BIRDS, CATERPILLARti, AND PLANT LICE. 



133 



Fig. 42. — Nashville 

 Warbler, natural size. 



the al)Ove-mentioiied eating eankerwonns, but could not keep any one 

 individual in sight more than a few seconds at a time. By 7.45 most 

 of tliem had left the orchard. I saw a Least Flycatcher alight on a 

 branch of an apple tree near me, and when it saw a cankerworm move, 

 it would fly and snap it up from the leaf. I saw it take nine in this way 

 before it flew away. In tlie swamj) 

 a Yellow Warbler came to the wil- 

 lows, and, after foraging in the top 

 for a time, alighted on one of the 

 shoots that was infested witli the 

 gipsy moth, took fifteen of tlie larvw 

 in less than five minutes, then flew 

 out of sight. A Nashville Warljler also came and 

 remained among the willows for about half an 

 hour, and took forty-two gipsy moth larva? while 

 in sight, but mvist have taken away many more, 

 for he was not in sight all the time. A Uose- 

 breasted Grosbeak came to the apple tree and ate 

 fifty -seven brown-tail larvfe. lie was in the tree about twenty minutes, 

 and was singing and eating all the time. He jjrobably ate more than 

 I was sure of. 



May 15. — An Oriole ate fifteen of the tent caterpillars from the web 

 at one sitting, and nine in about twent}- minutes after. The Robin was 

 still hanging around the brown-tail moth tree, but I did not see her eat 

 any. A Chestnut-sided Warbler came and stayed about twelve minutes, 

 and I counted twentj'-eight brown-tails that he ate. 



May 16. — I found that one large tent that was full of caterjjillars a 

 week ago contained only three to-day, and a large part of the web had 

 been carried away by the birds for nesting material. Just after I had 



opened the web an Oriole flew to 

 it and took one of the remaining 

 caterpillars. The Orioles are eat- 

 ing immense numbers of canker- 

 worms. The row of aj^ple trees 

 nearest the woods now show but 

 little signs of the presence of 

 cankerworms. A pair of Scarlet 

 Tanagers came to the brown-tail moth tree. The male stayed seven- 

 teen minutes and the female ten minutes. The male ate at least fortj-- 

 four larvaj, and proljalil}' many more. They took only th'ose that were 

 on the leaves, and they examined all leaves that were curled up, and 

 took from them all the larva? they contained. A Wood Thrush came 

 to the tree just at night, and perched and sang for nearly half an hour. 

 Occasionally he would move along the branch and pick a brown-tail 

 larva or two. The Black and White Warblers came again, stopped a 

 moment, taking two and three each, then flew away. 



Pig. 43. — Caterpillar of the brown-tail 

 moth. 



