326 BOARD OF AGKICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



Dr. CM. Weed, in a paper entitled " The feeding habits 

 of the chipping sparrow," published by the New Hampshire 

 Agricultural Experiment Station, has given a very accurate 

 record of the feeding of the young of two chipping sparrows 

 during the entire day, beginning at 3.40 a.m. and ending at 

 7.49 P.M. The nest contained three young sparrows nearly 

 fledged. His observations show that the birds feed their 

 young during the long days of June from fifteen to sixteen 

 hours, and that there was no long interval during the day 

 when they were not at work. The birds visited the nest one 

 hundred and eighty-two times. Food (mainly insects, in- 

 cluding many caterpillars) was brought nearly every time, 

 though some of the trips of the birds seemed to be made to 

 furnish sand for grinding the food for the young birds. 



Comparative Usefulness of Certain Families of Birds. 

 In going over the lists of birds which have been seen to 

 destroy diflerent species of hairy and spiny caterpillars, it is 

 interesting to note that nearly the same families are represented 

 in each list. 



The Cuckoos (CucuUdce). 



It is generally acknowledged that the cuckoo is an excep- 

 tion to the generally accepted rule that the birds do not eat 

 hairy caterpillars. There is no question as to the value of 

 the cuckoos in this respect, but they feed mainly on the 

 medium-sized and larger caterpillars. The two common 

 American species seem even to prefer hairy caterpillars to 

 the smooth ones, and their diet of these insects sometimes 

 results in their stomachs becoming lined with the prickly 

 hairs, which become embedded in the stomach coating. 

 This, however, does not appear to inconvenience the birds. 

 Whether there is any other family that is as useful in this 

 respect as the cuckoos is still an open question. Our ob- 

 servations show that great numbers are eaten by other birds. 



The Woodpeckers {Picidce). 

 Woodpeckers certainly do not destro}' as many hairy 

 caterpillars as the cuckoos. They appear to take them only 

 when they come in their way. They have been observed to 

 maim and kill without eatin":. 



