KINGBIRD 



85 



though the bird had seen it one hundred and fifty 

 feet away ! 



In fact, he has been so k)udly accused of eating 

 honey-bees that the examiners of bird stomachs 

 in the Department of Agriculture have made a 

 special study of his food. Of 218 stomachs ex- 

 amined, only 14 contained any trace of honey- 

 bees, and nearly all those were drones ; so, to say 

 the least, the habit is nmch less prevalent than 

 supposed. In addition to this negative evidence, 

 it has been found that 90 per cent, of his food is 

 insects, mostly injurious kinds. Among them 

 are the gadfly, so terrifying to horses and cat- 

 tle ; the destructive clover-leaf weevil, rose chafer, 

 ants, and grasshop- 

 pers. Several as- 

 paragus beetles were 

 found in one stom- 

 ach, and 40 rose chaf- 

 ers in another. The 

 King is especially an 

 orchard bird, though 

 in addition to fruit 

 beetles he eats many 

 grain destroyers when 



he hunts in the meadows. Indeed, the conclusion 

 reached by the ornithologists is that the King- 

 bird is one of the best helps the farmer has in 

 the destruction of harmful insects. One corre- 

 spondent exclaims fervently, "I honor and esteem 



Fig. 36. 

 Rose Chafer, eaten by King-bird. 



