456 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



of Minnesota and Iowa, according to Bendire, they sometimes nest in large 

 colonies in shrubs and wild gooseberry bushes, or even in the reeds, placing 

 the nest sometimes within a foot or two of the ground. It is possible that 

 this may occur in Michigan, but we have been una])le to find any record 

 of such a habit. 



Ordinarily the nest is very bulky and made of coarse grass, weed-stalks 

 and similar materials, sometimes with a little mud in its composition, more 

 often without. It is lined with finer grass and other fibrous materials, 

 is deeply hollowed, and usually contains five or six eggs, but frequently 

 only four are found and rarely as many as seven or eight. The eggs vary 

 interminably, the ground color ranging all the way from pale greenish- 

 white to light brown, heavily blotched and streaked with brown and. 

 purphsh. They average 1.18 by .81 inches. 



Nesting often begins in March, and in the southern part of the state 

 probably most of the eggs are laid in April. At the Agricultural College 

 young frequently leave the nest before May 20th, but they seem to be 

 maturing from this time on, all through May and June, and we have 

 repeatedly seen young hardly able to fly as late as the 10th of July. It 

 is possible that two broods are reared by some of the birds, but we are in- 

 clined to believe that these late broods are due to the loss of a first nest 

 of eggs or young during April or May. 



From an economic standpoint the Bronzed Crackle possesses unusual 

 interest. It is extraordinarily abundant over large areas, and has pro- 

 nounced good habits as well as bad ones. Selecting its nesting places 

 in the shade trees of towns, parks and cemetries, and constantly visiting 

 gardens, lawns, and farms, it has became familiar to almost every one, 

 and its habits have been noticed and criticized. Under these circumstances 

 it is not surprising that the widest difference of opinion exists as to its value. 

 Fortunately the Division of Biological Survey of the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture has made an exhaustive study of the stomach 

 contents of this species and the results go far toward settling this vexed 

 question. The writer did a large part of this work himself between the 

 years 1886 and 1890, and the results of this, and additional work by Prof. 

 F. E. L. Beal, were published in Bulletin 13 of the above Division in 1900. 



Two thousand three hundred and forty-six stomachs were examined, 

 and of the material contained in these stomachs 30 pei-cent was shown 

 to be animal matter and 70 percent vegetable matter. Insects formed 

 27 percent of the food for the entire year, while grain formed 47 percent, 

 fruit 5 percent, weed seed 4 percent, and "mast," that is, acorns, chest- 

 nuts, beechnuts, and similar material, 14 percent. By far the largest part 

 of the grain consumed is corn and this formed 41 percent of the food in 

 April, 27 percent in May, 28 percent in June, 8 percent in July, 14 percent 

 in August, 53 percent in September, 51 percent in October, and 35 percent 

 in November. Doubtless at least half this corn was of no consequence, 

 being waste grain picked up in the fields or about the farm and roads, but 

 that taken in August and September was mainly corn "in the milk" and 

 caused a direct loss and a serious one to the grower. Wheat, on the other 

 liand, formed about 26 percent of the food in July and August, and in other 

 months less than one percent. This again shows that the bulk of this 

 grain was taken from the harvest field, part of it doubtless from the stand- 

 ing grain and the shock, but much of it from the stubble. Oats formed 

 14 percent of the food in April, 5 percent in July, 9 percent in August; 

 during the other months the amounts were insignificant. Occasionally 



