306 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



were birds more numerous, there would probably be no great 

 outbreaks such as have occurred in recent years. Dr. E. P. 

 Felt, State entomologist of New York, says that one of the 

 most fruitful methods of keeping this pest in check through 

 its natural enemies will probably be found in encouraging 

 and protecting the native birds known to feed upon it.* 



As showing the large numbers of these caterpillars eaten 

 by birds, a few notes from Mr. Mosher's observations will 

 be of interest. A black-billed cuckoo was seen to eat 36 

 forest tent caterpillars within five minutes. Red-eyed vireos 

 (probably a pair) took 92 forest tent caterpillars from a tree 

 within an hour. They were also eating span worms and 

 other larva} and plant lice. A male Baltimore oriole went 

 into a tree infested liy these caterpillars, where he stayed 

 four minutes, killing 18 caterpillars in that time ; coming a 

 little later, he stayed seven minutes, and took 26 caterpillars. 

 A pair of blue jays came to the tree twenty-four times during 

 three hours, taking 2 or 3 caterpillars at each visit. 



All through the summer the trees are guarded by the birds. 

 While the white grubs of the May beetle are still in the 

 ground, ere they can emerge to feed on the foliage, the 

 robins, crows, thrashers and lilackbirds search them out and 

 destroy them. The sparrows and towhees also search among 

 the dead leaves for caterpillars which crawl on the ground 

 and drop from the trees, and for those which pupate among 

 the litter of the forest floor. Woodpeckers tapping the 

 trunks bring forth injurious ants, bark beetles, wood-boring 

 insects. Creepers, kinglets and nuthatches search the bark 

 and cavities of the trunk and limbs for scale insects, bark 

 lice, borers, bark beetles and the larvre and pupse of other 

 insects which hide there. Warblers, thrushes, tanagers, 

 wrens, titmice, vireos, cuckoos and other tree-loving birds 

 pry about among the leaves and branches in search of cater- 

 pillars of all sorts. Even the hidden leaf rollers are sought 

 out by the grosbeaks and many other birds, and the gall 

 insects are dragged from their hiding places by the jays and 

 grosbeaks. Titmice get the bud worms and woodpeckers 

 search out the worm which destroys the fruit. When the 



* Insects injurious to maple trees, fourth annual report, Commissioners Fisheries, 

 Game and Forests. 



