NESTLING BIRDS AND THEIR FOOD 



caterpillars and other destructive larvae fed to a single 

 brood of young birds daily. 



The caterpillar, the cut-worm, wire-worm, other 

 grubs, and the hundreds of other units which make 

 up the legions of insect pests which strive with man 

 for the possession of mother earth, work more or less 

 unseen. On the contrary, the bird is visible to the 

 dullest observer. Consequently the damage some 

 birds do is glaringly noticeable, but invariably grossly 

 exaggerated. Being unaware of the extent of the 

 ravages of the hidden insect pests, man fails to realise 

 that the services rendered by our feathered police 

 and soldiers usually outweigh the damage some of 

 them do by twenty or even fifty to one. 



In every country throughout the world where 

 birds have been systematically destroyed, or where no 

 active measures have been taken for their preservation, 

 the results have always been the same : — 



1. Insect and vermin plagues. 



2. Grave losses to crops of all kinds. 



3. The impotence of man in checking the 



plagues. 



4. Efforts to bring back the birds. 



It is not unusual to find crops injured by insect 

 pests to the extent of 25 to 50 per cent. Ponder it 

 well. At least 25 per cent, of the country's crops, 

 stock, timber, and other products goes into the stomachs 

 of insects and their allies, while we callously permit 

 the feathered enemies of these foes of the human race 



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