44 FOOD 01 WEST VIK<;IMA Biitus 



take fruit or grain, grass or vegetables." All these birds are animated 

 insect traps, and do an untold amount of good in taking the aerial forms 

 of insect life. They should be carefully protected, and every one who 

 shoots a Nighthawk, as is often done, should be prosecuted to the full 

 extent of the law. 



The Chimney Swift 



Flying through the air in the summer time, from about the 20th of 

 April to the first week in October, may be seen great numbers of small, 

 bow-shaped birds, twittering as they fly. These birds are often known 

 as "Chimney Swallows." However, this is a misnomer. The birds are 

 not Swallows and should not be given that name. They belong to the 

 Swift family and differ automatically from the Swallow family. All 

 summer long they gather in small flocks about chimneys in the towns, 

 cities and farming communities and there they build their nests, fasten- 

 ing them to the chimney walls. In undeveloped communities they often 

 make their nests in old trees, and in 1914 I found these birds building 

 their nests on the walls of an old shanty in a lumber camp. Because 

 of their great numbers and their restless activity they destroy great 

 numbers cf small insects. In every respect the Chimney Swifts are 

 useful birds. 



Flycatchers. 



Another interesting family belongs in this chapter. This is the family 

 of Flycatchers which includes certain species like the Phoebe and King- 

 bird with which every one is familiar. In our State at least nine species 

 and subspecies have been found. These are the Kingbird, Crested Fly- 

 catcher, Phoebe, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Wood Pewee, Yellow-bellied 

 Flycatcher, Acadian Flycatcher, Alder Flycatcher, and Least Flycatcher. 



The name that most of these birds bear is indicative of the character 

 of, and the manner of procuring, their food. These birds are almost 

 wholly insectivorous, though a few of them eat fruit In considerable 

 quantities in late summer and autumn. I have always felt a very special 

 interest in this family. Though inconspicuous and, as compared witn' 

 many other birds, rather somber in coloring, they have habits that are 

 attractive and their characteristics are so exceedingly varied as to make 

 them a most delightful group for study. In taking up these different 

 species for study and investigation, we shall find them one of the most 

 interesting of all our families of birds. The Kingbird is a bold, dashing 

 species with very dark gray back, black head and tail, the tail being 

 banded across the end with white and a patch of orange concealed by 

 the outer feathers of the crown, the under parts being white. This bird 

 Is often called "Bee Bird" or "Bee Martin" because of its fondness for 

 honey bees. It is true that the Kingbird often takes bees, but this de- 

 struction is not so greeat as is sometimes thought since more drones are 

 killed than workers. They are of real value to the apiary on account 

 of the destruction of moths and other insects. Of the bee-eating habit 

 of the Kingbird, Prof. Beal says, in one of the bulletins of the Biological 



