WINTER FEEDING OF BIRDS 



BIRDS are neither mendicants nor loafers, and except under 

 the most adverse conditions of weather, do not look to their 

 human friends for a supply of food, but cheerfully and indus- 

 triously gather the insects and seeds of weeds that are everywhere 

 found in abundance, and thus fulfill the economic part planned 

 for them by nature. 



Insects, their larvae, and eggs form the principal diet of all 

 young birds, from the time they emerge from the shell until 

 they are fully grown and strong on the wing, and the quantity 

 of insect food consumed during this period of a bird's life is be- 

 yond conception. 



The eggs of leaf-devouring insects hatch soon after the un- 

 folding of the leaves, in order that the larvae may feed on the 

 foliage while it is young and tender. To counter-balance this state 

 of affairs in the plant and insect world, nature has timed the 

 hatching of the eggs in the nest to coincide with the first appear- 

 ance of the larvae, which furnish the greater part of the food sup- 

 ply of the nestlings, whose demands for food are insistent. In 

 this manner the insects injurious to vegetation are kept in check. 



The migration of birds is regulated not only by weather condi- 

 tions, but also by the scarcity or abundance of food, as the case 

 may be. So long as a bird is well fed, low temperatures have no 

 terrors for him. 



Snow and ice cover the food supply of the ground-feeding 

 birds, and sleet storms incase the trees in an icy mail, that locks 

 up the insects and their eggs securely from the birds that are 

 dependent upon them for food. 



These are conditions that we must offset by providing food of 

 various sorts for our feathered friends. All insectivorous winter 

 birds are fond of beef suet, and this, like all fats, is a heat pro- 

 ducing food of great value to birds during periods of intense 

 cold. A good sized portion of suet should be placed on a piece 

 of galvanized wire netting of one-half inch mesh, fourteen inches 

 long and six inches wide. Fold the netting over so that it incloses 

 the suet, and the ends meet evenly. Twist the wires on top and 



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