BIRDS USEFUL TO FARM AND ORCHARD 



627 



Breeds in the United States (except 

 the Gulf states), Canada, Alaska, and 

 Mexico; winters in most o( the United 

 States and south to Gautemala. 



Habits and Economic Status 



In the North and some parts of the 

 West the robin is among the most cher- 

 ished of our native birds. The robin is 

 an omnivorous feeder, and its food in- 

 cludes many orders of insects, with no 

 very pronounced preference for any. It 

 is very fond of earthworms, but its real 

 economic status is determined by the 

 vegetable food, which amounts to about 

 58 per cent of all. The principal item is 

 fruit, which forms more than 51 per cent 

 of the total food. The fact that in the 

 examination of over 1,200 stomachs the 

 percentage of wild fruit was found to be 

 5 times that of the cultivated varieties 

 suggests that berry-bearing shrubs, if 

 planted near the orchard, will serve to 

 protect more valuable fruits. The bird's 

 general usefulness is such, however, that 

 all reasonable means of protecting or- 

 chard fruit should be tried before killing 

 the birds. 



Ensset-Backed Tlirnsh 

 Hylocichla ustulata 



Length, seven and one-fourth inches. 

 Among thrushes having the top of head 

 and tail nearly the same color as the 

 back, this one is distinguished by its 

 tawny eye ring and cheeks. The Pacific 

 coast subspecies is russet brown above, 

 while the other suspecies is the olive- 

 backed thrush. The remarks below apply 

 to the species as a whole. 



Range 



Breeds in the forested parts of Alaska 

 and Canada and south to California, Colo- 

 rado, Michigan, New York, West Virginia 

 (mountains), and Maine; winters from 

 Mexico to South America. 



Habits and Economic Status 



This is one of a small group of thrushes 

 the members of which are by many 

 ranked first among American songbirds. 

 The several members resemble one an- 

 other in size, plumage, and habits. While 

 this thrush is very fond of fruit, its 



partiality for the neighborhood of streams 

 keeps it from frequenting orchards far 

 from water. It is most troublesome dur- 

 ing the cherry season, when the young are 

 in the nest. From this it might be in- 

 ferred that the young are fed on fruit, 

 but such is not the case. The adults eat 

 fruit, but the nestlings, as usual, are 

 fed mostly upon insects. Beetles con- 

 stitute the largest item of animal food, 

 and ants come next. Many caterpillars 

 also are eaten. The great bulk of vege- 

 table food consists of fruit, of which two- 

 fifths is of cultivated varieties. Where 

 these birds live in or near gardens or 

 orchards, they may do considerable dam- 

 age, but they are too valuable as insect 

 destroyers to be killed if the fruit can 

 be protected in any other way. 



Ruby-Crowned Kinglet 



Regulus calendula 



Length, about four and one-fourth 

 inches. Olive green above, soiled whitish 

 below, concealed feathers on head (crest) 

 bright red. 



Range 



Breeds in Southern Canada, Southern 

 Alaska, and the higher mountains of 

 the Western United States; winters in 

 much of the United States and south to 

 Gautemala. 



Habits and Economic Status 



In habits and haunts this tiny sprite 

 resembles a chickadee. It is an active, 

 nervous little creature, flitting hither and 

 yon in search of food, and in spring 

 stopping only long enough to utter its 

 beautiful song, surprisingly loud for the 

 size of the musician. Three-fourths of its 

 food consists of wasps, bugs, and flies. 

 Beetles are the only other item of impor- 

 tance (12 per cent). The bugs eaten by 

 the kinglet are mostly small, but, happily, 

 they are the most harmful kinds. Tree 

 hoppers, leaf hoppers, and jumping plant 

 lice are pests and often do great harm 

 to trees and smaller plants, while plant 

 lice and scale insects are the worst 

 scourges of the fruit grower — in fact, the 

 prevalence of the latter has almost risen 

 to the magnitude of a national peril. It 

 is these small and seemingly insignificant 

 birds that most successfully attack and 



