BLUEBIRD (Sialia sialis). 



Length,* about 6J inches. 



Range: Breeds in the United States (west to 

 Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana), 

 southern Canada, Mexico, and Guatemala; win- 

 ters in the southern half of the eastern United 

 States and south to Guatemala. 



Habits and economic status: The bluebird is 

 one of the most familiar tenants of the farm and 

 dooryard. Everjrwhere it is hailed as the har- 

 binger of spring, and wherever it chooses to 

 reside it is sure of a warm welcome. This 

 bird, like the robin, phoebe, house wren, and i 



some swallows, is very domestic in its habits. 

 Its favorite nesting sites are crannies in the 

 farm buildings or boxes made for its use or 

 natural cavities in old apple trees. For rent 

 the bird pays amply by destroying insects, and 

 it takes no toll from the farm crop. The blue- 

 bird's diet consists of 68 per cent of insects to 

 32 per cent of vegetable matter. The largest 



items of insect food are grasshoppers first and beetles next, while caterpillars 

 stand third. All of these are harmful except a few of the beetles. The vege- 

 table food consists chiefly of fruit pulp, only an insignificant portion of which is 

 of cultivated varieties. Among wild fruits elderberries are the favorite. From 

 the above it will be seen that the bluebird does no essential harm, but on the con- 

 trary eats many harmful and annoying insects. (See Farmers' Bui. 54, pp. 46-48.) 



ROBIN (Planesticus migratorius). 



Length, 10 inches. 



Range: Breeds in the United States (except the Gulf States), Canada, Alaska, 

 and Mexico; winters in most of the United States and south to Guatemala. 



Habits and economic status: In the North and some parts of the West the 

 robin is among the most cherished of our native birds. Should it ever become 

 rare where now common, its joyous summer song and familiar presence will be 

 sadly missed in many a homestead. The robin is an omnivorous feeder, and its 

 food includes many orders of insects, with no very pronounced preference for any. 

 It is very fond of earthworms, but its real economic status is determined by the veg- 

 etable food, which amounts to about 58 per cent of all. The principal item is fruit, 

 which forms more than 51 per cent of the total 

 food. The fact that in the examination of over 

 1,200 stomachs the percentage of wild fruit was 

 found to be 5 times that of the cultivated varie- 

 ties suggests that berry-bearing shrubs, if planted 

 near the orchard, will serve to protect more 

 valuable fruits. In California in certain years 

 it has been possible to save the olive crop from 

 hungry robins only by the most strenuous exer- 

 tions and considerable expense. The bird's 

 general usefulness is such, however, that all 

 reasonable means of protecting orchard fniit 

 should be tried before killing the birds. (See 

 Farmers' Bui. 54, pp. 44-46.) 



* Measured from tip of bill to tip of tall. 



673 



