17 



Baltimore OrioU, The (lolden Robin, Kin- liinl or ll;iii ihUhi. 



sometimes CM I If.l, is of IV importance |i. the tVlIlt ^ToWer t Ii:m tin- ^rain I'; II i 



as ii Cleans its I'lMiil entirely :iinii^ tin- branches. ..nly Visiting th ground 

 material with which to construct its purse like nesi Its food 00 



leal'-eat ing caterpillars Mini beetle.-. It is also | i;i rt id I |;i rl y fond of tin- fir 



which freMiirnt the trees for the purpose of laying their eg^s; of these mot:. 



devours large numbers. ;inl in this way it mat .-ri.-i 1 1 \ in keeping dowi; 



army of leaf eaters which BO frequently Strip "iir fcreee t' their foliage. \ 

 few of UNI- birds will cat a hairy cat erpillar, hut when they ,-,-it ;i female D 



before she lias laid her eggs they destroy at one stroke a whole brood 

 pernicious creatures, and to this work the < )riole devotes itself with great indu 

 1 ha\ -e on se\ eral occasions ohtaine<l a hrood of youn^- ( )|-ioles and hun- them 

 out in a ca^e ncai' my lu>us, for the purpose of discovering tin- nature of the food 

 In-outdit to them, and found that fully one-half consisted of moths: unfnrtuii.v 

 1 did not keep a record of the nuinhcr of these brought in any one day, but it 

 was very large, and the usefulness of this bird in keeping down the swarm 

 destructive caterpillars, by cutting off the source of supply, was clearly exempli- 

 fied. When the cherries ripen the Oriole displays a certain partiality for fruit, 

 but the small quantity they take may well be spared them, more particularly as 

 it is only in this direction that they levy any toll for their services. The bril- 

 liant coloring of the male, his tiute like note, and the ingenuity displayed in the 

 construction of the nest, all commend these birds to the lover of nature, and 

 we could well spare a few cherries for the sake of having them about our gardens, 

 even if their usefulness was less pronounced than it is. In the south-western 

 portions of our Province the Orchard Oriole occurs. It differs from the Baltimore 

 in being smaller and in color being chestnut and black, instead of the orange and 

 black which marks the present species. Its habits are much the same as those 

 of the familiar Baltimore, but it is too rare to have any economic valne. 



WOODPECKERS, NUTHATCHES, TITMICE, ETC. 



The various species which constitute these families have been grouped 

 together, because of certain similarities- in their habits, although structurally they 

 differ widely. They are all tree climbers, and obtain the greatest part of their 

 food from the trunks of trees, some of them by laboriously digging out the grubs 

 which bore into the solid wood, others by prying into every crack and crevice of 

 the bark, where they find insects in various stages of development. 



Of the Woodpeckers we have in Ontario nine species, namely, the Pileated 

 Woodpecker (better known as the " Cock of the Woods "), the Arctic Three-toed 

 Woodpecker, the American Three-toed Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy 

 Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Woodpecker, Golden -winged Woodpecker, Red -h. ., 

 Woodpecker, and Red-bellied Woodpecker. The first three are true birds of the 

 forest, very seldom showing themselves in the neighborhood of cultivation, so 

 that, although their services are of great value to the country, by reason of the 

 constant war they carry on against the borers, which are so injurious to our 

 timber, we need not consider them in this paper. Tin- Hairy Woodpecker and 

 the |)o\\ny Woodpecker are two species that almost exactly resemble each other 

 both in habits and appearance, the only material di Hen-nee V.eini: in their size, 

 the Hairy Woodpecker measuring about nine inches in length, the Downy 

 about six inches. Their food, which consists almost entirely of insects, is 

 2 



