328 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



The Tanagers; (^Tanagridoe) . 

 The tanagers are potent enemies of the hairy caterpillars 

 wherever they appear in numbers in the woods, feeding quite 

 constantly upon them. Our later observations indicate that 

 no bird is more useful in woodlands. 



The Vireos ( Vi7'eomdcB) . 

 The vireos or w^arbling flycatchers are persistent cater- 

 pillar hunters, and destroy many of these creatures. They 

 do not feed so readily on the full-grown caterpillars as on 

 the smaller, but none are safe from their attacks. 



The Warblers {Mniotillidm) . 



It was not until 1899 that the value of the warblers as 

 caterpillar eaters w^as fully established. As they are small 

 birds and feed mainly on the smaller larvae, it is very diffi- 

 cult to determine by observation exactly what they are feed- 

 ing on. 



A special effort was made during 1899 to secure accurate 

 data in regard to the destruction of the smaller hairy cater- 

 pillars by warblers. The result has demonstrated that 

 warblers certainly are among the most useful birds in this 

 respect, especially during the early part of the season, when 

 most larvae are small. They appear so fond of these larvse 

 that they will even cling and climb about on the trunks of 

 the trees to get them. This is noted as a contrast to their 

 usual habit of searchins; on twias and branches. 



The Mocking Thrushes (Mimince) (^ Subfamily^. 

 Represented by the catbird and brown thrasher, they are 

 certainly among the most useful birds. The catbird eats 

 hairy caterpillars greedily, destroying even those covered 

 with spines, like the TJuvanessa antiopa, and feeds many 

 caterpillars to its young. It eats full-grown caterpillars 

 about as readily as do the cuckoos, taking mainly those that 

 have perhaps escaped more arboreal birds by remaining in 

 the shrubbery near the ground. 



