FOOD OF WEST VIRGINIA BIRDS 



the time the Warbler hosts have passed us in the spring practically 

 every bud, leaf, twig, flower and incipient fruit has been carefully in- 

 spected and rid of some insect enemy. A brief study of a few of our 

 more important species will give illustrations of how this work is done. 



Yellow Warbler. 



The Yellow Warbler or "Summer Yellow Bird" is the member of 

 this family that is recognized perhaps most often. From the last days 

 of April up to early fall this little yellow bird may be observed singing 

 and hunting insects about our shade trees, along the willows of some 

 stream or among the fruit trees in orchard or yard. The male is a 

 clear lemon yellow with orange-colored stripes <>n his breast, while 

 the female lacks the orange stripes and has more of an olive green 

 tinge to her plumage. This species is common throughout most sections 

 of West Virginia and should be appreciated greatly by all orchardists. 

 It feeds on many of the worst pests that attack fruit trees, shade trees, 

 vines and berry bushes, and destroys great numbers of small caterpillars 

 before they have grown to a really destructive size. Among the insects 

 destroyed by the Yellow Warbler are the young tent caterpillars and 

 cankerworms, bark beetles, weevils, plant lice, codling moth, flies and 

 spiders. Very little fruit is eaten by this species, though I have ob- 

 served them taking tiny particles of the fruit of the mulberry. 



Cape May Warbler. 



The Cape May Warbler is a rather inconspicuously colored little bird 

 that passes northward in the spring and returns in the fall. As they 

 pass going each way great numbers of these birds remain with us 

 for a few weeks, especially in the fall. The immense numbers of these 

 little birds reach this section just as the cultivated grapes are in their 

 prime. And because of the great harm they sometimes do in our vine- 

 yards they are chiefly known. The Cape May Warbler, at times, destroys 

 great quantities of this fruit by puncturing the ripe grapes and drinking 

 the sweet juice. After the grape is thus punctured by the birds the bees 

 and wasps come and finish the work of destruction. I have known vine- 

 yards of considerable size here in West Virginia in which practically 

 all the grapes were destroyed by these birds. Last fall (1915) I found 

 these small brown birds feeding upon the grapes in a number of places 

 within our State. In addition to grapes I have found these birds feed- 

 ing upon wild black cherries, common elder berries, poke berries and the 

 fruit of the Fringe Tree. Last fall I watched several trees of the last 

 named species and noted how greedily the Cape May Wferblers fed on the 

 large purple drupes. At first they came to these trees and ate sparingly 

 of the fruits, but as they ripened the birds were in the trees practically 

 all the time till the last vestige of fruit was gone. The cultivated grapes 

 seem to make up the larger part of the food of these birds while they 

 are here. Mr. Charles Handley informs me that he has seen this species 

 feeding on the fruit of the Virginia Creeper or Five-leaved Ivy. I suspect 



