354 HOMING \^aTH THE BIRDS 



wings and giving every evidence of satisfaction, 

 he drank from the blotch of green juice that ran 

 from the collapsed worm. Then he flew away and 

 told his friends; for inside of the following ten 

 minutes, a dozen blue wasps came to take a drink 

 of caterpillar blood. To return to the subject of 

 cuckoos, there is a record of nine larvae destruc- 

 tive to black walnut found in the crop of one 

 cuckoo; although, if he was doing such invaluable 

 work, it surely was a pity to kill him. He should 

 have had the freedom of the earth and a monu- 

 ment reciting his virtues instead. The dreaded 

 canker worms are in his dietary list and also in 

 that of the bluebird. Jays eat bugs, worms, ber- 

 ries, and alas ! the eggs and young of more beneficial 

 small birds such as warblers and vireos. 



Up and down the tree trunks all day the in- 

 dustrious nuthatches and brown creepers, assisted 

 by the woodpeckers of several families, search for 

 eggs, lice, larvae, borers, and cocoons. 



In hollow trees live chickadees, titmice, and 

 crested fly-catchers, among small birds, all busy 

 eliminating insect pests. The flicker takes beetles 

 on trees, many ants and grasshoppers on earth. 



High in the branches homes the crow. There is 

 a strong sentiment against him because he has a 

 bad record, based on a love of green corn, little 

 chickens, and the eggs and young of other birds. 

 Yet many farmers have killed crows for pulling 

 up their newly sprouted seed corn, when the birds 



