The Audubon Societies 



131 



Now that we are watching for the Robin, Red -winged Blackbird, and 

 Phoebe, suppose we learn a few facts about their food, putting our informa- 

 tion down as follows: 



Food of the Robin, Red- winged Blackbird and Phoebe, Three of Our 



Beneficial Birds 



(See, Some Common Birds in their Relation to Agriculture, by F. E. L. Beal, 

 Farmers' Bulletin, No. 54, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, and also, The Relation between 

 Birds and Insects, Yearbook of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture for iqoS.) 





Robin 



Red- winged Blackbird 



Phoeljc 



January 



Wild fruit. 



Weed-seed. 



In winter home. 



Februarj' 



Wild fruit. 



Weed-seed. 



In winter home. 



March 



Wild fruit, beetles and 

 worms. 



Weed-seed and insects. 



In winter home. 



April 



Wild-fruit, worms and 

 insects. 



Weed-seed and insects. 



In winter home. 



May 



Wild fruit, worms and 



Mostly insects, a little 



Insects such as 





insects. 



grain, a few snails and 



May beetles 







crustaceans. 



Click beetles 



June 



Wild fruit, worms and 



Weevils, 25 per cent less 



Weevils 





insects. 



grain. 



Grasshoppers 



July 



Wild fruit, worms and 



Mostly insects, a verv 



Wasps. 



Wild fruit 





insects. 



little fruit, more grain. 



Flies 





August 



Wild fruit, grasshoppers 



Weed-seed 30 per cent. 



Bugs. 



Wild fruit 





30 per cent. 



Considerable grain in 

 certain localities, in- 

 sects. 



Spiders 



September 



Wild fruit, beetles. 



Weed-seed and insects, 

 grain and rice notably 

 in the West and South. 





October 



Wild fruit, beetles. 



Weed-seed and insects, 

 grain and rice notably 

 in the West and South. 





November 



Wild fruit, a few insects. 



Weed-seed. 



In winter home. 



December 



Wild fruit. 



Weed-seed. 



In winter home. 



Summary 



Animal matter, chiefly in- 



Vegetable matter about 



Insects and spiders 





sects, 42 per cent, large- 



74 per cent. 



93 per cent. 





ly injurious species. 









Small fruits and berries 



Animal matter, mainly 



Wild fruit 7 per 





about 58 per cent, of 



insects, 26 per cent. 



cent. 





which 47 per cent is 



Nearly seven-eighths 







wild fruit, and a little 



of the food of this 







over 4 per cent culti- 



species is weed-seed 







vated fruit. 



and injurious insects. 







In habit of nesting, manner of feeding, song, plumage, and distribution 

 quite different, these three species will furnish us ample work for study and 

 observation during the year. It will be very much worth while to find out 

 all that we can about them without in any way disturbing them. They have 

 come, and are still coming, thousands of miles, to spend the summer with us. 

 The Robin may even linger through late fall, or, if the winter be mild, the 



