594 TRANSACTIONS OF THfi 



ing him with serious blows on the top of the head, and finally 

 destroy him. The orchard oriole, is constantly engaged destroy- 

 ing the pernicious bugs that eat our strawberries and raspberries, 

 and though he occasionally partakes of an inviting berry, his 

 principal reliance for food is on our enemies. The ignorant gar- 

 dener not knowing this fact, makes an attack upon him, whenever 

 he appears. All farmers make war upon, and use their best en- 

 deavors to kill the common crow, which I consider one of the 

 most useful of all birds, and protect with the same care that I 

 do the barn yard fowl; he gratifies his appetite occasionally with 

 a few kernels of corn, fruits, and seeds ; but the principal occu- 

 pation of his life, is the extirpation of lizards, toads, serpents, 

 grubs, worms, injurious insects, carrion, raccoons, owls, and 

 foxes, and if treated kindly, becomes tame, and will then protect 

 a large farm from the annoying depredations of the eagle and 

 hawk, and not unfrequently alights on the backs of barn yard 

 cattle, for the purpose of relieving them from the insidious attacks 

 of nameless insects concealed in their skin. Then we have the 

 omnivorous blue-jay, which feeds without discrimination upon 

 all kinds of flesh, insects and seeds; he is a sneaking coward, and 

 never molests any other birds, even if far inferior to him in 

 strength, but during their absence, steals their eggs, and devours 

 their young, and if disturbed flies to cover, crying vociferously; 

 he destroys innumerable small insects, and destructive beetles. 

 The Eutcher bird is active, courageous, and possesses indom- 

 itable perseverance ; he is probably less destructive to agricul- 

 ture than most other birds; is lively, noisy and perfectly fearless 

 of man. I have watched their movements with great interest, 

 and find that they breed but once a year and keep their young 

 with them during the first winter ; while young they feed them 

 upon insects, caterpillars, spiders and small fruits, and before 

 they leave the nest, upon the flesh of small birds, which, I have 

 seen them take thus : They embower themselves in a busli, and 

 imitate the cries of distress of any bird they see approaching. 

 When allured sufliciently near, he is caught and torn in pieces; 

 the portions having feathers on, are eaten by the old birds, and 

 the balance fed to their young. I have seen them attach insects 

 to the thorns on the honey locusts, and when small birds ap- 



