Birds in Relation to Agriculture in New York State 1793 



In spite of its apparent power, the bald eagle, which is used as our 

 national emblem, feeds almost entirely on dead fish cast up by the waves 

 or stolen from the fish hawks. 



Crows and grackles are also fond of dead fish, and sometimes congre- 

 gate along lake shores in large numbers. They even fly out over the lake 

 in search of fish floating at the surface. 



Insect eaters 

 Just as we recognize among the fish-eating birds several groups according 

 to their method of securing their food, so can we divide the insect eaters 



Fig. 23. — Herring gulls and crows feeding on garbage within the city of Ithaca. 



Both are efficient scavengers 



into strainers, probers, scratchers, borers, flycatchers, and gleaners, accord- 

 ing to their respective methods of securing their food. 



The strainers 



These include ducks, geese, and swans — birds having broad, fiat bills 

 with fluted edges, to permit the water and silt to pass out while the insects, 

 worms, and mollusks are retained. 



Two groups of ducks are recognized — the river or pond ducks, and the 

 sea ducks. The former group includes the mallard, black duck, gad wall, 

 baldpate (or widgeon), green-winged teal, blue-winged teal, shoveler, 

 pintail, and wood duck. They secure their food chiefly by dabbling in the 

 shallow water, diving only as occasion demands. The second group 

 includes the redhead, the canvasback, the greater and lesser scaup ducks 

 (or bluebills), the ring-necked ducks, the scoters, and the curious little 

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