1P)2 lUKOS. 



'IMic first oixlcr to Uv considered, Hiiptorcs oi' l>irds of 

 Prey, li;is not very niueli iiii|)ort;iiice from ;iii ;ii:ricultiir:U 

 [)oiiit of view. It is true tlpit the frontier settlers suffer 

 not a little from the depredations of I'^.a^les and Hawks 

 hut in a thickly settled coimtry such losses ai'e not usually 

 \-er\' larii'e still the-^e lai'ii'er l)irds ai'e injurious just so far 

 a> these depredations extend. The Owls, espeeially the 

 sujaller ones. (U'ser\e more favor as Ihey destroy larii'e 

 nund»ers of rats. mice, moles and such animals, that do 

 more or less damage to the crops. \\\\\ more than this 

 they devour a ureaf many of Ihe lari^-e niiiht-llyin^- moths, 

 which come from, and in tni'n produce the laru'e larvic as 

 the |)ota1o-worm and tohacco-worm. The common 

 Screech ()\\1 is csjx'ciaHy serviceahle in this way. 



The Scansores or ( Mimhers arc of fai' i^reater impoi- 

 tance. as many of them arc most useful. Indeed if may 

 he assei-fed with truth that all of this order which ai'e 

 found in \'ei'mont are friends of the faiiner. In warmer 

 countries the numei'ons frihes oC I'arrots and similar 

 hirds are many of them \rvy inischie\()ns hut oiu' species 

 are all insect eaters. We ha\ c only the \\'oodpeckers 

 and Cuckoos. The ( 'uckoos are not of ureaf importance 

 as they are few in nmnhci'. They eat a irreat many cat- 

 erpillars and other insects and so ai'c heneticial so far as 

 they u'o. I*\'W birds are of so great \alne to ihe farmer 

 as the A\'o()d[)eckers. As \\'ilson most ti'iily says this 

 whole liToup seems to ha\-e hccn formed for the protect- 

 ion of our fruit and forest trees from the ravauvs of ver- 

 min. Among the many groundless and wholly false 

 ideas in regard to birds is one which attributes to these 

 l)ird.s the habit of sucking the sap of trees and Avliich 

 therefore bestows upon them the name of Sapsucker. 

 The aljsurdity of such an idea does not «eein to have pre- 

 vented it from becoming j^reAalent in some places. 

 E(iually unfounded is the idea that these birds eat the 

 wood of the trees they visit. Aside from the fact that 

 they very rarly attack those trees which are rich in sweet 



