The Birds of W yarning. 17 



food habits based on contents of the stomachs of our most 

 common species. 'Judged by the stomach examinations the 

 Downy and Hairy Woodpecker and Flicker it would be hard 

 to find three other species of our common birds with fewer 

 harmful qualities.' 



"The Flicker is one of our most common woodpeckers in 

 Nebraska and does much towards keeping down a number 

 of different kinds of insects. Tt is very fond of ants as a diet, in 

 fact is partial to them, and this element forms almost half of its 

 entire food-supply during the year. It also occasionally feeds 

 upon the chinch-bug, as can be attested by the fact that the 

 stomach of a specimen killed near Lincoln contained in the 

 vicinity of 1,000 of these bugs. It is also a fruit-cater to the 

 extent of about one-quarter of its entire bill of fare, but na- 

 ture, not man, furnishes the supply. It takes the wild kinds, in 

 preference to those that are cultivated. 



"The Whippoorwill, Night Hawk, and Swifts feed entire- 

 ly on insects, and must consequently be classed among the 

 beneficial birds. They all capture their prey while upon the 

 wing, and naturally destroy large numbers of troublesome 

 kinds. 



"The various species of Flycatchers, as the name implies, 

 destroy insects which they capture for the most part while on 

 the wing. Flies and allied insects are quite prominent on their 

 bill of fare but these by no means are the only kinds of in- 

 sects destroyed by them. Many a luckless locust, butterfly, 

 moth or even beetle is snapped up and devoured by the differ- 

 ent species of the family. The Bee-bird, or King-bird as it 

 is more frequently called, sometimes even catches bees. These 

 latter, however, consist largely of drones, hence comparative- 

 ly little harm is done. 



"One should be unprejudiced in order to write a fair bi- 

 ography of even a bird, or group of birds. To say that I am 

 without such prejudice with reference to some of the mem- 

 bers of the family of birds now to be considered, would be a 

 falsehood. Still, I shall endeavor to give as unbiased testi- 



