Birds and Forest Protection 



105 



House for Winter Bird Feeding at Thirlmere, England. 



of wild fruits; 3^0 stomachs contained 58 

 per cent, vegetable matter, of which 47 

 per cent, consisted of wild fruits and 4 per 

 I'ont. cultivated fruits. The Bluebird 

 {Sialic sialic) is not so common as former- 

 ly in the Ottawa district, having probably 

 been driven away by the encroachments 

 of man. CharniiTig in its habits, it re- 

 spon<ls readily to encouragement, building 

 in hollow trunks and cavities. Insects 

 such as grasshoppers, beetles and cater- 

 pillars constitute about 68 per cent, of its 

 food. 



'With the possible exception of the 

 house wren, probably no other birds so 

 readily take advantage of artificial nesting 

 places as the Chicadees (Penihestes atri- 

 capiUu.'! and others) and Tits. Their un- 

 remitting search for insects on every 

 branch, twig and leaf is a fascinating 

 sight, and the good they accomplish is 

 difficult to conceive. A Blue Tit will 

 destroy six and a half million insects in a 



year, and in bringing up a family of about 

 twelve to sixteen young ones, about 

 twenty-four million inserts would ulti- 

 mately be accountoil for. Especially valu- 

 able are they in the destruction of the 

 eggs of certain species of defoliating cater- 

 pillars, such as the canker worms and tent 

 caterpillars, the moths of which deposit 

 their eggs on twigs. The pupae of the 

 codling moth and the hibernating forms 

 of plant lice do not escape the sharp eye 

 of these small acrobats. The little White- 

 breasted Nuthatch (Sitta earoUnensi<t) 

 which may be seen running not only up- 

 wards, but also downwards, on the trunks 

 of trees, has somewhat similar habits to the 

 ■Chicadees. Over 50 per cent, of its food 

 consists of insects. The House Wren (Trog- 

 lodijtcs acdon) has suffere<i much by the in- 

 roads of the quarrelsome English sparrow, 

 which drives it out of its nesting places on 

 every possible occasion. Nevertheless, this 

 confiding little bird, which charms us so 



