^"iSc^^l ^.\t^'i^VLKSOti, Food of Niit/tatc/tcs atid CliicK-adccs. ^53 



and scratch among the dead rushes for any insects there. 1 am 

 incHned to think that most of the Reduviid eggs were secured 

 on such marshy ground. Tamarack was a favorite resort with 

 many. About one-fourth were taken from oak trees, but on these 

 they searched for insects upon the tips of the smooth branches, 

 rather than on the rough trunk as do the Nuthatches. Two were 

 secured in an apple orchard, while five others were seen coming 

 from one. Many times they were seen in orchards near dwell- 

 ings, where I was unable to secure them by use of the gun. 

 When feeding on heavy timber, they frequent only the edges, 

 where the injurious insects are invariably the most plentiful. 



Abundance. 



Owing to the fact that they go in flocks and are therefore not 

 so evenly distributed as the Nuthatches, it is more difficult to 

 determine their abundance. Although, on the average, about 

 two were secured for every mile travelled, yet as they go in small 

 flocks several were generally secured in an immediate vicinity. 

 A flock of seven Chickadees is doubtless a fair average for each 

 square mile, and in some parts of the State, especially the south- 

 eastern, I am sure that they are much more abundant in orchards 

 than here. . 



Ability to Check Insect Pests. 



If fifty-five insects were consumed per day by each bird, as 

 will be shown to be the case, 385 would be consumed per day, 

 and about 137,500 per year in each square mile. Thus upon the 

 land surface of Michigan there wdll annually be about 8,000,000,000 

 insects destroyed by the Chickadees alone. Surely no mean 

 number. 



During the summer after the young have been reared, the 

 number of individuals should be for some time at least tripled, 

 giving us 20 to 25 per square mile. The census of 1890 shows 

 that there are about 8,500,000 apple trees planted in Michigan, 

 and of the fruit trees, apple orchards are the Chickadee's favorite 

 haunt. This would give an average of about 150 trees per square 



