i7o6 The Cornell Reading-Courses 



their migrations, especially during the fall, they throng our lake shores 

 and mud flats. Many of the larger species, such as the yellowlegs, black- 

 bellied and golden plovers, Wilson's snipe, and woodcock, are game birds. 

 The spotted sandpiper and the killdeer are the only two that nest abun- 

 dantly in New York State; two others, the Bartramian sandpiper, or upland 

 plover, and the woodcock, were formerly abundant, but have been nearly 

 exterminated in most places by excessive shooting. The Wilson's snipe 

 occasionally nests in extensive grassy marshes. The spotted sandpiper 

 keeps to the lake shores and margins of streams, and feeds entirely 

 on insects such as gnats, mosquitoes, caddis flies, and May flies, and their 

 larvae. The killdeer and the upland plover feed more on the upland 

 fields, and destroy quantities of grasshoppers, army worms, crickets, 

 weevils, white grubs, and the like. All species feed so much on insects 

 which are annoying to man or which destroy his crops, that they 

 are without question deserving of the protection and encouragement 

 which the present laws give them. 



The scratchers 



These include the birds with strong legs and toes, similar to those of 

 the domestic fowl. Their food is secured largely by scratching, but it 

 inclvides also insects that run over the ground or live on the lower veg- 

 etation, as well as acorns, beechnuts, grain, and weed seed. The rafted 

 grouse, the bobwhite, and the pheasant belong to this group. While they 

 are of service to mankind in destroying potato beetles, grasshoppers, army 

 worms, cutworms, and weevils, their greatest value is their preeminence 

 as game birds. The niunbers of both grouse and bobwhites, but especially 

 the latter (or quail, as they are commonly called), has been greatly depleted 

 throughout the State. Both species respond well to artificial propaga- 

 tion, but little has been done in this State to restore their numbers. It is 

 to be hoped that in the near future steps will be taken to restock our woods 

 and fields with our native game birds, as well as to introduce the 

 pheasant, which has responded so well to artificial propagation. 



The borers 



In this group are all the woodpeckers, birds highly specialized for climb- 

 ing the trunks and branches of trees and drilling for wood-boring insects. 

 Their feet, with two toes directed forward and two backward, act as pin- 

 cers in grasping the bark. Their tail feathers are stiffened and serve as 

 a prop to support them, relieving their legs from the weight of the body. 

 Their bills are large, strong, and tipped with a chisel-like edge for chipping 

 the wood, and their tongues are extremely long, spear-like, and barbed 

 for removing the larvae from their burrows. The downy and the hairy 



