FOOD OP BIRDS. 99 



LESSON XVI. 



FOOD OF BIRDS GRANIVOROUS AND CARNIVOROUS 

 BIRDS THE CONDOR. 



THE food of birds is very various. Some live 

 principally on worms, caterpillars, and insects ; 

 others, as birds of prey, eat mice and other ani- 

 mals ; others live on seeds and grain. Birds of 

 prey are called carnivorous, or flesh-eating, and 

 those which live on seeds granivorous, or seed- 

 eating. 



Granivorous birds are the most prolific and most 

 useful to man, as they are easily tamed and domes- 

 ticated. They are in general social, or gregarious 

 in their habits, and often live together in great 

 numbers, forming extensive colonies, as rooks and 

 doves. The fowl, the duck, the goose, and the 

 turkey, are used very largely for food, the flesh 

 being sweet and good, and highly nutritious. The 

 goldfinch, the chaffinch, and the linnet, which de- 



