Economic Reasons for Protection 113 



varieties. In any case the good work accom- 

 plished by the robin, in destroying insects, 

 especially when there are hungry nestlings to be 

 fed, much more than offsets the damage done in 

 individual cases. 



The catbird must also plead guilty to the 

 charge of fruit eating, for he is notoriously fond 

 of the smaller kinds, but as a check upon insect 

 pests, he more than pays his bills. As he feeds 

 his young almost exclusively on insects, and as 

 he rears two and often three broods in a sea- 

 son, the service rendered is considerable. The 

 stomachs of three nestling catbirds examined by 

 Dr. Clarence Moores Weed, contained ninety- 

 five per cent, of insect food. Sixty-two per cent, 

 of this food was composed of cutworms. 



Practically all the thrushes eat a good deal 

 of fruit, but most of it is wild fruit that has little 

 or no value to man. On the other hand, nearly 

 two-thirds of their food consists of insects, 

 chiefly injurious ones. 



So making all allowances for a number of 

 birds whose good deeds are offset by bad ones, 

 and for a few which are positively harmful, we 

 shall see that we have working for us a great 

 army of feathered workmen — workmen, many 

 of whom work for us three hundred and sixty- 

 five days in the year, without wages, and without 



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