MASON AND LEFROY. 309 



take the cultivated berries before any steps should be taken against 

 them. 



With regard to the vegetable diet of birds other than fruit it 

 has already been mentioned that we can attach little, if any, im- 

 portance in India to weed-seed or weed eating birds ; we attach no 

 more importance to them than we do to weed eating insects. As a 

 rule a weed-seed eating bird is spoken of as beneficial, while we sel- 

 dom hear it said or see it stated that an insect with identically the 

 same food material is beneficial. It is needless to say that both 

 th3 birds and the insects have the same economic importance. 



Weed-seeds are eaten by most of the Passeres, notably Frin- 

 gillidcB (Finches), Stwnidce (Mynahs and Starlings), Motacillidce 

 (Pipits), and to a less extent by Corvidce (Crows and Magpies), Meruli- 

 nce (Thrushes), &c. Amongst other orders the Columbidce (Pigeons 

 and Doves) are the greatest consumers of weed seeds, next to them 

 being the Phasianidce and Pterocletidce, the latter of no economic 

 importance agriculturally though said at times to take pulses. It 

 must also be noted that in many instances in which the food has 

 been recorded as grain it in reality consists of weeds. Self-sown 

 corn or other self-sown cultivated seed is as much a weed as such 

 plants which grow wild and are not under cultivation. This, I 

 believe, applies at present to India as much as to other countries, 

 in spite of the fact that we have in India a much more mixed culti- 

 vation than is generally the case elsewhere. 



CEREALS AND OTHER CROPS. 



The following is a list of cereals and other crops the seeds or 

 plants of which are eaten or damaged by birds : 



Grain of various kinds is taken by practically all species of seed 

 eating birds. Crows (C. splendem and C. macrorhynchus) at times 

 do some considerable damage to various grain crops. The Starlings 

 (Pastor roseus, Acridotheres tristis and A. ginginnianus) have a large 

 proportion of the diet consisting of grain, whilst the Ploceidse prac 

 tically feed entirely on grain when available. Of other Passeres 

 the Sparrows and Buntings at times do some damage to these crops. 



