288 BIRDS 



we hear from a distant willow just as the ducks are settling 

 in the bay for their evening repast. 



Redwings subsist on seeds, including grain, fruits, and 

 insects. While breeding they destroy great numbers of 

 insects, while their fondness for grain is manifested when 

 they congregate in the late summer months and stop in the 

 cultivated fields on their southward journey. 



Farmers' Bulletin 'No. 54 states that little grain is con- 

 sumed by these birds, while about 57 per cent of their fare 

 is injurious weed seeds. It eats but little fruit and alto- 

 gether it is estimated that seven-eighths of its food is inju- 

 rious weed seeds and insects, indicating that the bird should 

 be protected. In fact they are highly useful to the farmer 

 by the benefit they confer in the destruction of grub 

 worms, caterpillars, and various kinds of larvae, the secret 

 and deadly enemies of vegetation. It has been estimated 

 that in a single season these birds destroy twelve thousand 

 millions of noxious insects. 



Redwings are very jealous of their eggs and young, 

 and attack without hesitancy all hawks, crows, or other 

 marauders with almost as much aggressiveness as does the 

 kingbird. 



The nests are placed in low bushes on or near the water. 

 Many times the nests are woven to the upright stalks of cat- 

 tails or bulrushes. Dry grass, stems, and strips of rushes 

 are used externally, and the inside is lined with fine stems. 

 Some nests have Indian hemp on the outside, giving them 

 the appearance of a large yellow warbler's nest. The four 

 or five eggs are light blue, marked with scrawls and streaks 

 of deep purple and black, chiefly about the large end. 



