508 



BIRDS 



BIRDS 



571. FUlii ip^row 



.lie- ,ho public in s^ncral ,o a.<o,np. dest^yinR <he ;>f' f;/™;,^™J 

 Vu, .h..n> o-'lrrLoXr-'pnr o?,hrne.,r«™i c^g^ i" sure 

 pins and P-''^^^ 5^, '",' ' n of „,, „v nesUs of valuable sparrows. 

 V\''' w\Vk%houltUXrsvs." aUcally by specially appointed 



Bood" sinfier. Inasmuch as the lin- 

 net's food ha-s been proved to bo 

 80 2 per cent weed-seeds, and since 

 examination of the contents of 

 ' iiNiny stomachs shows that Iruit is 

 I ,r from beinc its principal arlicle 

 ,.1 diet, manv Californians protect 

 the bird and plant shrubs and trees 

 to attract tliem away from the 

 ' fruit. The.sc birds are fond of elder- 

 berries and many other wild fruits. 

 The cedar wnxwinRS or cherry- 

 birds (Fig. 572), go in small flocks 

 in search of foo<l. Their fondness 

 for cedar berries has given them 

 their name, although they have a 

 wide range of food. In early sum- 

 mer they feed almost exclusively 

 on insects and become expert fly- 

 catchers. Unfortunately, they have 

 a bad reputation among f^ruit- 

 growers because of their fondness 

 for cherries. It has been shown, 



^^ci?3rt'^a^''e^l^J^"t,^nhl^VL^^ 

 S'^3 WOW) of the pe- s i7^hey stave.l in the orchard a month. 



"The Ca'roTiniw^n adapts itself to civilised conditions, and often 



^a^ow wfll do itatSLt to drive the wren away, but with a small 

 ^n^E the wrenU safe and will usually win in the eontest. The 

 S^i IS the w'cn is mainly insectivorous, consisting of grasshoppers, 

 iit, b«tle"^bs tp"ders. and hairy caterpillars. Many a fruit 

 mehafbii^ved f°om the ravages of ""^^.'"^''"ck moth cater- 

 nXr bv a family of wrens in the vicinity. Wrens gather spiders 

 ^"aS ?un "f eggs, putting them inside the house on the wall. 

 -■''^L'ratV'rrd''rFig'°l?4rL^'inTru';i:''hie robin isoften blamed 



for Vbc deLds of the catbird. Inasmuch as the -.f '.''"Kf/^t .95 P^^ 

 ISnt animal food, mainly insects and spiders, it is far better to 

 cent animal looa, umi j ^^^^ ^^.^ ^^^^^ especially for the 



catbirds than to destroy theni on 

 account of their fniit-eating habits. 

 In case of insect outbreaks, the 

 catbird attacks gypsy, brown-tail, 

 canker-worm, and tcut-caterpillars. 

 The attacks that the Balti- 

 more oriole makes on the cherries, 

 grapes, and the pea-pods, arc more 

 than paid for by its destruction of 

 insects. Tent-caterpillars and other 

 hairy larvae that many other birds 

 will not touch are eagerly eaten by 

 it The oriole does not swallow 

 the whole caterpillar, but carefully 

 removes a small portion of the 

 inside. The orchard onole is a 

 related bird. Investigation.s in the 

 cotton fields of Texa.s and Louis- 

 iana show that nearly a third ol 

 the specimens examined contained 

 rMnains of the cotton-boll-weevil. Like the Baltimore oriole, it is 

 ISSri^ctivorois in it« diet and destroys a great many injun- 



'^^TXmM' are of several kinds. The Pu/P'^gracklc and the 

 br.,' " are together known as crow blackbirds (fig. &7&). 



Ti. ..n thoroughly studied. An examination of .i.^ss 



„„, ; that com is consumed every month. At the same 



"„„. -^.r- ...i.r,ri in«-ct,, sr,i.ler», myriapods crawfish, earthworms. 

 jOT-buiP hair..nak.«. nnaifs. fishes, tree-toads, salamanders, 1 lards. 

 ^k«^ rd*' egK», and mice. Of the 48 per cent of animal food, 

 1« pS'^l cor^ied of insects. Of these, beetles were present 

 in tte SeaU:«t numf^ers. .Many stomachs were crammed wth 

 Ur«r white beetle grubs. Often more than thirty grai-shoppers 

 "Jt f^id in a nnglTbird. Young blackbirds are fed on insect 



573. House wren. (4?^ in.) 



S^r:^'^in-^Lf^d^«^^2S 



Thc.se birds appear early in the spring and remmn late in the fall. 



They feed their young on in- - 



sect food. Examinations of the 



stomach contents of the adults 



show that about seven-eighths ot 



the red-wing's diet is made up of 



noxious insects and weed-seeds. 



The slaughter of blackbirds that 



occurred in the West during the 



twelve years previous to lS7i was 



in reality a national loss. The 



cowbird was named from its habit 



of accompanying the cattle and 



eagerlv picking up the insects 



which" are started up as they feed. 



The cowbird's food habits are on 



the whole beneficial, since it eats 



many insects and weed-seeds. 1 he 



fact, however, that each young 



mens gave the following tacts. J^" „nre than 88 per cent of the 

 :;- r^'Sn ^^o^^l, iH^t attacl. .u.,^w^ch 

 in quest of scattered and ™'.'J,f;'',^°:J^''in the sprang, however, 



^^'^ tr.^l2:t\L7t<^'^oZ by this bird somewhat 

 "^•'-ft'SofLiXtroys quantWes of grassh^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

 beetles, chinch-bugs crane-fl.es ^°?,'^°Xred grain. In sum- 

 L\^^^er^e^nTo"f1t's1ooTctn5:t'i^of'\^1e<^?a:diniinterit takes 



and the great creaitu ujtai^i .„_,;„„ „,,t frpnuentlv from some 

 all obtain their °°\ °"> ''f/'SI'^i^e™" hlv^^ ™^^^^^^^ """ '^^ 



rnrbirdrd^o-Taralet'-b^ettTsUrd^t^e. but tU cer^^^^ 



t:^^.tTtl^:i^^r^^^^ AU of^them 



tS^-l^^-AS'=£iegj SL^Slls-SnJ-Slai^ 

 Se»st°.?prdTuc°i!,^tr%'ee\t £^'ell as house-flies and flies 

 that trouble cattle and horses. 



^rt^-V ';.';". '■:'/, 



■ ■ >■ 



572. Cedar-bird, or cedar 

 waxwing. (Length 7 in.) 





574. Catbird. (Length 9 in.) 



