CHAPTER ONE 



BIRDS 



Finley & Bohlman 

 FIG. 158. Birds are the natural enemies of insects. 



BIRDS and insects come to our notice oftener than 

 most other creatures. Their rapid movements and 

 bright colors or the sounds they make attract our atten- 

 tion. Some of our common insects spread diseases 

 among us, and many of them destroy our crops ; in the 

 United States they take each year one tenth of all the 

 farmer's produce and cause a loss of more than a billion 

 dollars. Birds are the natural enemies of the insect 

 world, the balance nature has provided to hold insects 

 in check. Almost all birds feed their young on bugs, 

 flies, and worms, and many birds throughout their whole 

 lives eat little other food. Indeed, if it were not for the 

 work of the birds, insects would overrun the earth ; in 

 the stomach of one martin nearly 2000 mosquitoes were 

 found. Whether birds are harmful or beneficial you 



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