318 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



especially eating grasshoppers. TLe Quail is a valuable bird, both 

 as a destroyer of weed seeds and as an enemy of such injurious in- 

 sects as the potato beetle. All farmers would be justified in pro- 

 tecting this bird on account of its great economic value. It should 

 be furnished partial shelter and food during the time the snow is 

 on the ground. 



The speaker mentioned the fact that the Ruffed Grouse, also called 

 Pheasant, endures our winters for the reason that it roosts in trees, 

 and feeds on buds. Thus it is not often smothered with snow, and 

 its food is available at all times during winter. He showed that 

 different birds have different realms or regions in which to feed, as 

 the Swallows skim over the waters and over grass and grain fields, 

 taking insects as their food while flying, the Chimney Swifts fly 

 higher and feed on the .winged insects of the upper atmosphere, and 

 the Night Hawks and Whip-poor-wills fly and feed at night when the 

 larger insects are moving. 



The Flickers, Catbirds, Robins and the Wrens live near the abode 

 of man, and feed upon the insects of orchard, field and garden, while 

 the Woodpeckers are constantly to be seen gathering grubs from the 

 larger branches of trees and destroying codling moth and other 

 serious pests. The Nuthatches and Creepers are searching beneath 

 the bark of trees for pests there concealed, and the Chickadees and 

 Kinglets are making a most careful search for pests on the smaller 

 twigs of fruit and other trees. The Warblers are constantly busy in 

 the tree tops, going even to the tops of the highest trees searching 

 for the insects that there may be found. There is no place where 

 pests occur that does not have some of these feathered friends mak- 

 ing their home and exerting all their energies to take as food the 

 insects that are most injurious to mankind. 



The speaker then mentioned several obnoxious insects and the dif- 

 ferent kinds of birds that he and other investigators had found de- 

 stroying them. Pictures of these insects and birds were shown and 

 similarities and differences were indicated. 



While there are many injurious insects that are eaten by birds, 

 it is well known that there are many insects that are decidedly bene- 

 ficial to mankind, and the question may well be asked if these in- 

 sects are not also destroyed by the feathered songsters. The speaker 

 took up this point in a very attractive manner showing pictures of 

 beneficial insects and pointing out the fact that there are very few 

 birds or reptiles that have ever been known to destroy these friends 

 of the farmer and fruit grower. Among such friends he enumerated 

 the Lady Beetles, the Lace-wing Flies, the Syrphus Flies, which feed 

 on plant lice, the Ground Beetles, which are exceedingly numerous, 

 but are not often eaten even by ground-haunting birds, the Honey 

 Bees which are so valuable in fertilizing flowers, and the Bumble 



