Birds in Relation to Forestry. 83 



More recently Beal (I9o) has dealt with the American species 

 in an exhaustive manner. 



The wood-pigeon and its relatives eat up seeds and do much harm 

 to seedlings. Complaints have also been received of them setting 

 upon young trees and breaking the branches. 



The amount of damage done by game birds to forests has been 

 considerably exaggerated. The capercaillie undoubtedly injures 

 forest nurseries as well as the buds and young shoots of various 

 conifers. On the other hand it destroys many injurious insects, and 

 it affords both sport and food. The black grouse and pheasant, 

 although both are included amongst the destructive species, are, in 

 my opinion, far more beneficial than injurious. Grimshaw (56) has 

 recently set forth in some detail the crop contents of a single bird, 

 which are as follows : 



ANALYSIS OF CONTENTS. 



Insects Diptera: Bibio lepidus, Lw 2,286 specimens 



Pollenia rudis, Fab. ... ... 1 ,, 



Coleoptera : Lochmaea suturalis, Thorns. 



(Heather Beetle) 508 ,, 



Hymeiioptera : Myrmica rubra, L. (Anit) 2 ,, 

 Orthoptera : Stenobothms sp. (Grass- 

 topper) 1 



Mollusca Planorbis, sp. ... ... 2 ,, 



Total ... 2,800 specimens 



Vegetable remains. Numerous tubers of Lesser Celandine (Ranun- 

 culus ficaria), one seed-capsule of Mouse-Ear Chickweed 

 (Cerastium), fragments of mosses and grasses, small stem with 

 leaves of Heath Bed-straw (Galium sazatile), tiny shoots of 

 Heather (Calluna vulgaris), many fragments of leaves of the 

 Bulbous Crowfoot (Ranunculus bulbosus), and a few leaflets 

 of the Cuckoo-flower (Cardamine pratensis). 



On the whole we may state that birds in this country do not 

 commit any serious amount of damage to forests. On the other 

 hand the beneficiiajl species are exceedingly valuable. Of tlhese, 

 those concerned in the destruction of " forest vermin " are, perhaps, 

 the most important, such, for example, as the Barn Owl (Strix 

 flammea, Linn.), the Tawny Owl (Syrnium aluco (Linn.)), and other 

 species, and the Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus, Linn.). Fortunately, 

 we now have carefully recorded accounts of the stomach contents of 

 these birds, and also of the nature of the castings or pellets (see p 62) 



