Ninth Report of the State Ento3iologist 351 



ing on thorns or thrusting in forks of limbs many more of the birds 

 than it consumed in food. It should by all means be protected as a 

 valuable ally of the farmer. 



The blackbirds, of which there are several species, should also be 

 protected. When the crow-blackbird was seen tearing off the husks 

 from the ears of corn to feed, as generally supposed, upon the corn, 

 examination of its stomach showed numbers of a caterpillar which 

 feeds upon the tips of the ears, and otAj incidentally a few kernels of 

 the corn. The kingfisher is onl}^ injurious in fish-ponds. 



The robin is one of our most valuable insectivorous birds, and 

 should therefore never be shot. It may be pardoned for the berries 

 and the cherries that it takes, in consideration of the hundredfold return 

 that it makes. The meadow lark feeds only on insects and wild seeds. 

 It is difficult to imagine how one could kill for sale as food so useful a 

 bird, the musical notes of which, while lacking the compass and 

 volume of the famed English meadow lark, quite supasses it in 

 sweetness. 



In place of the provisions of the act, which Dr. Lintner wished to 

 be stricken from the bill, he asked to have inserted the following: 

 *' The English sparrrow [Passer domesticus) is not protected under this 

 act, and it shall be considered a misdemeanor intentionally to give it 

 shelter or food, except with a view to its ultimate destruction; nor 

 does it protect the 'crow, raven, or Cooper's hawk [Acci2nter Cooperi), or 

 the great horned owl [Buho Yirginia7ii(s)." 



