BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 221 



other was placed about twenty feet from the earth, neither of these 

 differed materially in their make-up from the average nest. 



FOOD. 



To our agriculturist this is a subject worthy of some consideration. 

 It appears to be the prevailing opinion among many farmers the ma- 

 jority in fact that Crow Blackbirds are in many ways detrimental, and 

 in no particular are they beneficial. This belief, evidently handed down 

 from one generation to another, is taken in its full meaning, widely 

 at variance with positive fact. Among the first of our vernal migrants 

 come the Crow Blackbirds in large flocks which disperse themselves 

 over the country, frequenting, principally, as previously stated, meadow 

 lands and humid grounds in quest chiefly of an insect diet, that is only 

 occasionally diversified by a grain of corn, wheat or oats, and such seeds 

 as may be found in seeking the hidden insect. 



In the wake of the plowman, as he turns the crumbling earth, closely 

 follow the argus-eyed Grackles, ever on the alert to seize the wriggling 

 worm, the agile beetle, or the glistening grub, and the numerous larvcv 

 thrown out as each furrow is turned. Certainly, at this season our sable 

 acquaintances are engaged only in that which will prove of utility to the 

 cultivator when his crops are growing. We repeatedly hear of how the 

 blackbirds tear up and devour the young and growing corn. This, un- 

 questionably, is sometimes the case, but I am confident that the destruc- 

 tion thus done is much exaggerated. I am aware that on more than one 

 occasion I have seen the tender blades of corn lying on the ground 

 where were actively at work Crow Blackbirds, a number of which were 

 shot, and on post-mortem dissection their stomachs revealed almost en- 

 tirely insects. Some six years ago I was visiting a friend who had thirty 

 odd acres of corn (maize) planted. Quite a number of " blackies," as he 

 styled them, were plying themselves with great activity about the grow- 

 ing cereal. We shot thirty -one of these birds feeding in the cornfield. 

 Of this number nineteen showed only cut-worms in their stomachs. The 

 number of cut-worms in each, of course, varied, but as many as twenty- 

 two were taken from one stomach. In seven some corn was found, in 

 connection with a very large excess of insects, to wit : Beetles, earth- 

 worms and cut-worms. The remaining five showed chiefly beetles. 



Comment is frequently made with regard to the Purple Grackles pil- 

 laging the cherry trees. To some extent this is true, but certainly the 

 amount of fruit taken is small, far less than that injured by the well- 

 known Cedar or Cherry Bird (Ampelis cedrorum). 



Strawberries, blackberries and other fruits are fed upon, but to a very 

 limited extent, by this species. The diet of the young birds, while under 

 parental care, is almost exclusively insectivorous, consisting mainly of 

 caterpillars and grubs. 



It is a well-established fact that they are given to pillaging the eggs 



