Food for 'Thought 



In the United States Biological Laboratory at Wash- 

 ington, D. C, it was found that the stomach of a 

 cedar waxwing (cherry bird) contained over ioo 

 canker worms while that of a scarlet tanager con- 

 tained by actual count 630 gypsy moth caterpillars 

 and a nighthawk was found to have consumed 

 600 mosquitos. 



If birds should disappear, the plagues of Egypt 



would again be spread broadcast on the earth. 



Weeds would multiply a thousand fold and whole 



countrysides would be devastated by devouring 



insects before human ingenuity could devise an 

 effectual remedy against the pests. 



Not only do the birds destroy the mature insects 

 but they also devour the larva? and thereby destroy 

 the eggs. Their services in this respect are beyond 

 calculation. As consumers of weed seeds also thev 

 annually save farmers and gardeners an enormous 

 sum of money that would otherwise have to be 

 spent in eliminating weeds. Dr. Judd, a famous 

 entomologist, one time watched about 525 birds 

 eating weed seeds on a Maryland truck farm. He 

 estimated that they consumed not less than 46,000 

 seeds for that single breakfast. 



29 



