160 DAVET^S PRIMER 



THE BLUEBIRD. 



The appearance of bluebirds indicates the breaking 

 up of winter. They frequent orchards and gardens, 

 where they nest in old hollow trees, or take advantage 

 of a nesting box provided by the farmer's boy. 



So far as known, the bluebird has not been accused 

 of stealing fruit or of preying upon crops. An ex- 

 amination of 300 stomachs showed that 76 per cent of 

 the food consists of insects and their allies, while the 

 other 24 per cent, is made up of various vegetable sub- 

 stances, found mostly in stomachs taken in winter. 

 Beetles constitute 28 per cent of the whole food, grass- 

 hoppers 22, caterpillars n, and various insects, includ- 

 ing quite a number of spiders, comprise the remainder 

 of the animal diet. The destruction of grasshoppers is 

 very noticeable in the months of August and Septem- 

 ber, when these insects form more than 60 per cent of 

 the diet. 



It is evident that in the selection of its food the 

 bluebird is governed more by abundance than by choice. 

 Predaceous beetles are eaten in spring, as they are 

 among the first insects to appear ; but in early summer 

 caterpillars form an important part of the diet, and are 

 replaced a little later by grasshoppers. Beetles are 

 eaten at all times, except when grasshoppers are more 

 easily obtained. 



So far as its vegetable food is concerned, the blue- 

 bird is positively harmless. The only trace of any 

 useful product in the stomachs consisted of a few black- 



