128 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



rascals, if not thieves. Yet, with very few exceptions, possibly none, 

 there are no birds which are altogether bad ; while it seems certain there 

 are many which do an immense amount of good and little or no harm. 

 We must, however, recognize the fact that several common species mingle 

 their good and bad in such proportions as sorely to puzzle their best 

 friends. 



Probably our nearest approach to an altogether worthless bird is the 

 English sparrow, yet even this depraved foreigner has its good points. 

 The harm done by crows far outweighs the good, but if we give the devil 

 his due we must admit that crows consume immense numbers of grass- 

 hoppers and some other harmful insects. 



It is not hard to call to mind numerous examples of wholly beneficial 

 species. Such are our meadow lark, swallows, wrens, chickadees, creep- 

 ers, and a host of sparrows and warblers. 



When early cherries are ripening, the owner is likely to think the whole 

 bird population against him; yet the frequent visitors to the trees may be 

 numbered on the fingers of your two hands, and those really troublesome 

 on one hand alone. If we take into account the depredations of birds on 

 all kinds of cultivated fruits, from the earliest strawberries and cherries 

 to the latest grapes and apples, the number of species concerned is sur- 

 prisingly small. Here is the complete list, to the best of my knowledge 

 and belief, and the birds are named as nearly as possible in the order of 

 their importance as fruit eaters: 1, robin; 2, cedar-bird, cherry bird; 3, 

 red-headed woodpecker; 4, English sparrow; 5, catbird; 6, Baltimore 

 oriole; 7, brown thrush, thrasher; 8, flicker, golden-winged woodpecker, 

 high-hole; 9, crow blackbird; 10, blue jay; 11, crow. 



A few other birds, it is true, may take a berry occasionally, but they are 

 not real fruit stealers, at least in Michigan. Even among the eleven spe- 

 cies just mentioned there are several which are not commonly known as 

 fruit eaters. 



The crow blackbird rarely touches any fruit but cherries, and the blue 

 jay and crow are only mentioned because of their occasional damage to 

 ripening apples and pears. The flicker or golden-winged woodpecker 

 eats wild fruits mostly — cherries, frost-grapes, Virginia-creeper berries, 

 etc. The brown thrush is seldom abundant enough to do actual harm. 



The remaining six species are well known as fruit-thieves, and each has 

 his own characteristics, his own likes and dislikes. Doubtless many of 

 us think ourselves familiar with these birds and most of their tastes, but 

 if we knew as much of their dislikes as of their likes it would be easy in 

 most cases to keep them away from our cultivated fields. 



Before touching upon methods of protection, let us consider for a 

 moment the actual loss occasioned by these birds. Asa rule, the more 

 fruit a person grows the less likely he is to suffer from birds. Paradoxical 

 as this may seem, it is nevertheless true. The more fruit he grows, the 

 more he may lose, it is true; but the proportion of loss is so small as to be 

 insignificant. The owner does not complain, he does not know that he 

 has lost anything; he does not sufi'er. 



Iowa blackbirds once destroyed nine tenths of the entire com crop of 

 the state. Probably they destroyed more this past year than ever before, 

 but I have heard no complaint. The explanation is simple. When the 

 first few acres of Iowa prairie were planted to com, there were thousands 



