64 



the most part, upon the ground feeders among the birds; these are fitted by 

 nature for digging out the insects and devouring them. 



Robin. Among tlie most conspicuous of these birds is tlie Bobin, and one 

 need only watch one of them at work in the garden, from April to about the 

 middle of June (which is the season of the cut worm's activity) to be satisfied as 

 to the Eobin's good work. I will give the result of an experiment carried on by 

 myself which shows the number of these insects a pair of Eobins will destroy when 

 they are feeding a brood of young. 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 1 took it to my house and raised it by 

 hand. Up to the 6th of June it had eaten from fifty to seventy cut worms and 

 earth worms every day. On the 9th of June I weighed the bird; its weight was 

 exactly three ounces, and then 1 tried how much it would eat, it being now quite 

 able to feed itself. With the assistance of my children 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 cut worms. These grubs averaged 

 thirty to tlie ounce, so the young Eobin ate one hundred and sixty-five cut worms 

 in one day. Had it been at liberty it would probably have eaten some insects of 

 other species and fewer cut worms, but this shows near about what each young 

 Robin requires for its maintenance 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 immber of insects destroyed when the young are in the nest. After 

 the young have flown they are apt to visit the small fruit and it is no doubt very 

 provoking to find a flock of them helping themselves to strawberries, etc. If possible, 

 they should be kept off' without destroying them, a resort to the gun being avoided 

 as long as possible. 



Bluebird. Twenty years ago the Bluebird was one of the most abundant of 

 the summer residents in the cultivated districts of the Province ; there was scarcely 

 a farm throughout southern Ontario upon which two or more pairs of these birds 

 did not breed. The same birds seemed to return regularly to occupy their holes 

 in the old apple trees and fence posts, year after year, and so familiar were they 

 that they actually seemed to know the members of the family whose premises they 

 occupied. In one case, near Niagara, a pair of Bluebirds, for several years in 

 succession, built their nest in a letter box which was placed at the gate of the farm, 

 opening on the main road. The mail carrier deposited letters and newspapers in 

 the box every day, which were duly taken out by the members of the family. To 

 al] this the birds paid no attention whatever, but would confidently sit upon their 

 eggs or visit their young while the box was opened and the people stood close to 

 them; and I have seen many similar instances of confidence on the part of these 

 birds. 



Of late years the Bluebirds have not remained with us, and they have been 

 much missed. Enquiries are constantly being made as to where the Bluebirds have 

 gone. That is not easy tc answer, but that they still exist in undiminished numbers 

 i am able to state positively, for so late as last March I saw many thousands passing 

 over Toronto from west to east. The flight lasted from daylight to nine or ten 

 o'clock every fine morning for about a week. I have seen this same movement 

 every spring for years. My opinion is that the birds have gone back to the new 

 settlements, where thev can still find snake fences, and pastures in which the 



