriated for the purpose, and five eggs are usually
deposited. It is a valuable bird and deserves protection and
encouragement. Dr. A. K. Fisher, who made a special study
of its economic relations, writes that it '-is almost exclusively
insectivorous, except when insect food is difficult to obtain.
In localities where grasshoppers and crickets" are abundant,
these hawks congregate, often in moderate-sized flocks, and
gorge themselves continuously. Rarely do they touch anj^
other form of food until, either by the advancing season or
other natural causes, the grasshopper crop is so lessened that
their hunger cannot be appeased without undue exertion ;
then other kinds of insects and other forms of life contribute
to their fare, and beetles, spiders, mice, shrews, small snakes,
lizards, or even birds may be required to bring up the balance.''
In the sparse pine woods of the sandy barrens of southern
Florida we have found the sparrow-hawk one of the com-
monest of winter birds, and nmcli more abundant than any
other hawk. One of its favorite methods of obtaining food
there is to perch in trees on the outskirts of the forest fires
that frequently occur, and catch the grasshoppers, lizards, and
other animals driven from cover by tlie flames. At such

205

206 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIOxNS TO MAN.

times lizards enter largely into the bird's diet. Professor
King reports that of seven sparrow-hawks which he examined
in AViseonsin " two had eaten two mice ; four, twenty-five
grasshoppers ; three, twenty-five crickets ; one, six beetles ;
one, five moths ; and one, two hairy caterpillars. One was
seen to take a young robin from the nest and one to capture
another bird not identified." Ten Nebraska specimens ex-
amined by Professor Aughey had eaten large numbers of
insects, comparatively few being locusts ; three of them had
also eaten mice, three others gophers, one a rabbit, one a
quail, one an unidentified bird, and one some frogs. All the
evidence goes to show that the si)arrow-hawk preys only to
a limited extent upon our native insectivorous birds.

The Broad-winged Hawk is comparatively a common species
throughout eastern North America, spending the winter south
of the fortieth degree of latitude, but conuiig north for the
summer. It breeds in trees, building a bulky nest similar to
that of oilier common hawks; and feeds on mice, frogs, small
snakes, toads, crayfish, chipmunks and red squirrels, earth-
worms, and many insects, — making a specialty among the
latter of the large caterpillars of the sphinx- and emperor-
moths, such as the cecropia-caterpillar so often destructive to
shade-trees. This is one of the few birds that venture to
attack these formidable-looking creatures. This hawk very
seldom attacks poultry or small birds.

Several species of the birds of prey are of great benefit to
man as insect destroyers. In the Western States none of
them surpasses in this respect the common Swainson's Hawk,
a large bird which during the late summer and early autumn
months feeds to so great an extent on grasshoppers and their
allies that it might well l)e called a grasshopper hawk. The
evidence on this point is abundant and conclusive, as is also
that in regard to the work this bird does in destroying ground-
squirrels {Sjjenno]jhik\^) and related pests. Flocks of several
hundreds of these hawks have repeatedly been seen foraging

SI- M:K()\\-1I AW KS.

{.l/lii- l;iul,„ii,;(l Siirrii/.)

THE HAWKS. EAGLES, KITES. AM) VII/niiES. i>()7

for ^Tassliopjx^'rs, and from cxaniiiialioiis of many slomaclis
it is safe to say that each bird dnrin^- Ihe grasslioj)i)(_T season
destroys at least two Inmdred of tlie i)ests each day. They
very rarely attack poultry or birds of any kind, and unques-
tionably deserve the protection of the liusbandman.

Of the various birds to which the name hen-liawk is occa-
sionally applied it is least deserved by the Rough-legged Hawk.
All the evidence obtainable goes to show that this species is
not in any sense a hen-hawk, but that instead it is a mouse-
hawk, feeding almost exclusively upon meadow-mice. Forty
out of forty-nine stomachs examined at the United States
Department of Agriculture contained mice, while five of them
contained such small mammals as shrews, gophers, rabbits,
and weasels, one contained nisects and a lizard, and four
were empty. No poultry or birds of any kind were found.
Similar testimony from many other sources has been pub-
lished ; in Massachusetts hundreds of these birds were killed
along the Connecticut River, and all the stomachs examined
contained only meadow-mice ; in Oregon, Utah, and Nebraska
fielcl-mice are reported as the staple chet, while cotton-tail
rabbits, gophers, and other annuals are also included in the
bill of fare.

The rough-legged liawk is a northern bird in sunnner, as
a rule visiting the United States only in winter. It is said
generally to keep south of the snow line in order to cai)ture
its favorite prey more easily. It hunts in the twilight, watching
for victims from some low perch or slowly flying over meadows
and marshes it breeds in the far North.

The typical form of the Red-shouldered Hawk is common
in the Eastern States and closely related rac(>s are found in
the South and West, though the bird is absent from Ihe
Great Plains re-ion. 1( breeds throughout its range, tlie nest
being built in early s{)ring in the upi)er branches of some tall
tree, and a brood of from three to live young being reared.
This is a heavy, slow-flying hawk, an adept at catching mice

208 BIRDS IX THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

and frogs, but paying Utile attention to poultry or small birds.
It takes a great variety of food : two hundred and twenty
specimens, taken during every month of the year in thirteen
widely separated States, Territories, and Provinces, were ex-
amined by Dr. Fisher. Two of these contained chickens,
with a fair probability that they had not been killed by the
hawk ; one, a quail ; twelve, other birds, including a flicker,
meadow-lark, screech-owl, Carolina dove, snow-bird, sora rail,
robin, crow, and various sparrows ; one hundred and two,
mice, including the house, pine, field, white-footed, red-backed,
and meadow varieties, chiefly the latter; forty had eaten other
mannnals, among which were the musk-rat, chipmunk, skunk,
rabbit, opossum, and various shrews ; twenty contained rep-
tiles, including ribbon, water, striped, garter, and green snakes,
as well as lizards ; thirty-nine liad eati^n batrachians, princi-
pally frogs, though toads, tree-frogs, and salamanders were also
present ; ninety-two contained insects, the most important ele-
ment being grasshoppers and crickets, although large caterpil-
lars, beetles, white grubs, katydids, cicadas, and cockroaches
were also present ; sixteen of the hawks had eaten spiders ;
seven, crawfish; one, earthworms; two, offal; three, fish;
Avhile fourteen stomachs contained nothing. Such a showing
as this ought to convince any one of the general beneficence of
a bird Avhose food consists of sixty-five per cent, of mice and
not more than one per cent, of poultry.

The typical form of the Red-tailed Hawk is found in eastern
North America, ranging Avest as far as the Great Plains, while
five closely allied geographical races occupy the western
portion of the continent from Central America northward.
It is one of our larger hawks, usually measuring nearly or
quite two feet in length and having a wing expanse of four or
five feet. It is a migratory species, often travelling in large
flocks and spending the winter in the Central and Southern
States. In many regions it is common and is often persecuted
as a hen-hawk.

THE HAWKS, KACIJIS, KI'IKS. A.\l> V^TLTURE^

2()!l

Our knowledge ul" llie feeding: luibils of lliis spccu'S is
unusually complete. Besides the isolated observations of a
large number of competent observers, we have tlie results of
the special studies of Dr. B. H. Warren, in wliich the con-
tents of one hundred and seventy-three stomachs were ex-
amined, and Dr. A. K. Fisher, who studied five hundred and
sixty-two stomachs from twenty-six widely separated States,
Territories, and l^rov-
inces, ranging from
Ontario to Florida and
Massachusetts to Califor-
nia. Dr. Warren found
mice in one hundred and
thirty-one of the one
hundred and seventy-
three stomachs he ex-
amined, while six of
them contained rabbits ;
three, red squirrels ;
two, skunks ; and eigh-
teen, small birds. Poul-
try was found in four
specimens, insects in
three, snakes in three,
and carrion in four.
Thus, less than ten per
cent, of the birds had
eaten poultry. Dr.

Fishers results as to ponltry were similar ; fifty-four out of
the five hnndred and sixty-two specimens contained i)onltry
or game-birds. Various other birds, as the robin, mourning-
dove, (TOW, shore-lark, king-rail, meadow-lark, oriole, blue-
bird, grackle, screech-owl, and several species of sparrows,
were found in iifty-one stomachs. Mice — including the house,
meadow, pine, white-fooled, harvest, and (/oo})er*s mice — had

14

RED-TAILEH HAWKS.
{After Biolvyicul Hdn-eii.)

210 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

been eatcii by two hundred and seventy-t%dit of the birds ;
while other small mammals — as the gray, red, and rock squir-
rels, the gray, striped, and pouched gophers, chipmunks of
various species, the musk, cotton, kangaroo, and common rats,
three kinds of rabbits, as well as shrews and skunks — were
found in one hundred and thirty-one stomachs. Frogs, toads,
lizards, and snakes had been eaten by thirty-seven of the
hawks ; insects, chiefly grasshoppers, by forty-seven ; craw-
fish by eight ; centipedes by one ; and otfal by thirteen : while
eighty-nine of the stomachs were empty.

That this hawk on the whole does considerably more good
than harm there is no doubt, but the balance in its favor is
not so great that it is worth while to extend to it too much
protection in thickly settled conniiunilies.

There are three species of hawks wliose bill of fare consists
principally of birds and poultry. They are the sharp-shinned
hawk, Cooper's hawk, and the American goshawk. To these
three birds is largely due the oblocjuy which rests upon the
family as a whole. They are all trindy built birds, strong of
wing and foot, and inveterate enemies of other birds. Their
only redeeming features are that they occasionally capture a
rabbit, a mouse, or an English sparrow.

The SiiARP-smxxED Hawk is the smallest of the three,
measuring from ten to fourteen inches in length. It is com-
mon and widely distributed, breeding throughout the United
States and British Provinces, and migrating with the changing
seasons. It passes the winter as far north as the fortieth
parallel. More than any other hawk this species seems to
feea on birds. Dr. Fisher examined one hundred and seven
stomachs which contained food ; in six of them were the
remahis of poultry or game-birds and in ninety-nine of them
were the remains of other birds ; all but two had eaten birds
of some kind. Mice had been eaten by six of them and
insects by five. The variety of birds taken was surprising;
besides the young or half-grown tiiickens there were evidences

THE HAWKS, EAGLES. KITES, AM) \ I LTl IIKS.

•211

of the presence of the quail, robin, oriole, swilt, bluebird,
downy woodpecker, flicker, cow-bird, mocking-bird, cat-bird,
oven-bird, herniit-thrnsh, mourning-dove, chickadee, snow-
birds, and various wrens, warblers, buntings, and s})arrows,
including the English variety of tlie latter. No bird witli such
a record deserves protection.

Cooper's Hawk may be considered a larger type of I he
sharp-shinned species. It measures from fourteen to tweiily
inches in length, is found
throughout North iVmer-
ica as far north as the
British Provinces, mi-
grates south to spend the
winter, and is an invet-
erate enemy to poultry,
game and other birds.
Of ninety-four food-
containing stomachs ex-
amined by Dr. Fislier
poultry or game-birds
were found in thirty- four
and other birds in fifty-
two stomachs. Small
mammals, including two
mice, one cotton-rat,
three chipmunks, one
red squirrel, one gray
squirrel, one ground-
squirrel, and one rabbit,
had been eaten by eleven of the hawks. Two others had taken
insects, one a frog, and three had eaten lizards. The game-
birds destroyed included pigeons, quail, and niO'ed grouse, and
on the list of other birds one finds the cliewink, purple grackle,
meadow-lark, flicker, inithalch, hermil-thrnsli. dove, robin,
snow-bird, nioiiniiiig-dovc, and \ari(nis warblei's and sparrows.

COOPER'S HAWK.

(Afh-r r.iohxjiral Snrreii.)

212 BIRDS L\ THEIR RELATIONS TO MAX.

This species is, as Dr. Fisher remarks, " pre-eminently a
chicken-hawk. Its devastations in this direction are much
greater than lliose of all the other hawks and owls together,
with the possible exception of the sharp-shinned hawk, which
attacks much smaller chickens." This bird is also learning
to add the English sparrow to its bill of fare.

The Goshawk is not a common species in the United States,
although in winter it is occasionally found. It is a northern
bird, occurring frequently in the British Provinces, where it
breeds. It feeds largely on good-sized birds, such as chickens,
ruffed grouse, cjuail, and mourning-doves, as well as on rab-
bits, squirrels, mice, and sometimes the larger insects. It can
scarcely be ranked as a beneficial bird in cultivated regions.

It is fortunate that the Duck-Hawk is a rare species, because
it is a savage bird, extremely destructive to other birds of
many kinds. It is a powerful hawk, of good size, our form
being simply a geographical race of tlie famous peregrine
falcon of Europe. As its common name implies, it feeds
largely on water-fowl, and is seldom found far away from the
coast or the neighborhood of large bodies of water. When a
pair breed in tlie vicinity of a i)oultry yard, — a rare event, —
the chickens are liable to suffer severely.

Among its other feathered victims one linds the meadow-
lark, robin, cat-bird, mourning-dove, gray-cheeked thrush, and
various warblers and sparrows. In Florida it feeds largely
upjn the coot, enormous numbers of which still inhabit the
inland lakes. At times it is very destructive to terns along
the Atlantic coast.

The beautiful Osprey, or Fish-Hawk, is of chief interest on
account of its relations to the bald eagle, which so persistently
robs the osprey of its prey in nud-air. The fish-hawk is
chiefly a bird of the shore-line, Avliere it finds its food
abundant.

The Marsh Hawk, sometimes also called the Marsh Har-
liiKii. inhabits almost the Nvliole of Xoi'lli Ainei-icji. bi'eediii'^

THE HAWKS. EAGLES, KITES, AND Vri/n^RES. 218

from Cuba to Alaska, It is most abundant in the jjrairie
States. The nest is placed upon the ground in marshy situ-
ations, wliere grass and sedges help conceal it. From four to
six young are reared in each brood. This i.s one of the most
useful of the hawks and deserves man's protection. '* Its
food/' writes Dr. Fisher, " consists largely of small rodents,
such as meadow-mice, half-grown squirrels, rabbits, and
ground-squirrels. In fact, so extensively does it feed upon
the last-named animals, that the writer rarely has examined
a stomach from the West which did not contain their remains.
In addition to the above, it preys upon lizards, frogs, snakes,
insects, and birds ; of the latter, the smaller ground-dwelling
species are usually taken. When hard pressed it is said to
feed on otial and carrion ; and in spring and fall when water-
fowl are abundant it occasionally preys upon the dead and
wounded birds left by gunners.'' The stomach of a speci-
men shot at Hanover, New Hampshire, in 1892, Vshen grass-
hoppers were very abundant, which we examined, was full
of these insects, showing that the bird was doing what it
could to check the outbreak. In the Southern rice-fields
these birds do good service in scaring away the flocks of bob-
olinks. The marsh hawk is the farmer's friend, and its rare
visits to the poultry-yard may well be excused on account of
the enormous number of vermin it destroys.

THE EAGLES.

Bald Eagles are usually seen about the coast and larger
inland waters, where they are able to find a supply of such
food as best suits their taste.

In the North they live almost exclusively upon fish, show-
ing little or no regard for quality or condition, generally de-
vouring any sort of fish that may come in their way, and are
seemingly as well satisfied with a half-decayed subject washed
up by the waves as with one freshly killed. In the Southern
States, where water-fowl congregate in vast numbers during

214 BIRDS IX THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

the winter months, tlieir food relations are somewhat modified,
as is indicated l)y the fohowing extract, written by Dr. AMIliam
L. Ralph and published in Bendire s " Life Histories of North
American Birds." Speaking of a community of bald eagles
in the vicinity of Merritt Island, he says : " These eagles seem
to breed earlier than those in other parts of Florida, due no
doubt to the immense number of vrater-fowl, especially coots
[Fulica americana?)^ that frequent this vicinity during the
winter, and which form the principal part of their food,
tliough they will sometimes condescend to eat fish, like their
more northern brothers and sisters. I have often seen them
catch wounded birds, and I visited one nest that contained in
addition to two well-grown young birds the remains of thir-
teen coots and one catfish."

Tlie Golden Ea(;le inhabits mountainous districts through-
out the country, though it is more common West than in the
East, where it is rare, owing to the denser population.

It preys on grouse, ducks, hares, ground-squirrels, and
other creatures of similar size, and occasionally troubles
sheep-owners by carrying off young lambs. Sometimes it
eats carrion, but probably only when pressed by hunger.

The thrilUng stories told of the fierceness of this eagle are
not credited by those who have invaded its nests ; yet its
power is unquestioned. An instance is recorded in which
one throttled and killed a black-tailed deer that had been
(Tip])led by a hunter.

Jf this were an abundant species, it would plainly be a
harmful one; but, owing to ils scarcity, its depredations are
generally insignificant.

THE KITES.

The kites are a branch of the hawk family especially noted
for the ease and elegance of their flight. The commonest
and most widely diffused species is the Swallow-tailed Kite,
which has a geographical range from Pennsylvania to Minne-
sota and southward. Six stomachs of this kite opened by

THE HAWKS, EAGLES, KITES, AND VULTURES. 215

Dr. A. K. Fisher showed sixty locusts and live other insects in
one, sixty-nine locusts and three other insects in another, and
seventy-five locusts in a third. Lizards were found in two
and a tree-frog in one. All contained insects — wasps, beetles,
and grasshoppers being among tliem. Aughey reports of
three stomachs that two of them contained sixty and sixty-
nine locusts respectively, while the third contained seventy-
five other insects.

All the evidence tends to prove the swallow-tailed kite to
be harmless at least and generally beneficial. Two other
species, the white-tailed and Mississippi kites, have practically
tlie same bill of fare, which besides the animals above noted
is sometimes varied with snakes and mice.

THE BUZZARDS.

No birds are more familiarly known throughout the
Southern States than the Turkey-Buzzard and the Black
Vulture or Carrion Crow. These birds may be seen at all
hours of the day sailing through the air in majestic circles or
lazily resting on stumps or trees after a feast of their filthy
food. They perform an important service as scavengers,
disposing of all sorts of animal matter tliat would pollute the
air. On this account, they are seldom molested by man and
in some States are protected by law. They devour both
fresh and putrid meat, and in many localities save the butchers
the trouble of disposing of the refuse of the abattoir. They
are known sometimes to capture live snakes and to attack
helpless animals of many kinds. Along the sea-shore they
feed upon dead fish cast up by the waves, and Audubon re-
ports having observed them in the Florida Keys sucking the
eggs and devouring the young of herons and cormorants. As
another offset to the good tliese birds do, mention should be
made of tlir fact that Mr. E. B. Williamson has suggested
that they arc '• doubtless an important factor in IIk- sj)read of
some diseases, — liog cjiolera, for example.''

216

BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

It was formerly supposed that these birds discovered their
food through the sense of smell, but a number of experiments
by Audubon seem to prove conclusively that they depend
upon sight rather than smell. In one of these experiments
"a dead hare, a pheasant, and a kestrel, together with a
wheelbarrow full of offal from the slaughter-pens, were de-
posited on the ground at the foot of my garden. A frame
was raised above it at a distance of twelve inches from the

TniKEY-nrz/.
{After lirch

ARDS.

earth ; this was covered with brushwood, allowing the air to
pass freely beneath it so as to convey the efiluvium far and
wide." Although left for nearly a month, with hundreds of
vultures passhig over it daily, none of them discovered its
presence. Anotli(>r time a perfectly dry stuffed deerskin was
placed in a field, and inunediately attracted the vultures,
which were of course unable to get any food. To test still
further whcflici' llic bii-ds wciv allractrd by sight alone, ''a

THE HAWKS, EAGLES, KITES, AND VULTURES.

217

coarse painting on canvas was made, representing a sheep
skinned and cut open. Tliis proved very amusing. No
sooner was the picture placed on the ground than the vul-
tures observed it, alighted near, walked over it, and some of
them commenced tugging at the painting. They seemed
much disappointed and surprised, and after having satisfied
their curiosity, flew away. This experiment was repeated
more than litty times, with the same result." In other cases
pieces of meat were placed beneatli tables and other pieces

li#

THE BLACK ^^TLTURE.
( Afler lirehm. )

on top. Tiie vultures would eat those in sight, but made no
attempt to reach those just beneath their noses.

The way in which vultures from far and wide rapidly con-
centrate on a dead animal is explained by Audubon by the
fact that, when the first discoverer pounces down upon its
prey, the aclioii is seen and uiidershxxl ])y others in the
vicinity; these lly immediah'ly to the spot. As they start
tliey are seen by others, which in turn signal to more dis-
tant birds, so that in a verv short time the vultures for miles

218 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

around are aware that something in the shape of food has
been found.

The turkey-buzzard is a summer and winter resident
throughout the United States as far north as tlie latitude of
40 degrees, and occurs in sunniier still farther north. F'or
instance, it is abundant throughout the year in southern
Illinois, and is sometimes seen in summer in northern Illinois.
It is a more graceful bird than the carrion crow. In tlie
breeding season each female lays two eggs on the ground
or in a hollow tree or stump.

The black vulture is darker colored than the turkey-
buzzard and the feathers extend farther up on the back of
the neck. Its nesting habits are similar to those of the other
species. It is not commonly found so far north as the
turkey-buzzard, although like that bird it is abundant in
Central and South America.

These birds both belong to the family Cathartidce, which is
composed of the American vultures. The only other member
of the family occurring in the United States is the Californian
condor, a large bird found on the Pacific coast with habits
similar to those of the turkey-buzzard.

CHAPTER XIX.
THE PIGEONS, GROUSE, AND SHORE-BIRDS.

THE PKJEONS.

Most educated Americans are familiar with accounts of the
enormous numbers of Passenger Pigeons which formerly in-
habited many of our States. Some of the stories seem almost
incredible, but there can be no doubt that they are substantially
true. Audubon's graphic description is well wortli quoting
in this connection.

"Let us now inspect the places of nightly rendezvous.
One of these curious roosting places on the bank of the
Green River in Kentucky I repeatedly visited. It was, as is
always the case, in a portion of the forest where the trees are
of great magnitude and where there was little underwood.
I rode through it upward of forty miles, and, crossing it in
different parts, found its average breadth to be rather more
than three miles. My first view of it was about a fortnight
subsequent to the period when they had made a choice of it,
and I arrived there two hours before sunset. Few pigeons
were to be seen, but a great number of persons, Avith horses
and wagons, guns and ammunition, liad already established
encampments on the borders. Two farmers from the vicinity
of Russelsville, distant more than a hundred miles, had driven
upward of three hundred hogs to be fattened on the pigeons
which were to be slaughtered. Here and there the people em-
ployed in plucking and salting what had already been procured
were seen sitting in the midst of large piles of these birds.
The dung lay several inches deep, covering the whole extent of
the roosting i)lace like a bed of snow. Many trees I observed
were broken off at no great distance from the ground ; and
the branches of many of the largest and tallest had given

219

220 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

way, as if the forest had been swept by a tornado. Every-
thing proved to me that the number of birds resorting to this
part of the forest must be immense beyond conception. As
the period of their arrival approached, their foes anxiously
prepared to receive them. Some were provided with iron
pots containing sulphur, others with torches of pine knots,
many with poles, and the rest with guns. The sun was lost
to our view% yet not a dozen had arrived. Everything was
ready and all eyes were gazing on the clear sky which ap-
peared in glimpses through the tall trees. Suddenly there
burst forth a general cry of ' Here they come.' The noise wiiich
they made, though yet distant, reminded me of a hard gale
at sea passing through the rigging of a close-reefed vessel.
As the birds arrived and passed over me, I felt a current of
air that surprised me. Thousands were soon knocked down
by the pole men. The birds continued to pour in. The fires
were lighted, and a magnificent as w^ell as wonderful and
almost terrifying sight presented itself. The pigeons arrived
by thousands, alighted everywhere, one above another, until
solid masses as large as hogsheads were formed on the
branches all around. Here and there the perches gave way
under the weight with a crash, and falling to the ground
destroyed hundreds of the birds beneath, forcing down the
dense groups with which every stick Avas loaded. It was a
scene of uproar and confusion. I found it quite useless to speak
or even to shout to those persons who were nearest to me.
Even the reports of the guns were seldom heard, and I was
made aware of the firing only by seeing the shooters reloading.
" No one dared to venture within the line of devastation.
The hogs had been penned up in due time, the picking up of
the dead and wounded being for the next morning's employ-
ment. The pigeons were constantly coming, and it was past
midnight before I perceived a decrease in the number of those
that arrived. The uproar continued the whole night ; and,
as I was anxious to know to what distance the sound reached,

THE PKiEUXS, GROUSE, AND SHORE-BIRDS.

221

1 sent off a man accustomed to perambulate the forest, who,
returning two hours afterwards, informed me he had heard
it distinctly when three miles distant from the spot. To-
wards the approach of day the noise in some measure sub-
sided. Long before objects were distinguishable, the pigeons
began to move off in a direction quite different from that in
wliich they arrived the evening before, and by sunrise all that
were able to fly had disappeared. The bowlings of the
wolves now reached our ears, and the foxes, lynxes, cougars,

---LUL.

WW ^ .- /^w

AS .^1%

THE MOURNING-DOVE.
{Aflir BUihujicul SinTey.)

bears, raccoons, opossums, and polecats were seen sneaking
olf, whilst eagles and hawks of different s])eci':s, accompanied
by a crowd of vultures, came to supplant llieiii and to enjoy
their share of the s})oil.

•• it was then that the authors of all (his devastation began
their entry amongst the dead, tlie dying, and the mangled.
Tlie ])igeons were ])icke(l \i[) and ])ile(l in hea])S until each
had as many as he could possibly dispose of, when the hogs
were let loose to feed u})()n the remainder."'

222 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

The food of the passenger pigeon is almost wholly of a
vegetable nature, although occasionally a few insects are
eaten. Its usual diet consists of acorns and other nuts, to-
gether Avith seeds and grains. Even the young are fed upon
beechnuts. In the United States the passenger pigeon is now
practically an extinct bird, the ruthless persecution it has en-
dured having led to this result.

The Mourning or Carolina Dove is a beautiful bird whose
plumage and habits entitle it to high consideration. It is
vegetivorous, but seems to feed more freely on the seeds of
Aveeds than on cultiA^ated grains. Professor King took four
thousand and sixteen seeds of pigeon-grass (Setaria) from
the stomach of a single bird, Avhile from that of another
seA^en thousand five hundred seeds of oxalis have been taken.
The young are fed Avith the regurgitated vegetable food of the
adult.

The Band-tailed I'igeon i^ColuniJxi /(txc'uitd), Avliich ranges
AvestAvard froju the Rocky Mountains and southAvard through
Mexico, is about the only pigeon that Ave noAv have Avorthy
to be called game. It is sought by sportsmen both for its
flesh and for its gamy (pialities. Its food consists of grain,
berries and other soft fruits, and buds of certain trees, notably
(^f balsam-})oplar.

THE PARTRIDGE AND GROUSE.

The Bob-White, or Quail, is found from Minnesota to
Texas and eastAvard. It is favorably regarded by epicures
and gunners and deserves the good Avill of those interested in
agriculture, it lives in fields and i)astures and during the
summer feeds largely on insects. Colorado i)otato-beetles are
frequently eaten : one hundred and one of these pests have
been taken from the stomach of one bird. Army-worms are
also devoured. When insects are not plentiful, vegetable
matter, Avhich is ahvays taken in greater or less quantities,
becomes the staple form of diet. This includes grains, seeds,

THE liilROXS. (iliOrsK. AM) SIlOHK-BIKDS

223

nuts, berries, and jj^reeii leaves. 'J'wciity

■one

|nail taken

in Nebraska between May and Oetober had all eaten seeds
and from thirty-one to forty-seven insects each. Of two
taken in New Hampshire in the winter when the ground was
covered with snow, and examined by us, one had eaten seven
oats, ten barberries, one poison-ivy seed, and some bits of
green leaf that were not determined ; the other had eaten
twenty-five oats, twelve barberries, seven smaU seeds, and

^

-' .^ «*

n

#■ -■'. ■ "

^m^^Mi m^*,-

•Vx^'

.,.7 ^ w^yw^w

THE BOK-WHITE OR QlAIL.

nine leaves of white clover. The oats had evidently been
taken from liorse droppings in the road near by. According
to the studies of the DepartnuMit of Agriculture, "seeds of
rib-grass, tickfoil, and berries of nightshade are sometimes
eaten, and pigeon-grass and smartweed are freijuently con-
sumed in large quantities. The amount of grain food in the
stomachs thus far examined is surprisingly small, while the
l)roportion of weed seed is astonishingly large, in some cases

224

BIRDS L\ THEIR RELATlOXS TU MAX.

crops and gizzards being literally gorged with Imndreds of
seeds of ragweed."^

The Ruffed Grouse as a game-bird ranks higher in popular
esteem in the East than any other bird. The flesh is white
and delicious, and its wariness and rapid flight exact the best
efforts of even the most experienced sportsman. Its food habits
are of secondary importance, but nevertheless interesting,
The following, from the pen of Dr. A. K. Fisher, of the Depart-
ment of Agriculture, Washington, bears directly on this point.

THE la FFEI

"The ruffed grouse is very fond of grasshoppers and
crickets as an article of diet, and when these insects are
abundant it is rare to find a stomach or crop that does not
contain their remains. One specimen, shot late in October,
had the crop and stomach distended with the larva? of Edema
albifrons, a caterpillar which feeds extensively on the leaves
of the maple. It is called the red-humped oak-caterpillar.

^ Judd, Yearbook, Dept. Ag., 1898, p. 231.

TiiK Ki:i)-iir.Mi'i:i) oak-catkki'illah.

a, larva ; l>, pupa ; '■, iiintli, \viiip;s .'xpanilcd ; ,1, ninth at n-r-t.

15

226 BIRDS IX THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

Beechnuts, chestnuts, and acorns of the chestnut and white
oaks are also common articles of food. Among berries early
in the season the blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and
elder-berries are eaten with relish, while later in the year
wintergreen, partridge-berry, with their foliage, sumach-berries
(including those of the poisonous species), cranberries, black
alder, dogwood, nanny-berries, and wild grapes form their
chief diet. In the fall the foliage of plants often forms a
large part of their food, that of clover, strawberry, buttercup,
wintergreen, and partridge-berry predominating. In the win-
ter these birds feed on the buds of trees, preferring those of
the apple-tree, ironwood, black and white birch, and poplar."

In isolated cases ruffed grouse cause some damage to fruit-
trees by eating the buds in winter. The extent of the injury
w^hich a grouse is capable of doing in a season may be esti-
mated from the contents of a crop examined by us. It was
taken from a female shot in January, and contained three
hundred and forty-seven apple-tree buds, eighty-eight maple
buds, and twelve leaves of sheep-laurel. This was, of course,
a single meal, and, as two such meals are eaten per day, it
must be reckoned as half the daily consumption.

One of the crops of four birds killed during the latter part
of September and subjected to the same scrutiny showed
barberries five per cent., sumac seeds twenty per cent., and
apple pulp twenty per cent. Another contained ten per cent,
of mushrooms and ninety per cent, of red-humped oak-cater-
pillars (Edema alblfrons). The other two were sliot from the
same flock at the same time. Their crops were packed with
the oak caterpillars above mentioned and white-oak acorns,
the ratios being sixty per cent, and seventy-seven per cent,
of caterpillars against forty per cent, and twenty-three per
cent, of acorns respectively.

The Prairie-Hen is of more importance than any other
member of the grouse family. It is abundant in the prairie
region drained by the Mississippi, and furnishes regular occu-

THE PIGEONS, GROUSE, AND SHORE-BIRDS. 227

pation for a multitude of gunners. Markets east and west
are supplied with great numbers of these birds.

The food of this species seems to be not materially different
from that of other grouse in temperate latitudes. Insects
form the major portion of the diet in summer. It is fond of
grasshoppers and lives on them almost exclusively when they
are sufficiently abundant.

In autinnn and winter it is usually found in the grain-fields
feeding on cereals as well as seeds and berries. In the north-
ern portion of its range the females usually migrate southward
to escape the rigors of winter, leaving the stronger males on
the home ground.

The Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse, which ranges over the
Great Plains and from northern California to Alaska, ranks
among the highest as a game-bird and its flesh is unexcelled
for the table. It feeds on berries, among which may be
mentioned the snow-berry, bear-berry, whortleberry, and
haws of the wild rose, seeds, grains, and insects.

The Dusky Grouse and its closely allied races, the Sooty
Grouse and Richardson's Grouse, which together extend
through the Rocky Mountains and westward to the Pacific, are
perhaps the finest of our grouse. The dusky grouse is large,
weighing about tliree i)ounds, and during the greater part of
the year its flesh has a resinous flavor much relished by those
accustomed to it. Except for a little while in summer, when
it descends to the ground to feed on berries and seeds, it lives
mainly in the pines and firs, the leaves of which constitute its
main food.

Of all our game-birds none arc so handsome as the several
species of plumed i)artridges found west of the Rocky Moun-
tains. The Mountain Partridge, found along the Pacific coast
from San Francisco to Washington, and the California Par-
tridge, with two races representing it in the southwestern
part of the United States, have an economic value, both as to
food habits and table (pialitics, similar to the eastern bob-

228 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

white. They may readily be kept in confinement and are
therefore well adapted for stocking preserves wherever the
environment is suitable.

THE PLOVERS.

The plovers are generally distinguished by their bills, which
are of only medium length and are constricted between the
base and tip ; most of the birds lack a hind toe. Economi-
cally they stand with the rest of the shore-birds. Of the
half-dozen species found in our territory, we will consider the
three most important, — namely, the ring-neck plover, the
killdeer, and the golden plover.

The Ring-neck Plover is a diffused species, abundant during
the seasons of migration, especially along the beaches. Though
numbers of them are shot, the bit they furnish seems hardly
worth the ammunition. They are of more value living, as
eleven stomachs examined by Professor Aughey testify : in
each were from fifty-three to sixty insects, more than half
being locusts.

In many parts of the United States the Killdeer, or the
Killdeer Plover, is one of the most familiar country birds.
It is a summer resident in most of the Northern States. It
commonly occurs in upland pastures, as well as along the
margins of shallow ponds or the beaches of lakes or the
ocean. It winters in the South : in Florida we have seen
these birds abundant during January, in small flocks spending
most of their time along the shores of the numerous ponds
and lakes of that State. The major portion of the food con-
sists of insects ; angle-worms, crayfish, and similar creatures
making up the remainder. In the stomachs of thirteen speci-
mens examined by King there were found ants, grasshop-
pers and crickets and their eggs, caterpillars, moths, wire-
w^orms, curculios, plant-beetles, a crane-fly, and angle-worms.
" The food-habits and haunts of the killdeer are such as to
bind it closely in economic relation with that all too small

THE I'I(;E()\S, (illUUSE, AM) SHOliE-BIHDS. 229

band of birds which hke the meadow-lark frequent the open
cultivated fields. On account of this relationship the killdeer
plover should be stricken from the list of ' game-birds,' and
encouraged to breed in greater abundance in cultivated fields
and meadows." Many years ago a writer in the Southern
Planter stated that the Southern farmers erroneously thought
that the killdeer destroyed young turnips. " I have several
times dissected the gizzards of killdeers," he writes, "to show
their destroyers that they contain no vegetable substance, and
nothing, indeed, but the little bug so famous for destroying
young turnips and tobacco plants. These little hopping
beetles are a great nuisance in the land, and seem to be
rapidly increasing. The killdeers are their natural enemies,
and formerly collected in large numbers to fulfil the purposes
of their mission.'' ^

The Golden Plover breeds in the Arctic regions, but in the
migration season it is very abundant and is highly esteemed
as a game-bird. It feeds on grasshoppers and other insects,
worms, and berries.

THE SNIPES.

In the snipe family are many birds highly valued as game-
birds, and some tliat are useful as insect destroyers. At the
head of the list stands tlie American Woodcock, a familiar
game-bird in the Eastern States and occurring as far west as
Nebraska. Few birds have so many good points as this : it is
pre-eminently a game-bird in every sense of the term, de-
manding all the skill of the hunter and being unexcelled in
the quality of its flesh.

It is one of the earliest arrivals in spring and the return
flight is not completed until late in autumn. In spring and
early summer it lives in swampy places, probing the black
mud with its long bill for worms. In August it flies out to

^ Quoted hy Wilson Flagg, Agr. of Mass., 18G1, pt. II. \). oa.

230 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

the corn-fields, where it finds an abundance of worms, grass-
hoppers, and otheir insects, the shade of Uie taU corn being
quite as agreeable to these birds as the tangles of the swamp.
Later they return to the runs, but after the leaves have begun
to fall they may often be found on high ground, in hard-^^'ood
forests, or among the high shrubbery of neglected pastures.
Here they turn over leaves, looking for hidden insects and
larvae that lie underneath. This is in October when the
woodcock is at its best. A curious feature of a woodcock's
bill, recently discovered, is that it is able to bend its upper
mandible upward towards the point, which must aid it in the
process of feeling about for worms deep in the soft eartli.

"The growing scarcity of woodcock,*' writes Dr. A. K. Fisher,
"is a matter of serious alarm, and one deiiianding prompt
action. It must be remembered that there is far more diffi-
culty in saving it from extinction than in preserving gallina-
ceous birds, such as quail and grouse. In the case of these
birds, with their extraordinary fecundity, it is not difficult to
restore a depleted covert ; for witli the addition of a few im-
ported birds, aided by a short term of protection, they should
soon reach their former abundance. With the woodcock,
however, the situation is different ; for the impracticability of
restocking, the nature of the food, the migratory habits, and
the small number of young are serious obstacles to successful
restoration. Quick and effective measures are needed. In
many localities in the North where twenty-five years ago a
fair sliot with a good dog could secure forty or fifty birds in a
day's hunt, it is doubtful if ten per cent, of the former bag
could now be obtained. During the past autumn (1901) the
writer visited hundreds of acres of good woodcock ground in
northern New York without fiusliing a bird or seeing any
considerable signs. Reports as to the scarcity of birds come
from numerous points, and even in the most favored localities
the decrease within the past twenty years has been fifty to
sixty per cent."

THE PIGEONS, GROUSE, AND SHORE-BIRDS. 231

This scarcity is to be attributed chiefly to lack of protec-
tion by law in the Southern States, where the species passes
the winter, and to the spring and sunnner shooting in many
of the Northern States. It is greatly to be desired that these
evils should be remedied before this valuable bird becomes
practically extinct,

The American or Wilson's Snipe is similar in its make-up to
the woodcock, but it chooses different abodes. This snipe is
found in open wet places, in meadow^s, or on sedgy banks,
where it can force its long, sensitive bill into the soft turf.
Besides the worms taken in this way, it also catches many
grasshoppers and other insects found upon the surface.
Eight out of eleven stomachs opened by Professor Aughey
contained from thirty-eight to sixty locusts each, besides other
insects. The toothsomeness of the snipe is equal to that of
the woodcock, though its size is somewhat less.

The Gray Snipe, or Dowitcher, is similar to the last, except
that it is chiefly confined to the coast and consequently
destroys few noxious insects, though it is quite as much a
favorite with the gunner.

The Marbled Godwit is one of the largest of the shore-
birds ; it is known on the Atlantic coast only in the South,
but is widely diffused in the temperate regions of the interior.
During the breeding season it is often found on the prairies
some distance from water. Its diet is purely insectivorous.
Richardson tells us that on Saskatchewan plains it frequents
marshes and bogs, walking on the swamp moss, and thrusting
down its long bill to the nostrils in quest of worms and
Jeeches.

The HuDsoxiAN Godwit is somewhat smaller than the last,
and, though more widely distributed, is far less common.

The WiLLET occurs as a summer resident throughoul the
country, though more commonly coastwise. It is a large,
noisy species, not different in its food habits from shore-birds
in general. II Collows marshes, often amioying hunters by its

232 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

shrill notes of alarm. Other birds have learned to take warn-
ing when the willet cries, and leave a dangerous neighborhood.
The name tattler has been applied to it and to others of its
class. In spite of all their acuteness, willets often fall victims
to the huntsman, large numbers of them being shot every
season.

The Greater Yellow-legs is another tattler much sought
in the marshes. It is chiefly a migrant through the country
at large, noisy and restless like the willet.

The Upland Sand-piper, commonly called the Upland Plover,
is something of an anomaly, being fitted out with a wader's
bill and legs, yet avoiding the Avater. It is common from the
Rocky Mountains eastward, breeding on the prairies of the
Western States and on high grass-land in the East. It feeds
on beetles, grasshoppers, and other insects, and is a continual
benefit while it stays. Aughey states that in Nebraska in
locust years "the bulk of the food of this species consisted of
locusts." Rev. J. H. Langille relates that this sand-piper some-
times devours cantharides ; its flesh then becomes a violent
emetic. It holds a high place as a game-bird and is unsur-
passed for the table.

THE curlews.

The curlews are distinguished from the other snipes by
their size and long decurved bills. Of the three species found
in our limits, the Long-billed Curlew, or Sickle-bill, is the
largest and most abundant. Its habitat is the whole of North
America. It breeds throughout its range, but most abundantly
along the Atlantic coast and on the prairies of the Northwest.
These birds are generally found near the water, feeding upon
the various forms of animal life common to the shore. In
summer they devour many grasshoppers and kindred insects.
Of ten stomachs examined by Aughey, eight had from fifty-one
to seventy locusts, besides seeds and other insects ; the other
two had from fifty-three to sixty-one other insects and from
fifteen to twenty seeds. Wilson tells us that in the fall they

THE PIGEONS, GKOLSE, AND SHUKE-BIKDS. 2:]:3

frequent uplands in search of bramble-berries, upon which
they get very fat.

The HuDsoNiAN and Eskimo Curlews are migrants only,
breeding in high latitudes and mostly })assing beyond our
southern boundaries in winter. Their food habits are quite
similar to those of the sickle-bill. All eat more or less seeds
and berries, differing in this respect from the majority of
sand-pipers. All are excellent for food.

There is quite a list of small sand-pipers which are very sim-
ilar to each other in economic value. Their diet consists chiefly
of aquatic insects, worms, and small mollusks. Their open
habits do not commend them to sportsmen and they are too
small to be of much consequence as food. The pot-hunter,
however, destroys numbers of them each season along the
beaches, preferring thus to earn a few pennies by a slaughter
of the innocents and to gratify a lust for murder rather than
to turn his hand to honorable labor

THE PHALAROPES.

The phalaropes are a family of small sand-piper-like birds,
having lobed toes and thick under feathers Avhich enable them
to swim. They are usually seen floating lightly about upon
the water, catching flies in the air or gathering larvne from the
water ; on shore tliey take worms and various aquatic forms
found there. The best-known representative of the family is
Wilson's Phalarope, which is abundant in the Mississippi
Valley and westward, though rarely occurring east of Illinois.

Two other species, the Red and Northern Phalaropes,
appear in limited numbers during migration, but they are of
comparatively little importance.

THE rails.

The rails are narrow-bodied birds of medium size which live
in reedy marshes. They are much sought by sportsmen and
are considered very good birds for the tabic. They are very

234 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

shy and hard to flush, dependmg for safety more upon their
legs than upon their wings. They fly awkwardly and with
seeming difficulty, a puzzling matter when the extent of their
migration is considered.

The members of the genus Rallus, comprising the Clapper,
King, and Virginia Rails, have bills longer than the head, and
feed chiefly upon grasshoppers, snails, slugs, small crabs,
aquatic insects, and occasionally a few seeds. The clapper
rail frequents salt-marshes as far north as Massachusetts.

HEAD OF CLAPPER RAIL.

The rails are found from Texas to Kansas and eastward,
though in the East not usually north of the Middle States.
Seven stomachs of king rails taken at difl'erent times between
May and October and opened by Aughey each contained from
seventeen to forty-eight locusts and from fourteen to forty-nine
other insects, besides a few seeds. The Virginia rail is the
most common rail in the Eastern States as far north as New
England.

Members of the genus Porzana, including the Carolina
Rail, the Black Rail, and the Yellow Crake, have rather

THE PKJEONS, (IKOUSE, AND SHOKE-BIKDS.

li.v)

(hick J)ills, sliorlf^'r Hum the head, and feed more uii ve;,Tla])le
iiiaHci". The only one of Hie ^»Toiij) common (Mion^h h> be of
any special iinportaiice is Hie Carolina rail. Thousands of the
latter are killed annually in the Atlantic States for market.
They feed largely on seeds in tlie fall, when they become fid
and are excellent eating. They are a diffused species, breeding
from the Middle States northward.

THE GALLINULES, COOT, AND CRANES.

The gallinules resemble the rails in their habits and appear-
ance ; they are larger than most rails, however, and are dis-
tinguished by a horny plate, or shield, which extends from the
bill upward over the forehead. Their food is not noticeably
different from that of the genus Porzana of the rails. The
Purple Gallinule is a resident of the South Atlantic and Gulf
States. The pLORmA Gallinule is found throughout the warmer
portions of the country, frequently reaching New England.
Both are called mud-hens by gunners.

The term mud-hen is also applied to the Coot, which is
allied to the gallinules, having the same outline and frontal
shield. It is peculiar in having lobate toes, which enable it to
swim easily. Most of its time is spent on the water along
marshy shores, where it finds shelter among the tall grass and
reeds. Its food consists of insects, aquatic plants, and small
mollusks. Its flesh is frequently eaten, though generally it is
not highly esteemed.

Tlie cranes are large \vaders resembling the herons in out-
ward appearance, but differing from them in structure and
habits. The Whooping Crane is chiefly a migrant, moving up
and down the Mississii)pi Valley with the changing seasons;
it is an omnivorous feeder. Audubon fouml these birds in
November tearing up lily-roots from the bottom of a dry pond.
Again in the same month he says, ^' They resort to fields, and
feed on grain and peasaiid dig up ])()tat(^es, which they devour
with remarkable gnM'diness.'' In April they had left the fields

2:]C) BIRDS IX THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

and removed to the swamps and lakes, where they caught
frogs, lizards, snakes, and young alligators. He saw one catch
and swallow a butterfly, and from the stomach of another he
took a fifteen-inch garter-snake. Wilson credits them with
eating mice, moles, and rats.

The Sand-hill Crane is common in the South and West,
being a more southerly species than the whooping crane.
Four stomachs of this crane examined by Aughey showed
from thirty-seven to eighty locusts and from thirty-six to
seventy-eight other insects in each, besides more or less seeds.
Both species are edible, but they should not be sacrificed for
this purpose.

THE HERONS, IBISES^ AND STORKS.

The herons are waders, with sharp, spear-like bills, that fre-
quent shores and marshes, feeding on any sort of animals
small enough to be swallowed that may come in their way.
Their flesh has a fishy taste which renders it unpalatable to
most people. Taxonomists separate the ibises and storks from
the herons proper, but, as they all have the same economic
value, it will best serve our purpose to consider them under
the same heading.

The White Ibis is an abundant resident of Florida, common
throughout the South Atlantic and Gulf States and northward
to Ohio. It feeds upon crabs, crawfish, snails, and the like.
Audubon relates tliat when the crawfish burrows deeply to
find water in dry seasons, this ibis crushes the mound raised
about the burrow; some of the dirt falls down upon the
crawfish, which hastens to the surface to throw it out again,
when the crafty bird quickly plucks him from his hiding-
place.

The Wood Stork, better known as the Wood Ibis, is a large,
gregarious wader, usually found in the thickly-wooded swamps
of the Southern States. It devours fish, snakes, frogs, young
alligators, crabs, rats, and young birds. It is related to the
famous white stork of Europe.

THE PIGEONS, (iROUSE, AND SHOKE-BIKDj

'S'U

The Bittern, or Stake-driver, is coiiimon throughout the
country. It is a solitary bird, inhabiting weedy marshes, but
known by its pecuHar cry. During the day it hides among
the tall grass and reeds, picking up a grasshopper or a beetle,
or perchance a young mouse now and then. Towards even-
ing it seeks the water and partakes of its regular meal, which
consists principally of small frogs and fish.

The Great Blue Heron, the largest of its tribe in America,
is well known in all quarters. Its tall and awkward form is
often seen on the borders of ponds and streams, when it moves
with a stealthy tread, on a combined watch for food and
enemies. It lives principally upon fish and frogs, but readily
devours grasshoppers, dragon-flies, water-boatmen, seeds, and
even meadow-mice. Small pickerel, which like to bask in the
sunshine in shallow water, are destroyed in great numbers by
this heron.

The Green Heron is another widely diffused species. It is
the common small heron found beside brooks and in muddy
places at or near water margins. Being small, its diet is re-
stricted to worms, insects and their larvae, tadpoles, small fish,
and frogs.

The Great White Egret is found in the Southern States, but
in much smaller numbers tlian formerly. This egret, in com-
mon with several smaller species, has for years been the object
of unremitting persecution by plume-hunters. As the coveted
plumes appear only at the nuptial season, they are easily pro-
cured by visiting the heronries when the egrets assemble in
great numbers to breed. One man has been known to kill
several hundred old birds in a day, leaving }he young to starve
and the dead bodies to rot after a few choice feathers have
been plucked. Egret-plumes are worn by certain dressy organ-
ized bodies of men, military and otherwise, and by ladies.
Much has been said and written of late against wearing feathers
of wild birds, and it is to be hoped that the tide of popular
sentiment may be turned against the i)ractice before such

238 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

unfortunately beautiful birds as the egrets shall have been
exterminated.

Although there are a number of herons that have not been
mentioned, a complete enumeration would add nothing to
what has already been said concerning the relations of herons
to the welfare of man. While the direct economic value of
these graceful and beautiful birds may not be very great, they
add a charm to tlie scenery of lakes and ponds, the value of
which is not likely to be over-estimated even by those keenly
alive to the beauties of nature. It is a pity so many thought-
less people consider such birds legitimate prey for gun and
rifle. They deserve the fullest protection of the law and the
good-will of all intelligent people.

CHAPTER XX.

THE WATER-BIRDS.

THE DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS.

The members of this liToup are omnivorous birds, eating
animals and vegetables in varying ratios, as may be readily
guessed by any one familiar with domestic varieties. Their
economic status, however, does not depend so much upon
what they eat as upon the quality of their flesh. Their
feathers have a value, to be sure, bat that is a secondary
consideration, which is pretty nearly constant throughout,
while the great variation in ducks and geese from a gastro-
nomic standpoint is worthy of particular attention.

The Mallard Duck is an abundant species, except in New
England, where it is rather rare, being replaced by tlie black
or dusky variety. The common greenheaded domestic duck
is of mallard stock, though probably introduced from Europe,
where the mallard is a common wild species. During autumn
the mallards come into the United States in great numbers —
the majority breeding beyond our northern limits — and are
much sought by sportsmen. They weigh from two to three
pounds each.

The Black Duck, or Dusky Duck, is a favorite in the Eastern
States, where it is abundant, breeding in New England and
northward. It is nearly related to the mallard, which it
equals in size and quality. The Teals, blne-wiiigcd and green-
winged, are two small ducks well known through the country,
exce})t in New England, where they are not so connnon as
elsewhere. Being httle, they are of less imi)ortance than the
preceding, though they are quite as good for eating. Other
ducks of equal rank with those already mentioned are the
gadwall, widgeon, shoveller, pintail, and wood-duck. All art

21)9

240

BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

inland birds, feeding upon insects, mollusks, nuts, grass, and
grain. In the West tliey visit the vast grain-fields in harvest-
time and soon get in excellent condition for the table.

''The WooD-DucK, or Summer Duck," writes Dr. A. K. Fisher,
'4s the most beautiful of all the members of the large and diver-

HEAD OF DUSKY DUCK.

sified duck family, and, on account of its beauty and lack
of shyness, is one of the best-known species in the country.
It is not seclusive, often making its abode near towns, or
perhaps in the vicinity of farm-houses, Avhere it may be found
feeding or associating with barn-yard ducks. It takes kindly
to domestication, and is easily tamed and induced to breed in
captivity. Its favorite haunts are small lakes, weedy ponds,
or shady streams in the midst of, or in close proximity to,
scatlered woodlands, and, except during migration, it is rarely
met with about open bays or lai^e bodies of water."

THE WATER-BIRDS.

241

This beautiful bird seems in danger of extermination, an
event to be deplored by every lover of Nature. Special effort
should be made to protect it in its nesting sites and to prevent
its being shot during the spring season.

Our most popular duck is undoubtedly the Canvas-back,
famed among epicures for its delicate flavor, resembling that
of celery. This is due to feeding on a water-plant known as
wild celery ( Vallisnena), and is not acquired till the birds get
to the Chesapeake region, where the plants grow abundantly.
Canvas-backs from Chesapeake Bay bring a much higher price

HEAD OF OLD SQUAW DICK.

than those from other localities. Except for its peculiar appe-
tite in the one instance of wild celery, the canvas-back's menu
shows no appreciable difference from that of the group just
treated of.

An associate and relative of the canvas-back is the Red-head,
another excellent table bird. In both size and color there is
such a strong resemblance between the two that dislionest
market-men have been known to impose on customers, not
well informed in ornithological matters, by selling red-heads
for canvas-back. The Ring-neck and the Greater and Lesser

242 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

SrAUPs belong to the same genus as llie canvas-backs and
red-lieads, but they feed more on moHusks and other forms
of anmial hfe and are less palatable.

The Whistler, or Golden-eye, Old Squaw, Butter-ball, or
Dipper, and Ruddy Duck are all easy divers, which feed chiefly
on mollusks and similar creatures that they obtain from the
bottoms of ponds and lakes. They are often eaten, but pos-
sess a fishy flavor that is not relished by most people.

Of the more distinctively sea-ducks, only the surf-ducks and
eiders need be mentioned. Surf-ducks or Scoters of various
species are abundant along the coast from autumn till spring.

>r SIKF SCdTKK DITK.

Many of them are killed every year, but they are of inferior
quality, having a rank taste that comes from a diet of shell-fish.
The American Eider and King Eider are both arctic species
that rarely come further south than New England. They, in
common with other varieties of eiders, furnish eider-down.
This down is in great demand in northern European countries
for filling coverlets. The best, know^n as live down, is that
plucked by the duck from her breast to line her nest, and
afterwards abstracted by the down-gatherer. Greenland, Ice-
land, and Norway are the chief sources of eider-down. The
following quotation from Newton's ''Dictionary of Birds'Mells

THE WATER-BIRDS. 243

how the down is obtained in Iceland and Norway, and inci-
dentally carries an impressive lesson concernin^^ what may be
accomplished by the kindly treatment of wild birds. "This
bird generally frequents low rocky islets near the coast, and
in Iceland and Norway has long been afforded every encour-
agement and protection, a fme being inflicted for killing it
during the breeding season, or even for firing a gun near its
haunts, while artificial nesting-places are in many localities
contrived for its further accommodation. From the care thus
taken of it in those countries it has become exceedingly tame
at its chief resorts, which are strictly regarded as property,
and the taking of eggs or down from them except by author-
ized persons is severely punished by law. . . . The nest is
generally in some convenient corner among large ston<'s, hol-
lowed in the soil, and furnished with a few bits of dry grass,
sea-weed, or heather. By the time that the full number of
eggs (which rarely if ever exceeds five) is laid, the down is
added. Generally the eggs and down are taken at intervals
of a few days by the owners of the eider-fold, and the birds
are thus kept depositing both during the whole season ; but
some experience is needed to insure the greatest profit from
each commodity. Every duck is ultimately allowed to hatch
an egg or two to keep up the stock, and the down of the last
nest is gathered after the birds have left the nest."

The FisH-DUCKs, or Mergansers, are characterized by den-
ticulate mandibles, which have given them the name of
saw-bills. They are expert divers, living chiefly upon fish.
We have three species, two of which are commonly called
sheldrakes. The largest, to which the books give the name
of goosander, spends the winter as ilir north as possible,
usually in the larger rivers which have a current swift enough
to defy ft-ost. They closely follow the ice as it retreats north-
ward in spring, and April finds them at their summer homes.
The red-breasted merganser is the sheldrake that reaches the
New England coast about the first of May. It is more com-

244 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

mon than the goosander, particularly near the sea. Both of
these mergansers are good-sized birds, weighing from three to
four pounds, but they are ill-flavored and not generally rel-
ished as food. The hooded merganser is a handsome little
duck, bearing a high, fan-like crest the whole length of its
head. It shows a fondness for small streams and ponds, and
eats more or less insects, though small fish, tadpoles, etc.,
make up the major part of its food.

The American White-fronted Goose, best known towards
the Pacific coast, differs little from the European white-
fronted species, of which the ordinary tame goose is a
descendant. Its habits and qualities are similar to those of
the domestic bird. Two other species of equal worth are the
Snow-Goose, common in the interior, and the Canada or Wild
Goose. Canada geese have been crossed with the domestic
breed with good results, the hybrid being considered more
hardy than the common stock. The Brant-Goose is a mari-
time variety, more abundant on the Atlantic coast than
elsewhere, though it is sometimes found inland. It feeds on
shell-fish and other marine products, both animal and vege-
table. Its flesh is not much esteemed.

The swans do not differ materially from geese, either in
food or flesh. They are wary creatures, rare in the East and
nowhere abundant, breeding in high latitudes and appearing
in the United States only during the winter.

The Trumpeter Swan is found from the Mississippi Valley
westward, Avhile the other species, the Whistling Swan, reaches
the Atlantic coast as far north as New Jersey. Of the two
kinds of swans seen in captivity, the white one comes from
England, where it has lived in royal favor for centuries, and the
black variety is brought from Australia, where it still exists in

a wild state.

the gannets.

The gannets are large marine birds, goose-like in size and
contour, which as they fly seek their fuiny victims and take them

THE WATER-BIRDS. 245

by a headlong plunge into the water quite out of sight. They
feed entirely on fish, — herring and mackerel being preferred.

White Gannet are found on both sides of the Atlantic.
On the American side they breed on Gannet Rock, in the
Gulf of St. Lawrence, and at one or two other places in that
region. Like other gregarious sea-fowl, they suffer much at
the hands of the fishermen and are rapidly decreasing in
numbers. After the breeding season they follow the open
sea in quest of their favorite quarry, and often guide the
fishermen to an abundance of herring and mackerel. Their
manner of fishing is as methodical as the evolutions of a mili-
tary company. They fly in single file, and as each individual
comes over a shoal of fish he closes his wings and dashes
down with unerring aim into the waves, to appear again in a
moment and take his place in line.

Along the south Atlantic and Gulf coast is found the Brown
Gannet, better known among sailors as the "booby," so
named because it has in many instances been so foolish as
to alight on ships at sea and allow itself to be caught by the
hand. The booby's habits do not materially differ from those
of the white gannet. A South American species known only
along the coast of Peru contributes to the guano supply.

THE DARTER.

The Darter, or Snake-Bird, is a native of the Southern States,
ranging in summer as far north as the Carolinas and Illinois.
Its appearance is that of a duck with rather long fan-shaped
tail, extremely long slender neck, small head, and long pointed
bill. It is an expert diver, having a curious faculty of being
able to swim at any degree of submergence, from high floating
to such a depth that only the head remains in sight, when its
apparent snakiness is startling. It feeds on a great variety of
fish, frogs, lizards, crawfish, leeches, shrimps, young alligators,
snakes, terrapin, which it can overtake under water like a true
diver. It is a shy, watchful bird, living in secluded swamps.

246 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

THE CORMORANTS AND PELICANS.

The Cormorants are large birds, principally maritime yet
often straying into the interior, vvhich are represented by dif-
ferent species in every temperate quarter of the globe. They
are proverbial fishers. In China they are domesticated and
trained to fish for their masters, being prevented from swal-
lowing their game by a close-fitting ring put about their necks.
The common cormorant is found along the Atlantic coast
down to the Middle States in winter. The double-crested
cormorant is the only one diffused throughout the country.
The Mexican cormorant is a tropical species that occasionally
makes its way up the Mississippi Valley. They all agree in
living exclusively upon fish, and, as they are not sufficiently
abundant to interfere with human interests in that line, may
be regarded as of no economic account in this country.

The pelicans are large, cumbersome birds, remarkable for
a capacious pouch of extensible skin between their lower
jaws. They are common in temperate regions, feeding
mostly on fish and other animals, yet not averse to insects.
The White Pelican is common in the Southern States, rang-
ing w^ell u}) the Mississippi Valley. It feeds by scooping up
its prey as it swims on the water, letting the water run out at
the sides of its mouth, and swallowing the luckless creatures
left witliin. It walks readily and is able to pick up more or
less food on shore. Five Nebraska birds that came into the
hands of Aughey had fed as follows : One had eaten a frog ;
all had eaten fish, crawfish, and insects. None had taken less
than twenty-one insects. Forty-one locusts were found in
one stomach and forty-seven in another. A stomach opened
by Audubon was found to contain about a hundred small
worms.

The Brown Pelican, a more southerly bird, confined to the
coast, feeds wholly on fish taken at a flying plunge, after the
manner of a gannet.

THE WATER-BIRDS. 247

THE FRIGATE BIRD AND THE (iULLS.

The Frigate Bird, or Man-of-war Bird, is a liuiritime species,
having its four toes webbed together ; it resembles in this jjar-
ticular the ganncts, darters, cormorants, and peUcans; indeed,
it has a double relationship to the })clicans, by reason of its
gular sac or pouch. Having a comparatively small body, with
extremely long pointed wings and a long forked tail, its powers
of flight are astonishing. Frigates lisli for themselves when
necessity demands it, but they much |)refer robbing gulls and
terns of their well-earned sustenance by forcing them to dis-
gorge. They are found on the south Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

The gulls are long-winged, web-footed birds, well equipped
for both aerial and aquatic navigation. Most of them are
winter visitors along the coast, though many frequent the great
lakes and other inland Avaters. Fishermen watch tlieir move-
ments and are often led to good luck by them. The Manx
government protects them because of their usetulness as an
index of mackerel schools. Gulls have moderately long bills,
somewhat hooked at the tip, suitable for taking animal food.
Their diet, however, varies considerably in different species,
and, even in the same species, more or less according to the
situation and relative abundance of eatables.

The Great Black-backed Gull, one of the largest of its kind,
belongs to the class which chooses to live on meat and fish.
Audubon states that it devours all sorts of food except vege-
tables, even the most putrid carrion, but i)refers fresh fish,
young birds, small quadrupeds, or eggs. A specimen ex-
amined by Professor Aughey had eaten a few grasshoppers
and other insects, but mostly fish and frogs. The HERRixii
Gull, a much commoner s|)ecies, tlial is found both coastwise
and iiitci'iorly, has similar good habits. A sloiiiach cxamiiKMl
by Dr. Cones contained the remains of a marsh-hare. Two
wliich were examined i)\ rr-olrssoi- Angliey had grasshoppers,
hsli, and nioHusks. One shot liv ns had eaten (HiIv reliise of

248 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

an oily consistency. This gull breeds from New England and
the great lakes northward. Their eggs, like those of the guille-
mot, are taken in great quantities, and young birds are salted
and laid in store by dwellers in the far North, although in a
land where food is plentiful gull flesh is not relished. The
KiTTiwAKE Gull, so far as food habits go, may be classed with
those already mentioned. It is a winter visitor, known as far
south as the Middle States, chiefly along the coast. Other
species range more or less over marshes and high grounds and
take a larger proportion of insects. One of these is the Ring-
billed Gull, a common species the land over. Those found
in the interior consume many insects. One stomach opened
by Professor Aughey contained forty locusts ; four others had
from ten to thirty-three insects each. All had partaken of
fish, crawfish, or mollusks.

Bonaparte's Rosy Gull is another common gull interiorly
and coastwise, being especially abundant along the Atlantic
coast during migration. It is often seen coursing over stubble
and ploughed land. Two stomachs opened by N'uttall w^ere
gorged with ants, ants' cocoons, and moth pupa^. Franklin's
Rosy Gull moves quite across the United States in its migra-
tions, its main route lying west of the Mississippi River. Of
ten stomachs examined by Aughey, six had from thirteen to
fifty-three locusts each, besides a few other insects and remains
of fish and frogs ; the rest had from twelve to thirty-nine other
insects, together with mollusks, snails, fish, crawfish, and
lizards.

THE terns and JAEGERS.

The Terns resemble the gulls in form and habits, though
they are readily distinguished by their smaller size, their
buoyant airy flight, and sharply pointed bills. Among those
that are most often found away from salt water, and con-
sequently the only ones whose food relations especially
interest us in this connection, are the least tern, Forster's
tern, the gull-billed or marsh tern, and the black tern. The

THE WATER-BIRDS. 249

least tern is hardly longer than a swallow. It feeds with
equal readiness on insects and aquatic animals ; beetles,
crickets, grasshoppers, and spiders are all set down as forming
part of its diet. Four stomachs out of eight examined by Pro-
fessor Aughey contained from twenty-three to forty-nine locusts
each. The others had from four to forty-nine other insects
and remnants of fish, lizards, and crawfish. The three other
species have like records. Several gull-billed terns killed by
Wilson had eaten nothing but large aquatic spiders. Professor
Aughey's examination of six black terns revealed from forty-
seven to eighty-four locusts each in four, and from twenty-
eight to fifty-nine insects in the other two. There was the
usual complement of water animals in each. Among the more
maritime terns are the royal, sandwich, Caspian, roseate, and
sooty terns, and the noddies. These feed almost wholly on
small fish and mollusks.

The more delicately tinted terns have been subjected to an
outrageous slaughter for their skins for millinery use, to gratify
a lingering taint of savagery in w^oman, a desire to adorn her-
self with feathers, — a la primitif. Wholesome legislation and
a more enlightened public opinion, however, are slowly com-
ing to the rescue of the disappearing birds.

The Black Skimmer is a peculiar tern-like bird, wiiich has
its lower mandible about an inch longer than tlie upper. Its
food consists of shell-fish, shrimps, small crabs, sand-fleas,
etc., which are plowed from the water by the knife-like lower
mandible as the bird skims along with lowered head just
above the surface.

The Jaegers form a small family. They resemble gulls in
their appearance, and are chiefly maritime, though sometimes
drifting inland ; they are parasites of the smaller terns and
gulls. Their favorite method of gaining a livelihood is to
pursue a gull or tern and so tire and pester it till it disgorges
its last meal, which is quickly devoured by tlie robber. An
inland straggler was found to have eaten fish, frogs, crawfish,

250 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

and even a few grasshoppers. They catch their food when
they cannot steal it. The four that visit us are the skua gull,
the pomarine, parasitic, and long-tailed jaegers. None of
them are common.

THE PETRELS AND AUKS.

The Petrels, including fulmars and shearwaters, are pelagic
birds, adapted for both flying and swimming, that rarely land
except to lay their eggs. They will follow a ship for days
together, picking up such bits of food as may be thrown over-
board. The stomachs of several specimens of Wilson's petrel,
opened by the naturalist for whom they were named, showed
barnacles, seeds of gulf- weed, and greasy refuse from vessels.
Leach's petrel, a common species off the New England coast
and northward, attends fishing-vessels for the sake of the
waste from the cleaning tables. Fulmars accompany whalers
and feast upon scraps of blubber. All petrels are especially
fond of fatty matter.

The Auks are an exclusively marine family of diving birds
that feed wholly on animal substances, such as small fish,
shrimps, roe, and crustaceans. The puffins, which constitute
one branch of this family, exhibit strange nuptial changes in
their bills. As the breeding season advances, the bill increases
in a vertical direction until it is nearly as deep as the head
itself. This increase is caused by the growth of additional
flakes, which are shed with the feathers during the moulting
season.

The Common Puffin, or Sea Parrot, is the only one to visit
our eastern coast. Other auks have seasonal changes of bill,
but none of them belong on the Atlantic coast. The Great
Auk, which has been extinct for more than fifty years, was
formerly killed in great numbers for its flesh and feathers.
Its wings were so small that flight was out of the question,
and, though able to lake pretty good care of itself in the water,
when on land it was at the mercy of any foe larger and more

THK WATEli-BIHDS. 251

powerful than itself. Tlie early fishermen sought great auks
on the barren northern islands in nesting time, slaughtered
them right and left with clubs, and salted their flesh. This
ruthless destruction could have but one result. Only a few
skins, eggs, and bones in museums remain as tangible evi-
dences of tliis once abundant bird.

Another branch of the auk family, including several species
which have been and still are to some extent severely perse-
cuted, comprises the Guillemots, or egg-birds. In this case
it is not the birds themselves so much as their eggs that
attract marauders. Each spring the guillemots congregate by
thousands on certain rocky islands and shores to deposit their
eggs. In such vast numbers do they come that they fairly
cover the ground while incubating. The eggs are quite pala-
table while fresh, but most of them are sold for use in the
arts, the albumen they contain being a requisite in several
industries, such as the manufacture of patent leather and in
clarifying wine. Gathering the eggs of this and other sea-
birds was formerly a fixed occupation for a class of rough
characters known as eggers, who regularly plied their trade
while the season lasted. In order to insure fresh eggs, they
would first break every egg on the ground, then come daily
afterwards for their harvest. An easy way to smash the eggs,
and one often followed, was to roll barrels back and forth
over the whole nesting-place. Egging was carried on so per-
sistently that tlie number of birds became seriously decreased,
and our Eastern States as well as the Canadian government
have prohibited it.

The following extract from Audubon's "Eggers of Labrador"
presents a vivid picture of the people and their business as he
saw them there. "The vessel herself is a shabby thing: her
sails are patched ; her sides are neither painted nor even
pitched ; no, they are daubed over, plastered and patched
with strips of seal-skin along the seams. Her deck has never
been washed or sanded ; her hold — no cabin has she — though

252 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

at present empty sends forth an odor pestilential as a charnel-
house. The crew, eight in number, lie sleeping at the foot
of their tottering mast, regardless of the repairs needed in
every part of her rigging. . . . As I suspect her crew to be
bent on the commission of some evil deed, let us follow her
to the first harbor. The afternoon is half over. Her crew
have thrown their boat overboard ; they enter and seat them-
selves, each with a rusty gun. One of them sculls the skiff
towards an island for a century past the breeding-place of
myriads of guillemots, which are now to be laid under contri-
bution. At the approach of the vile thieves, clouds of birds
rise from the rock and fill the air around, wheeling and
screaming over their enemies. Yet thousands remain in an
erect posture, each covering its single egg^ the hope of both
parents. The reports of several muskets loaded with heavy
shot are now heard, while several dead and wounded birds
fall heavily on the rock or into the water. Instantly all the
sitting birds rise and fly off affrighted to their companions
above, and hover in dismay over their assassins. . . . See
how they crush the chick within its shell, how they trample
over every egg in their way with their huge and clumsy boots.
Onward they go, and when they leave the isle not an egg that
they can find is left entire. The dead birds they collect and
carry to their boat. Now they have regained their filthy
shallop ; they strip the birds by a single jerk of their feathery
apparel, while the flesh is yet warm, and throw them on
some coals, wiiere in a short time they are broiled. The rum
is produced when the guillemots are fit for eating, and after
enjoying themselves with this oily fare, and enjoying the
pleasure of this beastly intoxication, over they tumble on the
deck of their crazed craft, where they pass the short hours
of night in turbid slumbers. ... On Guillemot Isle the birds
have again settled and now renew their loves. Startled by
the light of day, one of the eggers springs to his feet and
arouses his companions. . . . The master, soon recollecting

THE WATER-BIRDS. 253

that SO many eggs are worth a dollar or a crown, casts his
eye towards the rock, marks the day in his memory, and gives
orders to depart. The light breeze enables them to reach
another harbor a few miles distant, in which, like the last,
lies concealed from the ocean some other rocky isle. Arriving
there they reenact the scene of yesterday, crushing every egg
they can find. For a week, each night is passed in drunken-
ness and brawls, until, having reached the last breeding-place
on the coast, they return, touch at every isle in succession,
shoot as many birds as they may need, collect the fresh eggs,
and lay in a cargo.''

THE LOONS AND GREBES.

The Loons are large, powerful divers, that are equally at
home in fresh and salt water. Owing to their wariness, and
also to the fact that they cannot fly without a long course in
which to get a good start before leaving the water, they are
not usually found in the smaller streams and ponds. Except
during the period of incubation they rarely venture ashore.
They feed almost wholly upon fish, which they dive for and
pursue with great energy. In the economical balance they
have little Aveight either way. The fish they consume are
generally worthless, while their own flesh is hardly better.
The common loon is a picturesque element in the scenery
of our northern lakes in summer. In winter it may be found
in the sea or wherever there is plenty of open w^ater. The
red-throated loon is a more northerly bird that breeds entirely
beyond our limits, but is found fairly common out of breeding
season. The black-throated loon is an arctic species rarely
appearing in the United States.

The Cjkebes constitute a branch of the diver family. Their
chief peculiarities are wide, flat, unwebbed toes and an entire
lack of tail. They are essentially fresh-water birds, designed,
like divers in general, to glean a livelihood in the liquid ele-
ment. Small fish, lizards, tadpoles, and aquatic insects, with

254 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

now and then a blade of grass or a few seeds, constitute their
usual diet. Inasmuch as they are unable to travel on land
with any ease, owing to the rearward position of their legs,
only such insects as belong to the water or accidentally fall
into it are eaten. Of the four varieties common to the eastern
half of the United States, the little Dabchick, or Pied-billed
Grebe, is perhaps the best known. Its bill is shorter and
thicker than the bills of other kinds, and it may readily be
guessed that its food is not so strictly of an animal nature.
A single stomach examined by us contained the broken wing-
covers of many beetles, a few feathers, evidently from its own
breast, and considerable sand. The other three species have
spear-like bills and have practically identical food habits.
They are the Red-necked Grebe, the Horned Grebe, and the
Eared Grebe. The first two are found at large throughout
the country. The (\ared grebe belongs west of the Mississippi
River. Of two stomachs of the last named opened by Pro-
fessor Aughey, of Nebraska, one contained nine locusts, some
grass, a few seeds, and the remains of crawfish ; while the
otlier had five grasshoppers, a few other insects, fish, and
crawfish. None of the grebes are much esteemed as food,
being rather coarse and rank-flavored.

Both loons and grebes are levied u|)un to satisfy the
demands of fashion, the breast portions of their skins being
prized by milUners.

CHAPTER XXI.
THE CONSERVATION OF BIRDS.

I. NON-GAMEBIRDS THEIR DESTRUCTION, PROTECTION, AND

ENCOURAGEMENT.

According to the latest classification, there are eleven hun-
dred and twenty-four species of birds inhabiting America
north of Mexico. They are included in seventeen orders.
For our present purpose we will divide them into two classes,
— namely, gamebirds and non-gamebirds. The gamebirds,
comprising only five orders, amounting to two hundred and
twenty-two species, will be considered in the next chapter.
The nine hundred and two species and subspecies in the
twelve orders of non-gamebirds are of all sizes and of a wide
variety of habits. While of little or no use as food, and
generally recognized as important aids in keeping insects
within supportable limits, — or, in case of birds that prefer
other food than insects, either beneficial or at least harmless,
— they have too often been slaughtered and otherwise per-
secuted.

It seems a well-established fact that birds, as a class, are
now less numerous in the United States than they were a
century or more ago. While some species have doubtless
become more abundant under the changed conditions of
modern civilization, others are very much rarer, and a few
appear to be approaching extinction. It was, of course,
inevitable that the changes produced by man's interference
with natural conditions should have a tremendous influence
upon the nalive fauna. Some birds have found the new dis-
pensation better suited to their wants than the old ; others
have changed their liabits and made the best of it ; while
others have been so relentlessly persecuted that their only

255

256 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

hope of survival lay in retreating to inaccessible localities.
The wholesale destruction of primeval nesting-sites has been
a potent factor in the change produced, but, fortunately, many
of the most useful birds found substitutes that answered the
purpose very well : kingbirds, chipping-sparrows, cedar-birds,
and robins have apparently been glad to adopt the imported
apple tree for a home tree ; swallows, swifts, and phoebes
have left the cliffs and hollow trees they formerly possessed
for rafters and chimneys and artificial houses put up for their
benefit. Meadow-larks, vesper, savanna, and other "ground"
sparrows inhabiting grass-lands have undoubtedly increased
in numbers and widened their habitat since mowing fields
have so largely superseded timbered areas.

Even under normal conditions birds have to encounter
grave perils that many of them, particularly of the smaller
varieties, are unable to withstand. Of these their annual
migration over hundreds and thousands of miles of land and
sea probably is most fatal. Their periods of travel are sea-
sons of strenuous weather. Gales carry them out to sea and
leave them exhausted to perish on the waves. Unwonted
cold in the South sometimes destroys them in great numbers.
A backward spring in the North, by retarding insect develop-
ment, adds hunger to cold. At the end of the long journey,
tired and lean, the birds suffer greatly w^hen spring is late.
Warblers, orioles, tanagers, and other sylvan species may be
seen searching among the stubble for something to eat. Their
feebleness is apparent. Sometimes a cold storm follows, and
when such is the case many invariably die. It is interesting
to note that during such a stress of weather many birds that
ordinarily frequent the woods come to the vicinity of houses.
A parula warbler has been known to seek refuge in a store
doorway, a humming-bird to crawl into a crevice in a garden
gate, and redstarts and a Canadian warbler to find shelter in
a barnyard. Birds found dead after such a storm are greatly
emaciated, showing plainly the effects of starvation. Well fed,

THE CONSERVATION OF BIRDS.

o /

they could stand Uic wcallicr, IjiiI liuii^'-cr and cold combined
they could nut endure.

Young birds are subject to many dangers before reaching
maturity. Foxes, cats, skunks, minks, weasels, squirrels,
hawks, owls, crows, jays, and snakes are always seeking to
devour them. The percentage of young birds preyed upon
by predaceous animals is certainly quite large. Heavy rains
destroy many more. Adult birds also fall victims to preda-
ceous animals, particularly hawks and owls, though less often
than the young.

Light-houses, situated as they are in a main thoroughfare of
migration, cause the death of many birds. Most birds fly by
night, and, coming into a beam of light, they follow it to their
destruction. Telegraph and telephone wires are another dan-
ger. Fortunately, many birds that hit them are not killed,
so they are able to profit by experience. A western writer
has noted that in a certain locality the number killed during
the first few years after the wires were put up was much
larger than the number killed in later years.

But besides these natural causes and the inevitable results
of the white man's occupation of the American continent,
certain causes have been, and still are, at work which tend
greatly to decrease the number of birds possible under exist-
ing conditions. To a large extent these agencies are the result
of human greed, cruelty, and ignorance, and the havoc they
commit may be avoided by proper laws based upon and sup-
ported by tlie opinion of an enlightened public.

Perhaps one of the most constant and serious of these
agencies is the egg-collecting or nest-destroying small boy.
In almost every town or village there may be found a dozen
or more youths who have frequent attacks of the collecting
fever. Unfortunately, the fever is often of the intermittent type,
and the season's collections are allowed to go to ruin before
the advent of another spring. Every nook and cranny for
miles around the head-quarters of such a coterie is examined

17

258 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

by sharp eyes, and the great majority of birds' eggs are gath-
ered in. Probably Avith ninety-nine boys out of a hundred
these egg collections are soon forgotten, while the hundredth
boy is too likely to become a mere collector who strives to see
how many varieties of eggs he can get together without refer-
ence to their natural history values. To this class of collec-
tors we owe the existence of the egg-dealers w^ho collect eggs
in large numbers to sell. The latter are the mercenary collec-
tors, while the intermittent types are the aimless ones, — a
classification suggested by Col. W. H. M. Duthie, a Scottish
ornithologist, Avho well defines the "true collector" as "a nat-
uralist acquainting himself with birds, their habits, flight,
migration, and breeding haunts ; his egg-collecting being only
one of the means of acquiring knowledge.'"

Birds' eggs are sometimes collected by children to serve as
Easter gifts the following season, — a sacrilege to which atten-
tion need scarcely be called to reveal its inappropriateness.
Such an Easter present is a sacrifice of innocence rather than
a thank-offering.

Unfortunately, the boy of the period does not limit his
destructive powers to the gathering of eggs. The recent
increase in cheap fire-arms has placed within his reach the
means of killing feathered " game" at all seasons of the year.
To this fact is due much of the diminution in the number of
small birds in the vicinity of towns and cities. Dr. R. W.
Shufeldt thinks that the wholesale destruction carried on by
the army of unscrupulous small boys " is a reason for bird
decrease before which other reasons stand aghast." He
reports meeting near Washington, D. C, " one such youngster,
and upon examining his game-bag, found it absolutely full of
dead bodies of birds which he had killed since starting out in
the morning. One item alone consisted of seventy-two ruby
and golden-crowned kinglets. The fellow boasted of having
slain over one hundred cat-birds that season."

That the small boy is recognized in other countries as a

THE CONSERVATION OF BIRDS. 259

prime factor in decrease in birds is shown by the recent rec-
ommendation of a committee of the British Association for
the Advancement of Science that particular pains should be
taken to instruct the youth concerning the birds that should
be protected.

Enormous numbers of birds are sacrificed annually for
millinery purposes. There is an opinion prevalent that the
birds worn on women's hats in America are largely derived
from the faunas of tropical regions. Some justification of this
is found in the impossible colors of all sorts assumed by the
plainest songsters when they have passed through the dye-pot
of the preparator. But there can be no question that an
immense quantity of bird life has been destroyed in the
United States to gratify the caprice of fashion, the birds thus
killed being very largely used within our own borders, while
many are exported to Paris and other European cities. The
evidence on this point is abundantly sufficient ; some of it may
properly be introduced here, as the subject is one which is
greatly in need of more general knowledge on the part of the
public.

An editorial article in the Forest and Sfreain a few^ years ago
mentions a dealer who, during a three months' trip to tlie
coast of South Carolina, prepared no less than eleven thousand
and eighteen bird-skins. A considerable number of the birds
killed were, of course, too much mutilated for preparation, so
that the total number of slain w^ould be much greater than
the number given. The person referred to states that he
handles on an average thirty thousand bird-skins a year, of
whicli the greater part are cut up (or millinery })urposes.
About the same time, according to a writer in the Baltimore
Sun, a New York milliner visited Cobb's Island, off the coast
of Virginia, to get material to fill a foreign order for forty thou-
sand bird-skins. She hired people to kill the birds, for which
she paid ten cents apiece. The birds conqirised in this whole-
sale slaughter were mainly gulls and terns, or sea-swallows,

260 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

of which large numbers of several species could formerly be
found on this island. But now only a few of these graceful
birds remain, and the pot-hunters, or rather skin-hunters,
have to go some distance to carry on their cruel occupation.
If we consider that with each old bird killed — the killing is
done mainly in the breeding season, as only adult birds have
suitable plumage — many young, unable to care for themselves,
die of starvation, this wholesale slaughter appears the more
infamous and criminal.

Further south, in Florida and along the Gulf coast, the
herons and egrets have been ruthlessly persecuted for their
plumage. The heronries, where enormous numbers of these
graceful birds formerly bred unmolested, have been largely
broken up, and only the shyness of those remaining enables
them to survive. In a paper read before the World's Congress
of Ornithologists, at Chicago, in 1893, Mr. T. Gilbert Pearson
describes a visit to a locality known as Horse Hummock,
Florida. In 1888 he found several hundred pairs of little
blue, snowy, Louisiana, and black-crowned night-herons at a
heronry there. Three years later, when he returned to the
spot, silence reigned, and only fragments of nests and bleaching
bones were to be seen. Plume-hunters had either killed or
driven off the entire community. Concerning another heronry
Mr. Pearson writes as follows : "A few miles north of Waldo,
in the flat pine region, our party came one day upon a little
swamp where we had been told herons bred in numbers.
Upon approaching the place the screams of young birds
reached our ears. The cause of this soon became apparent
by the buzzing of green flies and the heaps of dead herons
festering in the sun, the back of each bird raw and bleeding.
The smouldering embers of a camp-fire bore witness to the
recent presence of the plume-hunter. Under a bunch of
grass a dead heron was discovered from whose back the
plumes had not been taken. The ground was still moist with
its blood, showing that death had not long before taken place.

THE CONSERVATION OF BIRDS. 261

The dirt had been beaten smooth with its wings ; its neck was
arched ; feathers on its head were raised, and its bill was
buried in the blood-clotted feathers of its breast, where a gap-
ping wound showed that a leaden missile struck. It was an
awful picture of pain. Sorely wounded, this heron had crawled
away and, after enduring hours of agony, had died, the victim
of a foolish fashion. Young herons had been left by scores
in the nests to perish from exposure and starvation. These
little sufferers, too weak to rise, reached their heads over the
nests and faintly called for food, which the dead mothers could
never bring."

This slaughter of the innocents was by no means confined to
our Southern States. During four months seventy thousand
bird-skins were supplied to the New York trade by one Long
Island village. " On the coast-line of Long Island," wrote
Mr. William Dutcher, not long ago, " the slaughter has been
carried on to such a degree that, where, a few years since,
thousands and thousands of terns were gracefully sailing over
the surf-beaten shore and the wind-rippled bays, now one is
rarely to be seen." Land-birds of all sorts have also suffered
in a similar way, both on Long Island and in adjacent locali-
ties in New Jersey. Nor have the interior regions of the
United States escaped the visits of the milliner's agent. An
Indianapolis taxidermist is on record with the statement that
in 1895 there were shipped from that city five thousand bird-
skins collected in the Ohio Valley. He adds that "no county
in the State is free from the ornithological murderer," and
prophesies that birds will soon become very scarce in the
State.

These isolated examples can only suggest the enormous
number of birds sacrificed on the altar of fashion. The uni-
versal use of birds for millinery purposes bears sufficient
testimony to the fact. Yet it is probable that most women
who follow the fashion seldom appreciate the sutfering and
the economic losses which it involves.

262 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

A few years ago tlie Committee on Bird Protection of the
American Ornithologist's Union issued an appeal in which
occurs this paragraph :

" So long as the demand continues, the supply will come.
Law of itself can he of little, perhaps of no ultimate avail.
It may give check, but this tide of destruction it is powerless
to stay. The demand will be met ; the offenders will find it
worth while to dare the law. Only one thing will stop the
cruelty, — the disapprobation of fashion. It is our women
who hold the great power. Let our women say the word,
and hundreds of thousands of birds' lives will be preserved
every year. And until woman does use her influence it is
vain to hope that this nameless sacrifice will cease until it has
worked out its own end and the birds are gone."

The destruction of the smaller birds for food is much
greater than is commonly supposed. It is due not so much
to the demand created by native white Americans, as by the
foreigners in the North and negroes in the South. During the
migrations to and from the southern regions, enormous num-
bers of birds which are commonly considered non-edible are
killed for food. In the larger cities hundreds of such victims
were formerly sold. Besides the reed-birds, robins, meadow-
larks, and blackbirds that one would expect might be found,
there were woodpeckers, thrushes, sparrows, warblers, wax-
wings, and vireos. An interesting example has been reported
by Mr. Walter E. Bryant in the case of the " reed-birds " of
San Francisco markets. " For years there have been exposed
for sale small California birds, picked, and six of them ranged
side by side with a skewer running through them. These are
sold as "reed-birds," though, of course, they are not the
Eastern bobolink, Avhich does not occur in California. They
are most commonly the horned lark (Ofocoris)^ but there may
often be found on the skewers housefinches, goldfinches,
various sparrows (except the English variety), blackbirds, and
sand-pipers. Many thousands of birds are thus destroyed

THE CONSERVATION OF BIRDS. 263

annually." The tendency, as Mr. Bryant says, is steadily "to
increase in severity, and it has long since arrived at that stage
of importance which should bring' it to the notice of the
authorities interested in bird protection."

In the South all sorts of small birds appeared in the city
markets. In a statement concerning the destruction of small
birds in the vicinity of New Orleans, Professor Nehrling says :
" There is scarcely a hotel in New Orleans where small birds
do not form an item on the bill of fare. At certain seasons
the robin, wood-thrush, thrasher, olive-backed thrush, hermit-
thrush, chewink, flicker, and many of our beautiful sparrows
form the bulk of the victims ; but cat-birds, carchnals, and
almost all small birds, even swallows^ can be found in the
markets." ^

A few small birds have ranked as game more or less gener-
ally. Of these the bobolink is one. Although one of the
best-beloved birds in the North, where it is given all the pro-
tection accorded to any bird, in the Middle States it is killed
in enormous numbers during the autumnal migration. To
one familiar with the bobolink's liquid melody and parental
devotion such slaughter seems a sacrilege. In the rice-grow-
ing regions along the Carolina coast, bobolinks are veritable
pests and as such are destroyed. Robins are also killed in
the Southern States during the winter. A notorious example
of robin slaughter is that of a consignment of twenty-seven
hundred in one lot received by a Washington, D. C, dealer in
the spring of 1897. During their stay in the South they
occupy regular " roosts," where they assemble at nightfall by
thousands, and it is at these " roosts" that most of the
slaughter is accomplished.

Flickers, meadow-larks, and blackbirds have been quite
generally slain the country over, especially by those unable to
kill anything biggor; hiil among Inic sportsmen they have

See W. T. Iloiniulay, iM Ami. Repl. N. Y. Zo«.l. Soc, p. 80, 1898.

264 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

long been on the " retired list." Birds of this class have been
gradually taken from the game lists in the several States — a ten-
dency culminating in the Migratory Bird Act passed by Congress
in 1913. This act makes a continuous closed season on mi-
gratory insectivorous birds, excepting the bobolink or reed-bird,
which maybe hunted from September 1 to October 31 in cer-
tain of the Atlantic States.

The segregating habit of sea-birds at certain breeding places,
so advantageous to plume-hunters, is not less so to "eggers,"
nor less fatal to the birds. Audubon, in his Ornithological
Biography, devotes a chapter to " eggers," with whom he
came in contact on his Labrador exploration. Their ruthless
invasion of the barren islands inhabited by countless murres
and gulls, resulting in the loss of every egg that could be dis-
covered, all summer long, evidently aroused the displeasure
of the great naturalist.

Even down to a few years ago, when Dominion laws put
a stop to it, egging was conthmed on the islands off New-
Brunswick and northward. Tlie eggs were brought off by
boat-loads and sold for various purposes. Wherever colonies
of sea-birds assemble to breed along our Eastern coast, the
practice of turning the eggs to commercial use has been in
vogue. The eggs of the laughing gull (Lams atricille) are an
esteemed delicacy in Virginia. The gulls, terns, and herons,
which formerly bred in immense numbers along the coasts of
Florida and Texas, have been subject to the same blasting
influence. An article ^ by Mr. H. W. Elliott gives an idea of
the abundance of eggs and the wholesale manner in which
they have been gathered in the Pacific. Mr. Elliott states
that when he visited Walrus Island, in Behriug Sea, in July,
1872, six men loaded a four-ton boat with murre eggs in less
than six hours. Concerning egging in California, Dr. T. S.
Palmer writes:^ "A still more striking example of wholesale

1 The Auk, vol. v. p. 377.

-' Yearbook, Dept. ..1" Aur. f.-r IS'Hi, p. i>71,

THE CONSERVATION OF BIRDS. 265

egg-collecting, and probably the most important one in the
United States, from a financial stand-point, is that of the Faral-
lones. These islands, or rather rocks, situated on the coast of
California, thirty miles west of the Golden Gate, are the breed-
ing-grounds of myriads of sea-birds, chiefly western gulls
(^Larus occidentaUs) and murres, or California guillemots {Uria
troth Calif ornica). For nearly iifty years murre eggs were
collected here and shipped to San Francisco market, where
they found a ready sale at from twelve to twenty cents a
dozen, a price only a little less than that of hens' eggs. During
the season, which lasted about two months, beginning near
the middle of May, the eggs Avere shipped regularly once or
twdce a week. The main crop was gathered on South Faral-
lone, the principal island, and mainly from the ' great
rookery' at the w^est end. The birds lay only one e^^
wiiich is deposited on the bare rock. When the season
opened the men went over the ground and broke all the eggs
in sight, so as to avoid taking any that Avere not perfectly
fresh. The ground was then gone over every day, and the
eggs Avere systematically picked up and shipped to market.
The business AA^as in the hands of Italians and Greeks, who
Avere also engaged in fishing, and, although a dozen or fifteen
' eggers' Avere employed on the islands, the number of eggs
gathered Avas simply enormous. It is said that in 1854 more
than five hundred thousand eggs Avere sold in less than tw^o
months, and that between 1850 and 1856 three or four mill-
ions Avere taken to San Francisco. . . . Since then the value
of the eggs has declined, and the number has fallen off con-
siderably. In 1884 there Avere gathered three hundred thou-
sand, in 1896 about one hundred and eight thousand, Avhile
in 1896 the crop was reduced to a little less than iiinely-tAVo
thousand."

As a cause of reduction in the number of sea-birds, egging
undoubtedly is entitled to first place. Millinery shooting,
though e(|ually destrnclivc in oixTation, was Ix'^ini al a date.

266 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

so comparatively recent that, wicked as it admittedly is, it
must be given second rank.

For a long time all birds not used for food were ignored
by the American people. Before there was a demand for
their feathers and skins they were simply let alone. But
when game-birds became scarce, and many foreign hnmi-
grants, accustomed abroad to eating small birds, had come
to our shores, and rampant fashion had set bird plumes
among her gods, destruction began. All the serious dangers
that beset the birds, at least those of human origin, have
been operating only a comparatively short time. Then, again,
it is only a few years since the food habits of such birds have
been well understood. In view of all this, it is not strange
that protective laws were late in making their appearance on
our statute-books. Although game-birds were protected by
law early in the nineteenth century, it was in 1850 that "small
and harmless birds'' were given a legal standhig. In that year
both Connecticut and New Jersey protected most of the com-
mon small birds and their eggs by fixing a line for each bird or
egg destroyed. Other States gradually followed suit, but in
fourteen years only twelve States and the District of Columbia
had adopted such laws. It was not long, however, before
bird-slaughter became notorious, and then legislation quickly
became general. "Insectivorous and song-birds" was the
term often employed in framing these laws ; but that term
was too loose and narrow. The slaughter of plume-birds led
to their protection in Florida and Texas, where it was espe-
cially severe, and by degrees they have come to be included
in the number protected by many States. Even birds of prey,
since it has been found that there are only half a dozen
injurious species out of the whole family — or, rather, so much
of it as is found in the United Slates, numbering about ninety
— have come in for statutory shelter in several States. There
is a deeply-rooted i)rejudice against them, however, that can-
not be overcome in one generation, even by ligures ; the acts

THE CONSERVATION OF BIRDS. '207

of the evil few have so blackened the n^pulatioii of the whole
family, that it is not [probable that hawks and owls will be
protected generally or specifically in most States for a long
time to come. Few States grant protection to the whole
tribe. Some protect all but " chicken-hawks." One or two
protect fish-hawks. Several States have prescribed fines
for killing bald eagles. The turkey buzzards {Cathartes aura),
which prefer carrion to freshly-killed meat, are useful as scav-
engers and are protected in the District of Columbia and in
the Southern States. They ought to be protected wherever
they occur.

Besides birds of prey there are a number of other birds
to which several States have thus far denied protection.
Of such are the grain-eating birds, — crows, blackbirds, etc.;
those which live upon fish, — loons, auks, mergansers, herons,
and kingfishers ; and English sparrows. The last-named is
the one most generally condemned ; only a few States have
exempted fish-eating birds from protection, and less than half
have announced a prejudice against crows and blackbirds.

Legislation })rimarily intended for game has in a few instances
afforded protection to all birds. Laws prohibithig shooting on
Sunday and those requiring gun licenses are of this sort. Speak-
ing of gun licenses, the protection of non-game-birds is the only
reason that can be logically urged in their favor. The declara-
tion that game is the property of the State is the foundation
of all game legislation. That all citizens of the State have
equal right to it must be conceded. A game law establishing
a gun license discriminates against the poor sportsman and in
favor of the rich one. On the other hand, a gun license re-
quirement would undoubtedly delay the day when precocious
youngsters go forth with two-dollar guns until many of them,
at least, are old enough to be out of the bird-killing stage.

In tlip vicinity of some of our larger cities trapping native
song-birds to sell as i)ets has been carried on to such an
extent that several States have prohibited it by law, so they

268 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

may neither be captured nor kept in captivity. Other States
•specify what birds may be caged. Whether birds are caged
or not, so long as they are not subject to traffic, is a matter
of no importance to birds in general. The few taken from
the Avild state usually prove good missionaries. People that
keep a tame bird a year or two are usually friendly to the
race thereafter.

Although every State and the Territory of Alaska has its
bird law, there is a great lack of uniformity among the differ-
ent States, and many of the laws are very incomplete. Their
enforcement is usually left to State or county officials, gener-
ally to game wardens or commissioners. Offences that do
not come directly to their notice are rarely heard of, for the
reason that most persons, even though favorable to bird pro-
tection, dislike to report the misdeeds of their neighbors.
The utility of birds and the causes and extent of decrease
among them are so little understood by the general public
that there is no popular interest either in making or enforcing
laws for their preservation. So far as law-making is con-
cerned, it is easy as compared with the task of preventing
law-breaking; but even law-making — adequate law-making
— has proved uphill work. Protection should be uniform,
because most of our birds cover vast areas. Federal legisla-
tion prohibiting interstate traffic in wild bird plumage, and
the Migratory Bird Act, protecting migratory insectivorous
birds, like the Lacey Act, meet the requirements more
quickly and effectively than State laws. To meet the
need of uniformity, and at the same time to suggest a safe,
intelligent measure^ the Committee on Bird Protection of
the American Ornithologists' Union have prepared an act
which has already been adopted in its main features by
several States. At this time it appears probable that,
through the efforts of the ornithologists and others inter-
ested in protecting birds, this proposed act will ultimately be
the basis of protective laws throughout the Union. A copy

THE COXSERVATIOX OF BIRDS. 269

of it, which is an amended form of the first draft taken from
Bulletin No. 12, United States Department of Agriculture,
Division of Biological Survey, page 48, may be found in the
Appendix of this book.

But laws are hardly more than " first-aid'' instruments, —
superficial, and not certain. They are framed and caused to
be enacted by a few specialists, who instruct the legislation
committee having jurisdiction over such bills, but are notable
to reach the people whom the laws are to govern. To the
majority the call for protective laws is not understood, if,
indeed, the laws themselves are known. Now that adequate
statutes are either enacted or may reasonably be exi)ected
very soon, it remains to scatter information about birds every-
where, so that laws may be respected, or perhaps become
unnecessary. Putting bird protection on a moral basis is a
good deal like planting pears, — the returns will be slow in
coming, but are certain to come in time. There is no portion
of the whole realm of natural history more attractive than birds.
People are always to be found who are glad to read or hear
about them. Dissemination of facts about birds will do more
for their lasting benefit than anything else, and it is in this
line that those interested in their conservation should work.
There must be lectures, short articles of a popular nature in
newspapers and magazines, distribution of government and
other publications relating to birds, posting bird laws in con-
spicuous places, and, most important of all, systematic bird
work in public schools.

The importance of engaging the interest of our youtli in
birds cannot be over-estimated. It results in a doubh' beiietit,
for the birds will be lield in higher esteem and the chihh'en
will become possessed of a source of lasting pleasure. The
nest-robbing, bird-shooting boy and the feather-wearing girl
may be made friends and allies of the birds at an expenditure
of not over fifteen minutes of school time a week. Fortu-
nately many teachers have lately Uikcn up tlie study of birds

270 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

as a recreation, and thus have been led to bring it into school.
A Bird Day is celebrated in many schools, and in at least three
States Bird Day is combined with Arbor Day, and appointed
by executive proclamation to be observed in schools by appro-
priate exercises.

While the results of school work are mostly as remote from
the application as youth is from maturity, they ought not to
be wholly so. As has already been noted, one of the greatest
afflictions endured by birds is the nest-robbing small boy.
Hunting birds' nests is apparently an original sin, born in the
flesh and bound to crop out. Properly handled, it need be
neither condoned nor condemned. The considerate teacher
will take the bull by the horns by asking his pupils to find
nests. He wdll require an account at stated intervals of the
position and architecture of nests, the number and appearance
of eggs, period of incubation, and length of time the young
remain in the nest. The short-sighted ])olicy of taking eggs
will thus be overcome. There should be no honor in failure.
None should receive credit Avho are not able to report the
young safely on the wing. Of course the teacher should
have a lively interest in the niatter himself, and be able to
advise in many ways, but this much granted, the i)lan will
work.^

^ In this school work The Bird Calendar, hy Clarence Moores Weed,
will be found useful. It enables the pupil to keep his record clearly and
systematically. It is ])ul)lished by Rand, McNally &: Co., Chicago.

CHAPTER XXII.

THE CONSERVATION OF BIRDS (Concluded).
II. THE GAME-BIRDS.

The term game-birds is at present held to comprise the fol-
lowing four orders of birds : An.^eres, ducks, geese, and swans ;
Falxdicohv, cranes, rails, coots, and gallinules ; LbnU-ohv, shore
birds ; GaUhice, grouse and quail. The members of the order
Cohimhce^ pigeons and doves, have been generally considered
game, and still are by many ; but these birds have become so
scarce that it is plainly unwise to treat them as game any
longer. For the same reason certain species belonging to the
orders above named should be taken from the game list, tem-
porarily at least. The cranes are sucli birds. Flickers, larks,
robins, and similar birds, formerly called game, as we have
seen, by right are game no longer. Either by decrease or by
a demonstrated superior living value the accepted list of game-
birds has been growing shorter. It is the purpose of this
chapter to find the cause and trace the course of this tendency.

Prior to the settlement of America by the whites, and,
indeed, for many years after it, the game-bird problem was
wholly in the destructive phase. How could enough l)irds be
secured to satisfy bodily needs ? Avas the sum of it. xVfter a
steadily-increasing drain for many years, we find ourselves
confronted by a different phase, not destructive, but consc^rva-
tive. The (picstion now stands. How can cxtcriiiinatioii be
prevented ?

Al)()riginal weapons were so crude and furred animals so
much mon^ desirable on account of their skins that birds were
not seriously persecuted ])y the red men. The pioneers were
better equipped. Like the Indians, they depended on game
for their meat supply, and early appreciated the sa})id ((ualities

•_>71

THE CONSERVATION OF BIRDS. 273

of our native wild fowl. Birds were abundant in those days ;
powder and shot were too dear to be expended on what could
not be put to a good use, so we may be assured that the early
settlers did not abuse their privileges.

Necessity made man a destroyer of life. Bodily demands
first sent him abroad to match human courage against brute
ferocity, human patience against brute endurance, human cun-
ning against brute sagacity. He found the excitement of the
chase no less agreeable than its products. Hope and fear and
victorious exultation combined to fill the hunter's breast with
enthusiasm for his pursuit. The peculiar savors of Avild meat
were sweet to his palate. What w^onder, then, that the red
man declined to till the ground or that the fathers failed to lay
aside the gun when it was no longer needed to supply the
family larder.

These two motives — appetite and love of sport — are the
roots of the whole matter, and they must be the basis of our
investigation. Let us see what each has contributed to bring
about the present depletion of game-birds ; let us compare
their merits, ethical and practical.

As the land became cleared of forests the range of wild
creatures was correspondingly restricted, and it was no longer
possible for every man to supply his table with their flesh.
There was no alternative but to use that of domestic animals
in their place. Thus scarcity long since relegated all sorts of
game from common fare, but it has ever been held in high
esteem as a luxury with those able to procure it. The division
of labor that gradually developed produced in turn the itiner-
ant butcher and the market-man. The art of killing and the
art of selling were divorced. The market-man gives employ-
ment not only to butcher but to a host of others who contribute
to the supply of necessities and luxuries that he handles. By
combining energy, wealth, and science he has laid under con-
tribution every land, eliminated distance, and defied alike
climate and season. It is largely to his enterprise that we

18

274 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

niusl ascribe the enormous quantities of game-ljirds thai are
annually consumed by people who never saw one alive. At
his call skilled huntsmen took the field, employing every means
ingenuity could suggest to increase the catch. Nets, snares,
traps, decoys, and ponderous guns were in constant use. For
years professional hunters slaughtered, dealers handled, and
gluttons gobbled without reason or restraint. There could be
but one result : wild fowl have become scarce. Gunners no
longer return at night with more birds than they can carry ;
not seldom they come in empty-handed. But the millionaire
makes up the shortage by paying higher prices. When a pair
of canvas-backs bring a five-dollar note there is still money in
shooting ducks.

The same lavish fancy that prompts a rich gourmand to buy
high-priced ducks prompts him to spend an equal sum for a
box of strawberries out of season. The ducks are actually
not finer than others of less repute ; the berries are not sweeter
nor better-flavored than those he buys in spring at ten cents a
box. His purchases are made without regard either to cost or
intrinsic worth. He has reached a point where gratification
outweighs money. But let us see the difference to us whether
he spends it for berries or for ducks. When he buys berries
he pays the gardener a special price for a special kind of skill
and for maintaining an expensive establishment a fair recom-
pense. The fruit is as truly the sole property of the horti-
culturist as is the money the sole property of the purchaser.
The transaction is legitimate. Now as to ducks. The gunner
receives pay for skill and toil, as in tlie other case ; but the
birds are his only by an acquisition not wholly above question.
He has spent nothing on their nurture. He disposes of what
we have as clear a title to as he if we would but make it good
by scouring the marshes. Such a tith^ may not be very strong,
but it has a certain validity nevertheless. As a democratic
people, there is but one light in which we can regard game, —
that is, as public property. If there were an inexhaustible

THE CONSERVATION OF BIRDS. 275

supply there would be no ground for conflict between com-
mercial and private interests ; but the supply is already alarm-
ingly diminished, and we cannot doubt that traffic has been a
large factor in makuig it so.

When this country was tirst settled predaceous animals
were troublesome. Bounties were offered for their scalps.
For the most })art tliey are now extinct in the older localities.
A price on the heads of hawks has reduced them to absolute
scarcity in most parts of the East. It was put there for that
purpose, and there is general gratification at the success of the
plan. Who will contend that a price on a bird's body is likely
to prove any less fatal to the bird, as a species, than if it were
a premium on heads ? Various persons at different times have
advanced arguments in defence of selling game, and at the
same time have offered plausible advice as to how it might be
done without endangering the stock. It has generally turned
out that a personal interest lay at the bottom of such advo-
cacy ; it might be a share in a cold-storage plant or a private
game preserve that needed more freedom in management to
become profitable. So long as there is a money value on
game-birds, so long will there be a standing army of gunners
harrying hill and dale, marsh and shore, — a shiftless, irre-
sponsible company, who prefer the excitement of the hunt,
although coupled with precarious returns, to regular employ-
ment and a certain wage, — shooting without mercy, insatiate.

Although America cannot boast of so large a variety of
quadrupeds as the Old World, her wild fowl are unexcelled
in variety, numbers, or gastronomic qualities. Persons expert
in handling a gun Hud I hem incomparable as a source of
sport. No amount of the smaller four-footed game can bring
to the heart of the true sportsman the satisfaction he feels
when he stops the headlong flight of a grouse or duck.

Hunting has always had many devotees who have followed
it simply for ph^asure. To l)e a successful hunter of wild fowl
one nuist have a lash' for il. keen senses, and no mean skill.

276 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

To such an one it is a prime diversion. The days allotted to
it are landmarks in anticipation and remembrance. Thoughts
of autumn keep a multitude contentedly at the plow, the
bench, and the desk, resisting the appeals of spring and the
torrid oppression of summer. For most men there is no
pleasure in the sight of flowing blood or broken bones or
gaping wounds or glazing eyes. It is not these concomitants
of death nor death itself that are enjoyed. Enticement afield
lies rather in the fortunes of chance and the exercise of ability,
in the thousand delights to eye and ear in the haunts of nature —
woods, water, busy insects, flitting birds, the gorgeous color-
ing of autumn leaves, shy plants that blossom only in the shade.
Chasing the quarry is but a string on which these things are
strung. Grief bids farewell, care and melancholy go away,
when one turns nimrod, as naturally as hunger follows fasting
or sleep the labor of the day.

With many, perhaps the majority, who shoot birds, sport is
the main thing ; the game, after it is secured, being secondary,
— hardly more than incidental. The diversion of mind, the
increased vigor, the excitement at the critical moment, and a
reasonable number of hits are sufficient returns for all the
discomforts endured. The tender, woodsy-savored breasts at
supper, to crown the day, are perquisites. But, unfortunately,
there are men among the legion included under the title of
sportsmen, as distinguished from market-gunners, who have
never learned the virtue of moderation. They are never sat-
isfied ; they cannot kill enough. No matter how many birds
they see or how little use they may have for them, they kill
and kill, so long as any are in sight or there is a shot in the
locker. The term •• game-hog," which has been applied to this
sort of a sportsman, is pat. His place is at the bottom of the
shooting list. The market-gunner has a poor business, but he
has at least a tangible excuse for killing all he can. For the
" game-hog" there is no extenuation, unless we credit him
witli a weak mind.

THE CONSERVATION OF BIRDS.

t i

The 11 umber of sportsmen has constantly increased. This
happens mainly as a result of increased population, though it
has been assisted by modern inventions. Improvements in
fire-arms have made successful hunting more sure.

Railroads have penetrated wilder lands and afford easy
facilities for reaching good grounds that otherwise would be
inaccessible to the average gunner. When we reflect that
game-birds showed a diminution in numbers a hundred years
ago, it is a wonder that, with the increasing forces working
against them, there are any left. So prevalent is the hunting
spirit that, as in other branches of human interest, fraterni-
ties have been formed. Sportsmen's clubs and sportsmen's
leagues are many. Newspaper and magazine publishers cater
to sportsmen by devoting more or less space to sporting news.
Wealthy men, fond of shooting, club together, gain control of
favorite game resorts by purchase or lease, and erect expensive
houses thereon, in order that they may not forego home com-
forts while engaged in shooting. Along the coast and on the
borders of the great lakes are many such tracts, held for duck
and goose shooting. In the primeval woods are many others.
Such conveniences attract men who otherwise would not care
to endure camp-life, and thus add largely to the foes of game-
birds. There is another side to this, however, which is impor-
tant, for it may prove the salvation of the birds, — the men of
wealth and influence are made aware of their scarcity. Their
investments in club properties as well as their love for sport
give them an incentive to try to mend matters. In a number
of instances they have replenished their covers with imported
birds. They establish rules to regulate shooting on their ter-
ritory, they influence i)ublic sentiment by api)eals through the
press, and direct legislation with a strong hand. There are
many sportsmen, without property rights, in favor of adequate
protection, who are ready to quit when they have killed a
reasonable number of birds. Such men are the right sort of
leaven ; they can preach the doctrine of conservation with

278 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

effect, for they practise" it, and cannot be accused of seltish
motives. As editors and contributors they have already
awakened a wide-spread interest in the protection of game,
and it is largely through their labors that protective laws have
been spread on the statute-books of every State in the Union.

In our examination of motives we have seen that, though
differing in kind, they have worked together along the same
line towards the same result. So far as effect goes, they have
been practically a unit, and in tracing the progress of decrease
need not be separated. It is when we consider preventive
means that a distinction should be made between them.

In the early days game Avas taken at all seasons and by
every available means. The settlers were not in a condition
to think of ultimate results, and their successors did not take
the pains. For many years wild fowl were so plentiful that
the idea that they might become scarce probably did not occur
to people in general. To kill a female bird in spring virtually
destroys a whole brood for a gain of one — a poor one at
that. In spite of the plain improvidence of killing at all
seasons, it was continued for generations after it was noticed
that birds were growing less. So it was Avith traps, nets, and
swivel-guns. As a specitic illustration of the results of inju-
dicious killing and of the prevailing negligent spirit with which
it was viewed, let us look at the history of New Hampshire.
Being one of the older States, the history of its game is prac-
tically a chronicle of that of other older States and a prophecy
of that of the newer.

New Hampshire was first settled in its southeast corner,
near the sea, about the year 1623. Its forests were dense
and its soil stubborn, so that its occupation was very gradual.
In 1792 Jeremy Belknap published a history of the State, in
which was given a list of its birds. Among them were four
game-birds that no longer have a place there. They were the
sand-hill crane, the heath-hen, the wild turkey, and the pas-
senger pigeon. The crane was even then presumably rare,

THE CONSERVATION OF BIRDS. 279

though at about the same time Samuel Williams wrote -of
them as among the commonest water-birds of Vermont. Be
that as it may, during the nineteenth century only one sand-
hill crane is known to have been taken in New England.
This accidental })ilgrim to the land of his forefathers was
killed about 1896, near where New Hampshire was first
settled. Heath-hens long since vanished from the State,
and the only remnant of the race left in New England is
among the dense brush-land of Martha's Vineyard, off the
south coast of Massachusetts. The wild turkey has also dis-
appeared. Nobody knows when the last one was killed.
In Massachusetts they were occasionally seen down to 1847.
It is to be sincerely regretted that such birds are gone, the
turkey and grouse especially, for no finer game-birds exist the
world over. But as a striking example of the effect of cease-
less slaughter the wild pigeon is pre-eminent. Belknap,
quoting from the journal of Richard Hazen, who surveyed
the province line in 1741, says, "For three miles together
the pigeons' nests were so thick that five hundred might
have been told on the beech-trees at one time." Before the
end of that century pigeons were greatly reduced, though
still abundant. Persons now living remember when netting
and shooting pigeons at "beds" was a connnon practice.
They brought but a trifie per dozen, yet many men w^ere in
the business of capturing them for market. The decrease
was more and more rapid as years passed. By 1850 they
were scarce. Twenty-five years later they were rare, and in
ten years more not one was to be found. Ten years after
their disappearance the State legislature passed a law pro-
hibiting the killing of pigeons for a term of three years.

But it is not \hv exterminated species alone that deserve
attention; indeed, tliey are "spilt milk" and may as well be
forgotten, unless we can turn tlieir fate t(j a<*c()niit in per[»elu-
ating those that are left. The worst sulTerers in New Hamp-
shire to-dav are the water-fowl and shore-birds, especially

280 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

near the coast, where most of them are exclusively found.
A conservative estimate of the average annual slaughter of
water-fowl — ducks principally — on her eighteen miles of coast
and adjacent brackish waters, is five thousand. Half that
number are sometimes killed off a single promontory, — Boars
Head, at Hampton Beach. The majority are shot for revenue
only. The older hunters are unanimous in saying that all
sorts of water-fowl are scarce compared with what they were
fifty years ago. Of the myriads of plover, snipe, curlews, and
sand-pipers that formerly thronged beach and marsh only a
fraction remain. The number of gunners that follow them
is so great and the area they frequent is so wide that any
estimate of the yearly capture is hazardous.

Birds have been killed faster than they could uiultiply. At
first it was not realized, but it was known so long ago as
Belknap wrote, for he relates that " some of our epicurean
gentry" had already begun to fear for the ruffed grouse.
Thanks to its peculiar habits, that royal bird still inhabits its
native heath. In spite of the fact that the decrease was ap-
prehended, it was more than fifty years before the mental
inertia of the people was overcome sufficiently for them to
take active measures to stay it. Three game-birds had suffered
extinction and a fourth was on the brink Avhen the first step
was taken.

The first game laws enacted related to time and method
of capture. Spring killing and trapping were the earliest
prohibitions. Only a part of the permanent resident birds
were given even this protection. As time went on the num-
ber of protected birds and the period of their protection
were gradually increased ; but it was something like forty
years after the initial law before the game-birds found in the
State were given a closed season. In spite of statutes regu-
lating seasons and methods, it at length became apparent that
the decrease Avas not wholly checked, and further measures
were taken. It was made an offence to send dead grouse

281

282 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

and Avoodcock and plover out of the State. Public opinion
favorable to the protection of game has been steadily growing.
A State game and fish conniiission, having game interests in
charge, superintends the propagation and distribution of game
and prosecutes offenders. This, in a nut-shell, is a history
of game-bird relations in New Hampshire.

In other States the story runs much the same. A pro-
nounced falling off in the number of game-birds is acknowl-
edged everywhere. Some States have been more prompt with
measures to prevent it, some more tardy. New York passed
a law protecting heath-hens in 1791, but so late as 1874 only
twenty-four States and territories had game laws. At present
every state offers some protection. They all prohibit market
hunting or the sale of certain game birds ; and many prohibit
export. Practically all require that non-resident hunters shall
be licensed and in most States this law applies to residents as
well, though to them licenses are issued at a nominal rate. In
many States there are laws limiting the number of birds that
may be killed by one person in a day. Although the need of
game protection was a long time in im})ressing the public
mind, when once aroused, the sentiment in its favor rapidly
gained streni^th. There is scarcely a legislature that is not
asked to do something to help it along.

One of the greatest difficulties in the way of a general en-
dorsement of, and respect for, game laws has been their lack
of uniformity. One does not mind refraining so much when
everybody else has to refrain, too ; but when he sees his
neighbors doing what he is enjoined not to do, there is a
temptation to rebel. When there is a variance in the laws
of the adjoining States there is sure to be poaching near the
boundary. One State allows spring shooting of water-fowl,
the next prohibits it, yet they have a continuous coast-line or
are separated by a river. There is Injustice when slaughter
must cease at an arbitrary line which has no natural signifi-
cance. Those who kill illegally under such circumstances

THE CONSERVATION OF BIRDS. '28:^

always defend themselves on this ground, though it may not
be the real cause of their crime. In spite of the fact that it
cannot save them from punishment if they are prosecuted, it
undoubtedly keeps down the number of complaints that
reach official ears. Officials themselves are likely to give
most of their attention to other parts of the State.

As an example of non-uniformity take Iowa and her near-
by neighbors north and south, Minnesota and Missouri. In
1901 the close season for ducks in low^a was April 15 to
September 1 ; in Minnesota it was January 1 to September
1 ; and in Missouri April 1 to October 1. Iowa gunners
were allowed to kill ducks six weeks longer than Missouri
gunners, and thirteen w^eeks longer than Minnesota gun-
ners. If ducks were permanent residents such discrepancy
w^ould not matter, but the majority of them are migrants,
exposed to fire from each of the three States in succession.
The laws relating to other game-birds in these three States
were no nearer alike. Neither Avere game laws of other con-
tiguous States better in this respect. In the statement of
close seasons in the different States and territories issued by
the Department of Agriculture^ there w^ere not three succes-
sive States with uniform law^s relating to a single game-bird,
with the exception of Utah, Idaho, and Washington, which
agreed in protecting grouse and prairie chickens. This con-
dition of things was manifestly wTong, and so long as it con-
tinued the laws in question were certain to be violated.
Popular sentiment did not uphold them. It is not practicable
to police every bit of w^oods, every stretch of water, every
grain-field. If game laws do not meet the approval and have
the hearty support of the masses, they are void.

The palpable impropriety of prohibiting on one side oi a
certain line what is openly and legally practiced on the other
can lead to but one outcome — ^defiance. That the State is the
sovereign power, so far as its internal affairs are concerned,

' Bulletin No. 14, Division of Biological Survey.

NORTHERN STATES

JAN

TLB.

MAR

APR.

MAY

JUNE 1 JULY

AUG.

SCPT.

OCT

NOV.

DLC

Maine

y////.

'W-l

// . t //-'--

; ^ //^

yy'X: 'yyyyyyyy

yyyyy/

New Hampshire

Vermont

cn ^ ^

; \ 'y},

y////y

y/y.. ,

' . . / . ///

\yyyy'y>

Mas.sachusett.s

yyy^,

r: ' 'yy////.

yyyyy

Rhode Island.

Connecticut

New York

z/.' 'y//////y/A

^//A^y-^..:.A .//////////M,

V/////y///y///////My///,

New jersey

Pennsylvania

Delaware '

yyyy/WMMM

Y^ ' ,y / ^////y/

r '

1

^ ' ■

Maryland^
District of Columbia

^/ ' '. yw/y//

y/A : ' i

.Y'rgiiiia.^.

WestVirgmia

yyz y. yyyyyyyA

KentucW

Mo;:::::::::::::

v/A

yy

yyy

y///A

A

.k-

"■ "yyyyyyyyyyyAyyyyAyy

V//A

Michigan

y/////.

y/z/A

v/m

^^- ... . :,_x^

yyyyy/

yyyyy/

Indiana

Illinois

Wisconsin ..

MinnesfD.ta"" .."".' ! '.'. ^'

'//r : , ' ' ; '

^' : , ■ < \ ,

Iowa

\ \ ' y^.yyy

yyyy/

Mi.s.soun

Kansas

/.'/.. \ . . '

yy/yyyyyyyyyyyyyy/.

Nebraska

\ \ ' ' '/ ' 'V,

South Dakota

.Nor.thPakoiA

Montana

t ' , - ^

'///. ' ' .'/.

yy/ ■ , ' ^'y.

Wyoming

Colorado

'Z.... i../y

r:^ ; \A.y:y

SOUTHERN STATES |

North Carolina ^
South Carohna. ...

.Georgia

FloncTa

Alabama

yym

yyyyy

yyyyy

y^yyy

yyyyy/yyyy/>.

yyyyy

y.

yyyyy

yyyyy

yyyyyy

/y/yyy

wyy/yyyyyy

Mississippi

Tennessee^

Arkansas

Louis-.ana

Texas. .." .;.■■..."■ .

Oklahoma

vyyyy

yy//yy

yyyyy

WA

yyyyyy

yyyyy

yyyyy

yyyyy/.

/yyyyy

Nevv Mexi.cq
Arizona

y/zA

//''//A

'//////

^yyyyy

yyyyyy

yyyyyyyyyyy/

yyA

PACinC STATES |

CaJifornia

Nevada

"Utah ■

Idaho

y/////i//y ' ■. ■ ; ■ ■ ///^////////.^'/y/////^

f I ' ' ;■ ''.

\A

'"// ' ' - t ^ ; ' ;■ ' '■ ; ^

yyyyy

■ • ; ' ' i ''

Oregon

Washington

i, ; • ; .:v..,^.Z:,..,-A^//Z

CANADA J

British Columbia

'^>,.

t,,',' ''^y///y/r'/'///x//////^

N WTerrito.ries...

Manitoba

Ontario

;QuebecV.".".'.V..'....
.Ne>v Bruns\vick

-i^oya, Scolia

Nev^onndland

1 i '' .' ' !

y///A

y/my/////

■//Av -y- ~ r ; ■ ■ ■ , ■ • >/

y/////.

m ■ ; ■ ' ] .^..

yy

yyX

y///yy

^'■!. y i ' ■' ■'■ ;■ '.: ':Z

yyyy.

^

^^r,M,^r,',,,-/,r' .r-.W,,,-,!-,-- M -^r,,V,Y^^

yyA

DIAGRAM SHOWING CLOSE SEASONS FOK WILD DUCKS IN 1901.
The shaded areas indicate close seasons. l Seasons vary in different countie.s.
iioloyical Survey. )

{From

• THE CONSERVATION OF BIRDS. 285

is no reason why States should not and cannot agree to
concerted legislation. In this, as in all movements involving
numbers, there must be pioneers, — individuals to move first.
There have been pioneers. New York was the first one.
To-day there are all degrees of protection offered. In a few
States it is nearly or quite up to the desires of those who have
given the subject most thought. It now remains for others
to get in line.

A suggestion made by Mr. Charles Hallock, in an address
to the National Game, Bird, and Fish Protective Association, in
1897, relative to uniform laws, is worthy of notice. He i)ro-
posed a division of the United States into three districts which
might readily adopt game laws of the same general tenor, if not
actually identical. The original scheme of Mr. Hallock, some-
what modified as to boundaries, was presented by Messrs.
Palmer and Olds, of the Biological Survey, in Bulletin No. 16,
United States Department of Agriculture, from which the map
at the beginning of this chapter is taken. The Rocky Mountains
form a natural barrier between the Northern and Pacific divi-
sions, while the line between the Northern and Southern
divisions is established with reference to climate. This plan,
after being before the sporting public for sixteen years, finally
materialized, in its main features, not as a series of uniform
laws, but as an act of Congress, known as the Migratory Bird
Act, the second federal law to protect game.

An important piece of legislation in favor of birds is the
Lacey Act, so called, a national law, approved May 25, 1900.
By the provisions of this act the preservation, distribution,
introduction, and restoration of game-birds and other birds is
induced in the duties and powers of the Department of Agricul-
ure. The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to purchase
and distribute such birds as may be required, subject to the
laws of the various States and Territories ; and also from time
to time to collect and publish useful information as to their
propagation, uses, and preservation. The importation of for-
eign wild animals and birds without a si)ecial i)ermit from the

286 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

Secretary of Agriculture is made unlawful. The introduction
of English sparrows and starlings is specially prohibited. This
act also prohibits interstate commerce in the dead bodies of
animals or birds, or parts thereof, Avhen killed contrary to the
laws of the State or if the State prohibits their export. All
birds, or parts thereof, when brought into a State are subject
to the same law^s that would apply in case the birds were pro-
duced in that State. The operation of this act has been very
satisfactory. Federal officers have prosecuted offending hun-
ters, dealers and cold storage companies with such vigor and
firmness that market hunting for interstate traffic has been
practically suspended.

The numberless ducks and geese reared in the vast territory
included in the Northern States, Canada and Alaska, follow
definite routes in migrating and are concentrated in winter
within a narrow strip along the Southern coasts. As a result
of being persistently hunted in these congested areas, a steady
decrease in their numbers became alarmingly evident in the
North. The number of cranes, rails and shorebirds also fell
off from the same cause. Hunters in the South not realizing,
or indifferent to, the evil of unrestricted pursuit, were loth to
forego even a part of their shooting. Those along the migra-
tion routes, where the decrease was most evident, became
divided into two factions; one, conservative, in favor of abol-
ishing spring-shooting, the other, prodigal, against it. Each
succeeding session of the legislatures in the various States was
the scene of hard-fought struggles over this question. Finally
the matter was taken to Congress, where, after much discus-
sion, a bill known as the Migratory Bird Act was passed and
approved in 1913. On the premise that all migratory birds
that do not remain the entire year in any State are in the cus-
tody of the United States this act established a daily closed
season for all migratory game from sunset to sunrise ; a gen-
eral five-year closed season for band-tailed pigeons, cranes,
swans, curlews and all shorebirds excepting black-breasted

THE CONSERVATIOX OF BIRDS. 287

and golden plovrrs, jacksnipe, woodcock and the greater and
lesser yellowlegs ; a five-year closed season for woodduck in
the Northern States from Maine to Minnesota and Kansas and
in the three Pacific States ; for rails in Vermont and Califor-
nia, and for woodcock in Illinois and Missouri. The Miss-
issippi Eiver, between Minneapolis and Memphis, and the
Missouri River, between Bismark and Nebraska City, were
closed to all hunting indefinitely. As these rivers are main
thoroughfares for migrants, the sections tlius set apart are of
great importance as refuges as well as breeding grounds. By
the provisions of this act the United States was divided, as
a basis for uniformity, into a northern or breeding zone and a
southern or wintering zone, somewhat after the plan sug-
gested by Mr. Hallock (see pages 272 and 281). All spring
shooting became illegal and open seasons were limited to from
two to three and a half months. For rails, coots, gallinules
and the five kinds of shorebirds remaining on the game list,
the open season was from September 1 to December 16 in
both zones ; for waterfowl it was from September 1 to De-
cember 16 in the northern zone, and October 1 to January
16 in the southern ; for woodcock it was from October 1 to
December 1 in the northern zone, and November 1 to January
1 in the southern. Exceptions to each of these regulations
were made for a few States, as may be seen in the digest of
this act in Appendix II. There is a diversity of opinion
regarding tlie constitutionality of this act but there can be no
question as to its beneficial effect if rigidly enforced.

Besides the protection afforded by game laws, there is the
method of establishing preserves where birds are either given
complete immunity from slaughter or are carefully guarded
from excessive depletion. The associations of wealthy sports-
men that exist in various parts of the country, where they
control much land, look after their game very carefully, as
has already been stated. Such preserves are maintained at
so large an expense that they can never become numerous
enough to bo of a})pre(iable assistance in ropopulating the

288 BIRDS L\ THEIR RELATION TO MAN.

woods. But it is perfectly feasible for owners of adjoining
farms, if they are so minded, to combine their properties into
preserves that would accomplish everything. A tract of land
comprising ten or a dozen average farms, thus set apart by
mutual consent as a section where no birds should be killed,
would become a reservoir, the overflow from which would
afford excellent sport in the surrounding region. Birds would
not only become more abundant, but the danger of extermi-
nation would be out of the question.

In Bird Lore, June, 1901, Mr. Willard G. Van Name, of New
Haven, Connecticut, gives an account of a preserve of this sort
that has proved all that was hoped for it. This preserve,
comprising between one and two square miles of farm- and
woodland, is in the vicinity of New Haven. It was organized
by Mr. E. Knight Sperry, of that city. Mr. Sperry first
obtained permission to try the experiment from the seven or
eight owners of tlie land, on condition that neither he nor
they should shoot there, and that he should bear all expenses,
while they were to enforce prohibition. The chief expense
was for signs forbidding shooting. A few quail were turned
loose each year, though it is now thought that was unneces-
sary. Ruffed grouse were left to increase as they could.
Small patches of wheat or buckwheat were sown to keep the
quail from starving or wandering in search of food during the
winter. Almost immediately an increase was noticed, and
soon the birds became very abundant on the preserve, and
now there is good shooting on the neighboring farms where
formerly very few birds were to be had. The land-owners
are so w^ell pleased with the plan that none have withdrawn
from the compact, although they are all at liberty to do so at
any time.

It is well known .that both quail and grouse prefer to live
either on or near cultivated land, where food is abundant.
Farmers might easily combine in this way, thereby affording
better sport for themselves, or increasing the attractions of

THE CONSERVATION OF BIRDS. 289

their town fur oiilsido parties wlio iur (lie iinkv of the J)inls
would be glad to come and pay well for shooting i)rivileges.
In many sections the city boarder has become the farmer's
best source of revenue. If he will protect his grouse and
quail, he may sell them in the brush for more than he could
realize by killing them himself and putting them in market,
and at the same time extend his boarding season well into
autumn. A city sportsman, whose time has a value, is glad
to pay for a certainty of fmdhig game. Although game is held
to be the property of the State rather than of the individual
owning the land that supports it, he may still be the sole bene-
ficiary if he will. He must obey the statutes, even on his own
land, but he can profit in due season by his own restraint, for
no one else can trespass on his premises if he forbids it.

The plan of establishing preserves or sanctuaries for game
has been extensively accepted by several States, and also by
the federal government. For example, Pennsylvania has set
aside a portion of the State lands for a game refuge. It is
bounded by an encircling wire designed to show its limits to
those approaching it without restraining the game in the least.
Within this boundary no hunting is allowed. Since this
refuge was established, the amount of game on and in the
vicinity of it is said to have considerably increased. In Min-
nesota, Colorado, Wyoming and several other States there are
similar preserves. National parks, as the Yellowstone in
Wyoming, the Glacier in Montana, and the Yosemite in Cali-
fornia, national game preserves and monuments, as the Wichita
Game Preserve and the Colorado National Monument, and a
large number of national naval, military and bird reservations,
aggregating millions of acres, have been designated as sanc-
tuaries where game of all kinds shall not be molested. These
places of refuge, preserved and kept inviolate by an enlight-
ened public sentiment, will serve the double purpose of pre-
venting the extinction of species and of acting as a source of
supply to the surrounding regions.

290 BIRDS IX THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN.

The statutory regulations framed to restore the former
abundance of game birds, beginning with closed seasons and
continuing with bag limits, hunting licenses, prohibition of
sale, and so forth, while reasonably effective, have not accom-
plished their purpose with the speed nor to the degree
desired. With a view to supplementing their results, some
interesting, as Avell as productive, experiments have been
tried in artificial propagation of game birds. Professor C. F.
Hodge reared in confinement the bobwhite and the ruffed
grouse with great success, the eggs being hatched by bantams.
The California valley quail has been bred in a similar manner,
and there is no apparent reason why any of our native species
of grouse or quail cannot be artificially propagated. Mr. H.
K. Job states! that artificial foods may be given to young chicks
of these species if they are lightly fed and allowed to range.
The first food is usually egg, either hard boiled and mashed
with bread or cracker crumbs or made into a c