G2 



Nest, generally in a crevice behind the loose bark of a tree. Eggs, five to 

 eight, white, speckled and spotted with reddish brown, chiefly in a wreath at the 

 larger end. 



THEUSHES. 



We have in Ontario seven species belonging to this family, all of them migra- 

 tory, arriving here from the south in early spring and leaving us in the autumn. 

 as cold weather sets in. They are the Wood Thrush, Wilson's Thrush, Grey-cheeked 

 Thrush, Olive-backed Thrush, Hermit Thrush, Robin and Bluebird. The Olive- 

 backed Thrush, Grey-cheeked Thrush, and most of the Hermit Thrushes pass on and 

 raise their young to the north of us ; the others remain throughout the summer and 

 breed here. 



The Wood Thrush and Wilson's Thrush, or Veery, as it is sometimes called, 

 are strictly birds of the woodlands, and seldom venture far from the edge of the 

 bush, though both species will at times select a garden where there are shrubs for 

 their summer residence, if they find themselves unmolested, particularly if there 

 are no domestic cats about the premises. The cats at all times prefer young birds 

 to mice or rats, and are as much to blame for the decrease of our native birds as 

 bird-nesting boys or anything else, perhaps, except the Cowbird, Wilson's Thrush 

 is one of our most abundant species, but it has the faculty of concealing itself to 

 such perfection that it is often overlooked, though there may be many within a 

 few yards of where a person is standing. The Wood Thrush is very rare with us, 

 which is to be regretted, as it is a beautiful songster. 



All these thrushes are very valuable birds to the agriculturist, their food con- 

 sisting for the most part of grubs that live under the surface of the ground and 

 caterpillars. In the autumn they eat many wild berries, those of the Elder and 

 Viburnum being especial favorites, but (except the Eobin) they never help themselves 

 to the produce of the farm or garden. The best known and most familiar of the thrush 

 family is the Eobin, and opinion is very strongly divided as to its utility. Many fruit- 

 growers condemn this bird with great emphasis, stating that it is the worst enemy 

 they have; others weigh its merits and demerits more carefully, and are inclined 

 to think that it at least pays for the fruit it eats by the destruction of insects. No 

 doubt it does take a large number of cherries, strawberries and raspberries, and 

 some grapes, but it is open to question if it were not for the birds whether there 

 would be any cherries, strawberries, grapes, or, indeed, whether any crop could be 

 brought to maturity. The great merit of the Eobin is, that in the early part of 

 the season it feeds itself and its young almost entirely on cut worms, and on the 

 large white grub, the larvae of the May beetle. Of all our insect enemies the under- 

 ground cutworm is about the most destructive, for in feeding it just comes above 

 the surface and cuts ofl: the entire plant; or if the plants are very young and 

 the stems small, it cuts off half a dozen or more at one time, only eating a small 

 section out of t)he stem of each, and leaving the plants dead on the surface of 

 the ground. Whole rov/s of peas, corn, beets, cabbage, and cauliflower are often 

 so treated; tomatoes, too, fare badly with them. In 1908 one farmer near Jordan 

 lost over six thousand tomato plants by the ravages of the cut worm, and many 

 others in the fruit-growing districts suffered almost as severely. The only remedy 

 that seems effectual against their attacks is to wrap paper around the stems of the 

 plants from the surface of the soil to the height of about three inches above it. 

 This is obviously impossible in the case of field crops, and it is equally impossible 

 to go over the fields and take the worms out by hand, so that we must rely, for 



