173 



exception birds eating Avonus had simply added the canker 

 worm to the ration. 



Prof. Aiighey at the time of the reddegged hx;ust outbreak 

 in IS'ebraska found all the birds from the hnmming bird to the 

 white pelican had done their best to suppress the outbreak. Six 

 robins had eaten 205 ; one olive-backed thrush, 55 ; ''ive cat 

 birds, 152 ; one ruby-crowned kinglet, 29 locusts, and so on 

 through a long list; the palm going to four cnckoos that had 

 devoured 416 locusts among them. These and other examples 

 that can be cited leaves no doubt as to the good intentions of onr 

 feathered friends, aiid the facts seem to warrant the belief that 

 they put their good intentions into practice. 



The relation of birds to predaceous and parasitic insects is 

 of interest especially in Hawaii. I am aware that Dr. Walsh 

 and others have pronounced birds as of doubtful economic 

 value, but there is a general belief that the error made by Walsh 

 and his followers was one of basing their conclusions on too 

 narrow a view of the role played by birds in the economy of 

 nature. All agree with Weed and Dearborn that it was unfair 

 to classify birds as injurious, beneficial and neutral on the 

 stomach contents alone. Supposing an ichneumon parasite to 

 be found in the stomach of a robin it could, as has been shown 

 by Dearborn, be referred to any one of the following classes : 



1st. — A primary parasite of an injurious insect. 



2nd. — A secondard parasite of an injurious insect. 



3rd. — The primary parasite of an insect feeding on a nox- 

 ious plant. 



4th. — The secordary parasite of the same insect. 



5th.- — The primary parasite of an insect feeding on a wild 

 plant of no value. 



6th. — The secondary parasite of an insect feeding on a wild 

 plant of no value. 



7th. — The primary parasite of a predaceous insect. 



8th. — The secondary parasite of a predaceous insect and 

 so on. 



These and other circumstances mentioned during the con- 

 sideration of this subject were calculated to show that there was 

 no danger that birds, if properly selected before introduction, 

 would seriously interfere with our introduced beneficial insects. 



In closing it would seem to be a simple matter for any one 

 familiar with the facts to suggest a half dozen species of birds 



