November, 1919] 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



91 



damage takes place until the plants commence to 

 form seeds. This second attack commences about 

 the middle of August and continues until the plants 

 are harvested in early October. Four birds stand 

 out prominently in the work of destruction at this 

 time, namely the American Goldfinch (A. tristis), 

 the Pine Siskin (S. pinus), the Crossbill, or as it is 

 known in these parts, the Red Crossbill (L. cur- 

 virosira minor), and the White-winged Crossbill 

 (L. leucoptera). The first mentioned is by far the 

 most persistent of all of these and it is probable that 

 fully 80 per cent of this bird's food consists of sun- 

 flower seeds when they are available. The ripen- 

 ing of the seeds also coincide with the Goldfinch's 

 breeding season and in consequence the young are 

 largely reared on the same food supply. Later as 

 the nestlings learn to fly all find their way to the 

 sunflower patch and from then on make tlieir head- 

 quarters in the vicinity. To see one of tnese beau- 

 tiful little birds resting upon a sunflower at once sets 

 one speculating as to the probable origin of colors 

 that harmonize so remarkably with the plant the 

 birds feed upon. Who could possibly select a 

 more perfect background for concealment and yet 

 endow a bird with such brilliant colors at the same 

 time? The females and young are also wonder- 

 fully hidden when resting upon their favorite food 

 plant and it .therefore, seems strange that the name 

 sunflower bird has not been applied to this species. 

 While sunflower seeds unquestionably form the 

 chief food of Goldfinches during the autumn months, 

 the birds also consume a variety of other seeds such 

 as Gaillardia, thistle, dandelion, and many others of 

 composite plants. All such seeds are usually gath- 

 ered while the bird rests upon the plant and the 

 seeds dropped are seldom sought after on the 

 ground. 



Pine Siskins though not so persistent sunflower- 

 seed eaters as their relatives the Goldfinches, are, 

 nevertheless, quite destructive in the course of a 

 season and when in large flocks might do serious 

 harm. With us, however, a family or two are all 

 that visit the neighborhood in autumn and they 

 would not, therefore, be a serious menace to a large 

 field, though troublesome enough in a garden where 

 but a few thousand plants are grown. Both Pine 

 Siskins and American Goldfinches leave us in Octo- 

 ber; the latter have all gone by about the 20th, 

 while the former remain a week or more longer. 

 Indeed, there are records of Siskins being seen in 

 winter time though I have no personal records of 

 winter birds. They return in May and breed in 

 the woods close at hand. 



The two Crossbills have such similar habits that 

 they may well be treated as one in this article. They 



are, apparently, both residents throughout the year 

 and breed in the spruce woods close by. 



Crossbills are not regular visitors to the sun- 

 flowers but being great wanderers probably arrive 

 accidentally while in search of spruce cones. See- 

 ing the plants, however, they soon descend upon 

 them and are quickly engaged in tearing the heads 

 to pieces. They usually come in flocks of half a 

 dozen or so, these being doubtless single families, 

 as a majority are in juvenile plumage. Indeed, 

 observation shows that the young birds are far more 

 persistent in their depredations than the adults, and 

 it may be that like various other birds, these have a 

 habit when first seeking food for themselves which 

 they later abandon for the more general one of 

 gathering the seeds of the coniferous trees. This, 

 however, is only partly true as I have observed per- 

 fectly colored males as busy in the work of de- 

 struction as were the young alongside. 



Crossbills though not as persistent sunflower- 

 feeders as the Goldfinches are in other respects even 

 more injurious owing to their lack of discrimination 

 in selecting suitable heads. They may thus tear to 

 pieces half a dozen heads before discovering one 

 with seeds sufficiently mature for food purposes. 

 Under these conditions the damage done in a day 

 is often severe. In the case of the garden referred 

 to, the depredations become so extensive that I 

 eventually went cut with a gun, but to my joy found 

 it unnecessary, as the handsome marauders had de- 

 parted. 



Of the other eaters of sunflower seeds little need 

 be said as their influence on the ultimate production 

 is insignificant. Blue Jays prefer the larger seeds 

 and in autumn store them for future use. House 

 Sparrows and other sparrows gather them from the 

 ground as do also Mourning Doves and the various 

 species of blackbirds. Chickadees are almost daily 

 visitors to the sunflower patch in late autumn and 

 during the winter. No one, however, begrudges 

 them their tiny share and that they do feed upon the 

 seeds is more of interest as a means of attracting 

 them than otherwise. 



This then is a brief sketch of the birds that might 

 affect the industry of growing sunflowers, or their 

 seeds, for agricultural purposes; none of them, how- 

 ever, are particularly abundant though there is no 

 gainsaying the fact that even m their present num- 

 bers they might cause considerable loss on a large 

 field. If the sunflower industry ever develops, as 

 it promises to do, then it may be necessary to go 

 further into the matter and perhaps a gun will be 

 required. In our garden, where we were experi- 

 menting and crossing, losses, of course, had to be 

 guarded against. For the seedlings we used various 

 devices for hiding the plants and placed numerous 



