34 



in fact, most birds feed on them. Several years ago I noted a 

 serious infestation of this pest in an orchard in Westborough, 

 Massachusetts, that finally was nearly cleared up by birds, 

 prominent among which were flocks of cedar waxwings which 

 spent a great part of the daylight hours feeding on these cater- 

 pillars. 



Other hairless caterpillars taken by birds are cabbage worms 

 and climbing cutworms. The chipping sparrow and the song 

 sparrow have been noted frequently as enemies of the cabbage 

 worm (Pontia rapes). Dr. S. Schneck says that he was observ- 

 ing the cabbage patch early in the morning, from daybreak to 

 a short time after sunrise, when he chanced to see a number of 

 chipping sparrows taking cabbage worms. By continuing his 

 observations he found that they kept up this practice every 

 morning so long as the worms lasted. 1 In 1901 I had a similar 

 experience with both chipping sparrows and song sparrows. 2 



Mr. J. B. Dunn of Corpus Christi, Texas, reports a bird 

 enemy of the cabbage looper (Autographa brassicce). He is 

 quoted by Dr. F. H. Chittenden of the Bureau of Entomology 

 to the effect that u a bird known locally as jackdaw (Megaquisca- 

 lus major) [probably the great-tailed grackle] was particularly 

 fond of these cabbage loopers." These birds alighted in the 

 fields and fed on the larvse daily until they cleaned them up 

 and saved the crop. 3 



Mr. J. L. Harris reports that another cabbage pest, the 

 diamond-back moth (Plutella maculipennis) was extirpated from 

 his patch by a flock of blackbirds. 4 



The larva of the snow-white linden moth (Ennomos sub- 

 signarius) no doubt is eaten by many native birds, but perhaps, 

 owing to a scarcity of native birds in the seventh decads of the 

 last century, it became a great pest in many cities of the 

 eastern United States. This worm seems to be the special 

 prey of the English sparrow. A. R. Grote, the well-known 

 entomologist, wrote in 1883, "Many will recollect that the 

 maple and other shade trees in Brooklyn and New York used 

 to be completely defoliated by the middle of summer by the 



i American Naturalist, Vol. XIV, February, 1880, p. 130. 



* Economic Ornithology, Bulletin No. 4, Massachusetts Department of Agriculture, 1920, 

 pp. 29, 30. 



Bulletin No. 33, Division of Entomology, United States Department of Agriculture, 1902, 

 p. 68. 



Transactions, Minnesota State Horticultural Society, January, 1878, p. 63. 



