USEFUL BIRDS. 15 
The above list is far from complete but it is fairly representative 
and we have not finances and consequently not sufficient space to 
make it more extensive. 
We might add the following common and also beneficial birds: 
House Wren, nearly 100 per cent of its food being insects, reaching 
Minnesota about April 25th; the Barn Swallow, which captures, 
while on the wing, moths, flies, beetles, and frequently grasshop- 
pers (house bedbugs, contrary to a very common belief, are not 
found in swallows’ nests) ; the Purple Martin, an excellent addition 
to any farm; should be provided with martin houses and its pres- 
ence encouraged. It wages relentless war upon hawks and crows 
and constitutes therefore a guard for poultry and small birds. In 
the writer’s notes on Minnesota birds occurs the following entry 
regarding the Purple Martin, resulting from an ornithological trip 
through the Red River Valley some years ago: “This species, too, 
occurs about Mille Lacs, where the farmers provide boxes for them. 
The great majority of them there, however, nest with the gulls on 
an island called Spirit Island by the Indians, lying about two miles 
from the southeastern shore of Lake Mille Lacs. Here large 
numbers lay their eggs in the crevices and fissures of the rocks 
and serve as allies in driving away the ravens and other birds dis- 
posed to prey upon the eggs and young of the gulls.” This bird 
appears to be growing rarer in Minnesota, due perhaps to lack of 
provision in the way of bird houses. 
The Song Sparrow, so dear to us all, deserves a prominent place 
on our list; it is not only friendly and attractive because of its song 
and from the fact that it is one of the earliest of bird arrivals from 
the South, but it consumes a large amount of weed seed and many 
insects. The food of the Night Hawk also appears to be May flies, 
dragon flies. beetles, gnats, ants, and frequently potato beetles, 
grasshoppers, etc. 
The Yellow Hammer or Flicker, we purposely left off the 
colored plate, to allow space for a more useful woodpecker. The 
Flicker or High Hole is something of a “ground bird;” that is, it 
is very fond of ants and is quite apt to be discovered dining on ants 
upon the ground. It eats wood-boring grubs to some extent, but is 
not as industrious in that direction as many of our other wood- 
peckers. It occasionally takes a little fruit and is reported to eat 
grain, though rarely. On the whole, it is a useful bird, and we are 
attached to it because we associate its characteristic call with 
