35 



ing them to their young. These birds, because of their size and voracity, 

 destroy enormous numbers of these larvaj. It is a question whether the 

 erows do not destroy many more than the cuckoos, because of their 

 larger size and greater numbers. Crows destroy fully as many pupae as 

 larvae. 



The Orioles, Icteridse. 



The Baltimore oriole and crow blackbird are exceedingly useful. As 

 the feeding habits of these birds have become better known their useful- 

 nese as feeders on hairy caterpillars has been recognized. They eat 

 mainly the medium-sized and larger larvae. 



The Finch and Sparrow Family, Fringillidse. 



The finch and spaiTow family is represented in Massachusetts by 

 many species, several of which do not appear in the list of those attack- 

 ing hairy caterpillars, but probably most sparrows eat such caterpillars 

 to some extent. The chipping sparrow, song sparrow, towhee and rose- 

 breasted grosbeak feed persistently upon them. Several observers have 

 seen the indigo bunting attacking them. The sparrows eat both large 

 and small caterpillars. 



The Tanagers, Tanagridsa. 



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, Vireonidoa. 



The vireos or warbling flycatchers are persistent caterpillar hunters 

 and destroy many of these creatures. They do not feed so readily on 

 the full-grown caterpillars as on the smaller, hut none are safe from their 

 attacks. 



The Warblers, Mniotiltidae. 



• 



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

 eaters was fully established. As they are small birds and feed mainly 

 on the smaller larvae it is very difficult to determine by observation 

 exactly what they are feeding on. 



A special effort was made during 1899 to secure accurate data in 

 regard to the destruction of the smaller hairy caterpillars by warblers. 

 The result has demonstrated that warblers are certainly 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 

 larvae 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 

 searching on twigs and branches. 



The Mocking Thrushes, Miminae (subfamily), 



Represented by the catbird and brown thrasher, are certainly among 

 the most useful birds. The catbird eats hairy caterpillars greedily, de- 

 stroying even those covered with spines, like the Euvanessa antiopa, and 

 feeds many caterpillars to its young. It cats full-grown caterpillars 

 about as readily as do the cuckoos, talcing mainly those that have, per- 

 haps, escaped more arboreal birds by remaining in the shrubbery, near 

 the ground. 



The Wrens, Troglodytidie. 



The house wren is the only species that lias been seen by our observers 

 to eat hairy caterpillars. It can hardly be called a common bird, and it 

 has only occasionally been seen to eat these caterpillars. 



