FOOD HABITS OP THRUSHES. 23 



the nonpoisonous ones. The seed itself is rarely broken in the 

 stomach to get any nutriment it may contain. But in spite of these 

 facts Rhus seeds were found in 49 stomachs, while fruits of huckle- 

 berries and blueberries, which are delicious to the human taste, were 

 found in only 13 stomachs; and blackberries and raspberries, highly 

 esteemed by man, were found in only 5 stomachs. Next to Rhus the 

 fruit most eaten was the dogwood berry, found in 34 stomachs, yet 

 from a human estimate these berries are distasteful and contain such 

 large seeds that they afford but very little actual food. 



Summary. — The hermit thrush, as it name indicates, is of solitary 

 habits and neither seeks human companionship nor molests cultivated 

 products. It destroys nothing indirectly helpful to man, as beneficial 

 insects, but aids in the destruction of the myriad hosts of insect life 

 which at all times threaten vegetation. While it is not easy to point 

 out any especially useful function of the hermit thrush, it fills its 

 place in the economy of nature, from which it should not be removed. 



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