BIRDS 285 



the capture of insects, which do some injury to trees by feed- 

 ing on the live bark and sap of trees. More than two hundred 

 and fifty kinds of trees, shrubs and vines are attacked by these 

 sap-suckers. They are especially fond of and, hence, hurtful 

 to hickory trees. The common sap-sucker of the western 

 states is the only woodpecker in that region that has the whole 

 head and throat red, while the common one of the middle and 

 eastern states is the only one having the front of the head from 

 bill to crown red and a black patch on the breast. By these 

 marks these two injurious woodpeckers can be distinguished 

 from the others, all of which are beneficial. 



The Passeres include the familiar song birds and the great 

 majority of the birds of the garden, the forest, the roadside 

 and the field. The feet of these birds always have four toes 

 and are fitted for perching. The syrinx, or musical apparatus, 

 is well developed in most of them. Nesting and domestic 

 habits are various, but the young are always hatched in a 

 helpless condition, and have to be fed and otherwise cared for 

 by the parents for a longer or shorter time. The North Ameri- 

 can species of this order are grouped into eighteen families, 

 as the fly-catcher family (Tyrannidce) , crow family (Corvidce), 

 the sparrows and finches (Fringillidce) , the swallows (Hirun- 

 dinidce), the thrushes, robins and blue birds (Turdidce), etc. 

 In this small book nothing can be said of the various species 

 which belong to this order. However, as the Passerine birds 

 are those which immediately surround us and which, by 

 their familiar songs and nesting habits, most interest us, the 

 outdoor study of birds by beginning students will usually 

 be devoted chiefly to the members of this order, and many 

 different kinds will soon become familiar. The robin and 

 blue bird will introduce us to their shy and familiar relatives, 

 the song thrushes; the study of the king bird or bee-martin 

 will interest us in some of the other fly-catchers. From the 

 familiar chipping sparrow and tree-sparrow we shall be led to 

 look for their cousins the swamp- sparrows and the larger 

 grosbeaks and crossbills, and so on through the order. 



Determining and Studying the Birds of a Locality. To 

 identify the various species of birds in the locality of a school 



