JUNE MEETING, 1877. 115 



OUK FEIEXDS, THE BIRDS. 



There is something of fuBcinatioii in the study of the general liahits and 

 oharacteristics of birds. Such men as Wilson and Audubon have spent years, 

 ■vve might say their whole lives, in their study and classification. More recently, 

 BrcT^'cr, IJaird, Coues, and otlicrs, have been adding to the work done by these 

 earlier ornithologists. These men all agree as to the value of birds in their 

 relation to man. But it is not until within the last twenty years that the value 

 of birds to the agriculturist and the horticulturist has been appreciated by 

 many. And tlicre are still many who consider the birds as nuisances, or look 

 upon them witli indifference. A few of their earnest friends have stood by 

 them through thick and thin, and now in most of the States there are upon 

 the statute books laws protecting, not only the game birds part of the year, 

 bnt the song birds through all the year. 



Tiiere is much to learn regarding the habits of many of our common birds. 

 There is enough known, however, to prove to any careful observer, that they 

 are of great benefit in the destruction of the worst enemies the farmer and fruit- 

 raiser have to contend with, the insects. Of many species these are the sole food 

 during the entire year ; of many others they constitute the principal food for 

 the greater part of the year ; and with nearly all, save the rapacious tribes, 

 they are their only food during the nesting season. To hold the insect world in 

 cheek, then, is their jiatural work in the economy of nature. And they do 

 this work faithfully, "With ninety-nine one-hundredths of our land birds, the 

 first morsel of food they ever swallow is an insect in some form. Were they 

 taken out of the universe the whole economy of nature would be changed. 

 They fill a large place ; a place which can be filled with nothing else. From 

 the equator to the frozen oceans they are the same cheerful workers. 



Birds are divided, for convenience in classification, into insectivorous, those 

 that subsist almost entirely upon insects ; granivorous, those that subsist upon 

 grain, seeds, etc. ; and omniverous, those that are indiscriminate feeders. We 

 might also divide them into forest and field birds, and also, into land and v^'ater 

 birds. But with the water birds we have little to do in connection with our 

 subject. The forest birds also seem of little importance in their relation to 

 agriculture and horticulture. We know not, however, how many species of in- 

 sects they prevent from becoming civilized and thus learning to attack our field 

 crops. These forest birds, also, sometimes change their habits, become familiar 

 Avith man, and take up their residence with him, becoming speedily accustomed 

 to his ways. 



The cliff swallow is an example of this, and has changed his nesting place 

 from high rocky cliffs to the eaves of our barns. And I have noticed recently 

 an increasing familiarity on the part of orioles, tanagers, catbirds, and others. 

 The forest, of course, was the original home of all our birds, and on account of 

 the shy habits of many, will always continue to be their home. The forest 

 birds, however, play as important a part in their own sphere as the field birds 

 do in their sphere, for there are numerous species of insects that attack the 

 leaves and bodies of trees, that are destroyed by such birds as the flycatchers, 

 nuthatches, and others. As the forests are cut away the insects which serve as 

 food for the birds become scarcer or begin to prey upon the trees and crops 

 planted by man. The birds are thus obliged to seek them out in the fields and 



