BIRDS, CATERPILLARS, AND PLANT LICE. 131 



feeding on them. A pair of Robins were building near by. When 

 the female was arranging the materials of the nest the male was search- 

 ing for food. When she started for another load he would fly after 

 her. He flew to a small wild cherry tree and picked a few of tlie 

 young tent lax'vae from the branch just above the web. 



May 1. — Near the Fells, Maiden. The White-throated Sparrows 

 were quite plentiful all day. I observed one come from the thick 

 brush along the edge of the swamp, and forage along in the lower 

 trees. It went to a tent caterpillars' web, and ate at least eight of 

 them. Most of these Sparrows were foraging in the low bushes and 

 on the ground. 



May 2 A Field Sparrow took a number of tent caterpillars from 



a branch. The Field Sparrows were very plentiful, but I could not 

 often get near enough to see what they were eating. A Chewink took 

 some of the tent caterpillars from the branch that I had placed in the 

 thicket to see if they would eat them. 



May 3. — In Maiden. I saw a Robin go to a tree Avitli many brown- 

 tail lai-vaj on it, and eat several of them. The day was very cold, and 

 the larvfe were clustered together on the branches. The bird picked 

 into tlie mass five times, and must have taken several each time. 



May 4. — In Stoneham. Six Cedar Waxwings came to an apple 

 tree on which was a tent caterpillars' web, and two of them picked the 

 larvaj from the branches just above the web. Most of the time they 

 were picking the small cankerworms. A Brown Thrush came to the 

 wild cherry trees, and, after singing for a short time, ate a great manj'^ 

 tent caterpillars, then flew to the thick bushes and began searching in 

 the dead leaves. 



May 5. — An Oriole came to the small wild cherry tree and ate sev- 

 eral tent caterpillars from the outside of the web, then tore it open and 

 ate out nearly all that were in it. This was a large web when I first 

 saw it ; now there are but few of the caterpillars left, — the birds and 

 bugs have nearly cleaned them out. A Redstart came to another small 

 tree and took out three of the tent caterpillars from the twigs. 



May 6. — A Rose-breasted Grosbeak Avent to an apple tree with a 

 tent cateri^illars' web on it, and took at least two of the larvaj and prob- 

 ably took away more. 



May 9. — I observed a number of Golden-winged Warblers working 

 near the cherry trees. Finally one went to the larger one, and after 

 working in it for a time went to the branch that had the web on it and 

 ate fourteen of the tent caterpillars. A male Xashville Warbler came 

 to the tree and took a few of the tent caterpillars, but he was so shy I 

 could not make out distinctly how many he ate. 



May 10. — I located a male Red-winged Blackbird and two females 

 that were building in a small swamp hole. They wei-e feeding, every 

 time I went past, in a small place where there were no bushes. There 



