SONG BIRDS OF ORCHARD AND WOODLAND. 227 



the fall web worm, and even the spiny caterpillar of the 

 mourning cloak butterfly, all are greedily eaten by the 

 Baltimore ; and it does not usually swallow many, but 

 merely kills them and eats a small portion of the inner 

 parts. It thus destroys many more than would be needed 

 to satisfy its appetite were they swallowed whole, while at 

 the same time no recognizable portion of the 

 caterpillar can be found in the bird's stomach. 

 This is a habit about which, like many others, 

 we can learn only by observation. Mr. Nash 

 received a number of reports from correspond- 

 ents in 1900 regarding the clearance of tent 

 caterpillars from trees by these birds. They Fig. 86.-ciick 

 were watched day after day, and in the end 

 cleared the orchards of the pests. An Oriole was seen to 

 finish one nest of small caterpillars and begin on another 

 while the observer was eating his breakfast. Young Ori- 

 oles are fed very largely on injurious moths and caterpillars. 

 The Baltimore Oriole is worth its weight in gold for its ser- 

 vices in destroying both gipsy and brown-tail moths. The 



bird is particularly fond of snap 

 beetles or click beetles, the par- 

 ents of the destructive wire worms. 

 Professor Beal says that more than 

 five hundred species of these 

 beetles are found in North Amer- 

 Fig. 87. -cucumber beetle, nat- ica, and their larvae are exceed- 

 urai size; and curcuiios much . , i n j ur ious to a great variety 



enlarged. Both are eaten by & V A J 



orioles. of plants, particularly to corn, 



grass, and garden crops. As they attack the roots or work 

 within the stalks, they are very difficult to control. Many 

 birds eat either the beetles or larvae. The very injurious 

 May beetles and other leaf-eating beetles are taken by the 

 Oriole, among them the striped squash beetle or cucumber 

 beetle, one of the most destructive pests of the garden. 

 Bagworms, curcuiios, wasps, bugs, plant lice, scale insects, 

 March flies, and crane flies are among the insects eaten by 

 this bird. 



