16 FOOD OF WEST VIRGINIA BIBDS 



been surprised to find how many kinds of wild fruits we have, how many 

 are eaten by the birds and what a large per centage of the food of birds 

 consists of the many varieties of fruits that grow in the fields and the 

 woodlands. The fact that so many birds feed upon wild fruits has 

 led me to note that among the small trees and shrubs that soon spring 

 up after the forests are cut down or destroyed in any manner, by far 

 the larger number are the fruit-bearing varieties. Let us notice this 

 process of reforesting briefly. When a tract of land is burned over 

 and all growing trees and plants destroyed and even the humus burned, 

 the land is practically worthless in that condition. Very soon nature 

 begins to repair the great damage done. The wind soon blows the spores 

 of ferns and mosses, the weed seeds that bear pappus, and these are the 

 first forms of vegetation to appear; during the years that have gone 

 by thousands of birds have been carrying tens of thousands of seeds 

 and sowing them broadcast over this tract of land, since they swallow 

 many of the seeds of the fruits they eat and 'cast them out at their con- 

 venience; these fruit seeds soon germinate, since they have not been 

 killed by the fire, and soon wild "bird" cherries (the name is very sug- 

 gestive), poke berry bushes, sassafras, sujmacs of several kinds, Her- 

 cules' club, the dogwoods, elder bushes, holly of several kinds, the haws, 

 etc., etc., are coming up everywhere; the squirrels and birds have carried 

 nuts, and these begin to grow. Thus the former forest is replaced slowly 

 by a new forest, and in this process the birds have a very important part. 

 It should be remembered that most of the first shrubs to grow up In 

 old fields or in places where the virgin forest has been destroyed are 

 fruit-bearing varieties. 



As an illustration of the usefulness of birds as planters of the seeds 

 of wild fruits I may give the following illustration. Last summer I 

 noticed a beautiful holly tree tthat stood not many feet from an old 

 fence. Along the fence-row perhaps fifteen or twenty small holly trees 

 were springing up. My only possible conclusion was that the birds 

 had eaten the holly berries, had flown to the convenient fence, and there 

 dropped the seeds. Thus the seeds were scattered by the birds and new 

 holly trees were growing all the while. In such manner many useful 

 trees are propagated, and the forests are renewed constantly. For this 

 service we are under great obligations to the birds. 



Birds and Grain. 



Several species of birds are destructive to grain. In the questionnaire 

 mentioned above, the Crow, Mourning Dove, Chewink, Bronzed Crackle, 

 English Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Robin, Flicker, Cardinal and 

 Catbird are accused of "pulling" corn; the Crow, Red-headed Wood- 

 pecker, English Sparrow, Flicker, Bronzed Grackle, Red-winged Black- 

 bird and Cowbird are said to eat the corn when "in the milk." Others 

 are accused of eating wheat and oats. I have seen fields of corn in 

 which great damage had been done by Crows in pulling the sprouting 

 corn stalks. However, it should be remembered that the Crows eat in- 

 sects that are destructive to corn and thus partly atone for the damage 

 done. I have also seen fields in which at least half the ears of corn had 



