222 Bird - Lore 



agriculturist and every lover of trees. A few quotations from well-known 

 authorities will serve to confirm the above opinion. Mr. F. E. L. Beal, of 

 the Biological Survey, U. S. Department of Agriculture, in his paper on the 

 relation of Cuckoos to agriculture, " The Food of Cuckoos," says: 



"The insect food of Cuckoos consists of beetles, grasshoppers, cicadas, bugs, ants, 

 wasps, flies, caterpillars and spiders, of which grasshoppers and caterpillars constitute more 

 than three-fourths. In 129 stomachs examined, 2,771 caterpillars were found, or an average 

 of 21 in each. In May and June, when tent caterpillars are defoliating fruit-treee, these 

 insects constitute half of the Cuckoo's food. One stomach was so full that the bird had 

 evidently devoured the whole tent colony, as there were several hundred in the stomach. 

 This diet of hairy caterpillars has a curious effect on the birds' stomachs, the lining of 

 which is often pierced by so many hairs as to be completely furred, the membrane itself 

 being almost entirely concealed. It seems hardly possible to overestimate the value of the 

 Cuckoo's work. All caterpillars are harmful, many of them are pests, and any of them 

 are likely to become so. The common tent-caterpillar formerly fed on the wild cherry, but 

 has now turned its attention principally to apple trees, sometimes completely defoliating 

 them." 



Mr. E. H. Forbush, Ornithologist to the Massachusetts Board of 

 Agriculture, says: 



" There is no question as to the value of Cuckoos; they feed mainly on the medium- 

 sized and larger caterpillars. Whether there is any other family that is as useful in this 

 respect as the Cuckoos, is still an open question." 



Major Bendire says: 



" Their benefit to the horticulturist is immense, and he has certainly no better friends 

 among our birds." 



The Cuckoo is certainly entitled to the respect and the protection of 

 man for the good it does, and the forester, the orchardist and, in fact, every- 

 one who tills the soil should count himself specially favored if he can 

 number among his bird guests some Cuckoos. 



Study Points for Teachers and Scholars 



Trace distribution of the Cuckoos on the map. Which species is found in your 

 locality? When do they arrive in the spring, and depart in the fall ? What can you tell 

 of their food from personal observation ? Describe nest, materials, location in tree, kind 

 of tree, period of incubation, number and color of eggs. How long do young remain in 

 nest? Local name. 



For additional valuable information read the following: "Life Histories of North 

 American Birds," Bendire, 1895; "Bulletin No. 9, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture," Beal, 

 1898; "Bulletin No. 5, Massachusetts Crop Report," Forbush, September, 1899; "Lit- 

 tle Brothers of the Air," Mrs. Olive Thorne Miller. 



