50 THE BIRD GROWN UP 
worms, which destroy our apples, and cutworms, 
which kill the corn. 
The bluebird sits on the fence keeping sharp 
watch, and every few minutes flies down and 
picks up a grasshopper or a cricket, which 
spoil the grass. 
Woodpeckers hunt over the trunks and limbs 
of trees. They tap on the bark and listen, and 
if they hear a grub stir inside, they cut a hole 
in the bark and drag it out. The downy is 
fond of insects that infest our apple-trees, and 
he makes many holes in the trunks. But it 
does not hurt the trees. It is good for them, 
for it takes away the creatures that were eating 
them. 
Orioles go over the fruit-trees, and pick out 
tiny insects under the leaves, and when they 
find great nests on the branches, they tear them 
open and kill the caterpillars that made them. 
Little warblers, such as the pretty summer 
yellow-bird, help to keep our trees clear, doing 
most of their work in the tops, where we can 
hardly see them. 
Swallows fly about in the air, catching mos- 
quitoes and tiny flies that trouble us. 
Very useful to us are the birds who feed 
upon dead animals, such as the turkey buzzards, 
who may be seen any day in our Southern 

