20 



hives, it would be well to watch closely before shooting the birds, as they are too 

 valuable to be wantonly destroyed, and in all cases an examination of the stomach 

 contents should be made, and the information gained should be reported. 



There is scarcely a farm in the country that has not one or more pairs of 

 Phoebe birds nesting in or about the buildings, and I fancy there are not many 

 bridges of any size under which a nest may not be found ; 'and so I hope it may 

 continue, for the Phoebe is a most useful and friendly little bird. It has all the 

 good traits of the family without being too aggressive, and no suspicion of any 

 act which is in the least injurious attaches to it. If the birds and their nests 

 are left unmolested, they will return year after year to their old home, and as 

 none of our feathered friends are more valuable than they, we should give them 

 every encouragement to do so. 



I have particularly mentioned the King bird and Phoebe because they may 

 be regarded as typical of the whole family to which they belong, and being 

 familiar in their habits, they are likely to be well known to everyone. All the 

 other species are more or less birds of the woods and orchards, but each one of 

 them in its own chosen locality is rendering us good service the whole summer 

 through. 



SPARROWS, FINCHES, ETC. 



This is a very large family represented in Ontario by thirty -four species. 

 Want of space prohibits my calling attention to the food habits of each of these 

 species in detail. It will, however, be sufficient for the purpose of this paper to 

 refer particularly only to those which in some manner are specially beneficial 

 or injurious to the crops usually cultivated for profit. All these birds are insect 

 eaters in the summer months, and their young while in the nest are fed entirely 

 on insects ; but in the autumn, winter and early spring, the mature birds subsist 

 principally on the seeds of wild plants and forest trees. 



The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is one of the largest and most beautiful of the 

 family, and is of more than usual interest because it is one of the very few birds 

 that will eat the Colorado potato beetle and its larvae, and also the larvae of the 

 Tussock moth, this last being a hairy caterpillar, very destructive to almost all 

 shade and orchard trees. A specimen of this bird in my possession eats both 

 these insects readily. Unfortunately, these Grosbeaks are of a retiring disposition, 

 and usually resort to the seclusion of the woods, but it is one of the few species 

 that seems to be increasing in Ontario, and if unmolested it may possible become 

 more familiar in its habits. If so, its services in lessening the number of Tussock 

 moths would be of great value. None of the. native members of this family are 

 addicted to eating the ordinary grain or fruit crops, but the Purple Finch (the 

 adult male of this species is crimson, not purple) in the spring is sometimes injur- 

 ious in orchards and gardens, where it destroys the buds of fruit trees. They 

 will also devour great quantities of sunflowers and other seeds. They are not, 

 however, generally sufficiently numerous to cause much loss. 



A member of this family about which there has been much controversy, is 

 the imported European House Sparrow. This bird was introduced into Ontario 

 about the year 1873 by some gentlemen who no doubt were under the impression 

 that the sparrows would devote themselves exclusively to killing and eating the 

 caterpillars that infest the shade trees in our towns. They either forgot or did 

 not know that the sparrow belongs to a class of birds whose diet consists of 



