FOOD OF BIRDS. 



BY carpentering, by painting, by selling goods, — 

 by so many different kinds of work that it would 

 be hard to make a list of them all, — your fathers 

 provide your daily food. 



Long ago, in the old forests of England or Ger- 

 many, our ancestors got their own food by hunting, 

 fishing, keeping cattle, and by a little farming. To- 

 day this work is done for us, but the birds have still 

 to do their foraging for themselves. 



Birds eat the things which you eat, and besides 

 have the whole insect world to hunt in. You can 

 often tell by a bird's appearance what he eats, and 

 when you have found that out, you can generally tell 

 where he will choose to live, and what many of his 

 habits of life are. When you see the wide mouth of 

 a swallow, and his long, slender wings, you will decide 

 that if any bird could catch the hosts of flies, gnats, 

 and beetles that fill the air in summer, certainly the 

 swallow should be well fitted for such hunting. When 

 you remember that hard frosts kill these flying Insects, 

 you will feel sure that you will find no swallows here 

 in winter. The long, sharp bill of a heron, and his 

 long, naked feet seem well fitted for spearing frogs 



