170 NATURE STUDY BY GRADES 



or hop when on the ground? Does he do man more good 

 than harm? 



It is supposed that birds can both see and hear far better 

 than man, and are thus better able to get their food. The 

 small seeds and insect eggs appear much larger to them 

 than to us, or they would not be so clever in finding them. 

 A pair of robins may raise a dozen young ones in one season, 

 and, when young, they are so ravenous as to eat nearly their 

 own weight in food in a day. The immense number of 

 harmful insects thus destroyed can scarcely be calculated, 

 but surely the robins pay us well in this way for the few 

 cherries that they may eat later. 



The woodpecker is almost as common as the robin, and 

 his peculiar food area demands a far more unique structure. 

 Describe and note the adaptation of his feet and tail feathers 

 for climbing and resting against the trunk of a tree; his 

 sharp, pick-like beak to penetrate the bark ; his . barbed 

 tongue to pierce and withdraw the larvae he loves so well; 

 his acute sense of hearing as he taps on the bark to frighten 

 his prey, and then listens to hear it move within so that he 

 can locate it exactly. 



LESSON XLIII 

 FOOD AREAS HIGHLAND BIRDS 



Upon bench lands, or uplands, are often seen the quail, 

 mourning dove, sage hen, grouse, bluebird, and one or two 

 species of the sparrow family. What do most of these birds 

 eat? How do they get their food? Why are some of them 

 called scratchers ? Many of them are related to our domestic 

 fowl, with whose habits of scratching all are familiar. Study 

 in detail the quail, or partridge. 



