Grosbeak WESTERN BIRDS 



consists almost wholly of injurious insects, being practi- 

 cally twice the bulk of the vegetable food, or more than 

 four times that portion which is pilfered from man. The 

 bird could not possibly select insects more prejudicial 

 to the interests of western horticulture than the ones 

 forming its natural food. These include the coddling 

 moth, cankerworms, flower-beetles, and such scale in- 

 sects as the frosted, apricot, and black olive scales. In 

 fact, these scale pests form two-fifths of the entire 

 amount of this Grosbeak's food from April to September. 

 For every quart of fruit eaten, more than three pints of 

 black olive scales and more than a quart of flower beetles, 

 besides a generous sprinkling of coddling moth and 

 cankerworms fall prey to this bird. 



GENUS GUIRACA: BLUE GROSBEAK. 



Blue Grosbeak: Guiraca ccerulea ccerulea. 

 FAMILY— FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 



While less conspicuous in coloring than other Gros- 

 beaks, this species is very attractive. The male is ultra- 

 marine with black wings and tail, the former having 

 two chestnut wing bars. The female is brownish above 

 and below, with a lighter throat, and in many ways 

 resembles a female Cowbird, the massive bill being the 

 only conspicuous feature that serves to distinguish the 

 two. 



The Blue Grosbeak is the smallest of his tribe and the 

 most widely distributed in the United States. A similar 

 western bird is known as the Western Blue Grosbeak 

 (G. c. lazula) and breeds from Mexico to northern Cali- 

 fornia, southern Nevada, central Colorado, northeastern 

 Nebraska, and central Texas, while the eastern bird 



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