VALUH OF BIRDS TO MAN. 53 
menced bringing food regularly, he began the record at 6 
A.M. Between 6 and 7 they came to the nest fifty-two times ; 
between 7 and 8, forty-seven times; between 8 and 9, forty- 
three times; between 9 and 10, thirty times; between 10 
and 11, thirty-six times; between 11 and 12, twenty-seven 
times; between 12 and 1, thirty-two times; between 1 and 
2, thirty-eight times; between 2 and 3, forty-one times; 
between 3 and 4, twenty-two times; between 4 and 5, fifty- 
eight times. The majority of the larva seemed to be leaf 
rollers from the oak trees. The female came on the average 
about three times to each two visits of the male; he was 
occupied much of the time in keeping other birds away from 
the vicinity of the nest. 
When the young of most insect-eating birds are well grown, 
the parents feed them whole insects just as they are picked 
up. With a glass, therefore, the insects brought by- these 
Grosbeaks could be seen in the birds’ beaks. Their lusty 
youngsters were fed almost entirely on insect larve or cater- 
pillars taken from the forest trees. On only four visits did 
either parent bird bring less than two larve each. In eleven 
hours, then, they made four hundred and twenty-six trips, 
and must have fed their nestlings at least eight hundred and 
forty-eight larvee or caterpillars, and possibly more, as a bird 
has been observed to carry as many as eleven small cater- 
pillars on one visit to its young. 
In comparing the records of the two nests as given above, 
it is noticeable that the Grosbeaks fed the young much oftener 
than did the Vireos. This difference is due mainly to the 
fact that about the time the young birds are ready to fly, 
as were these Grosbeaks, they require much more food than 
when first hatched, as was the case with the Vireos. This, 
of course, is mainly owing to their increased size. The dif- 
ference in the number, age, and size of the young probably 
accounts largely for the great variation in the number of 
visits made to them by the parent birds, as recorded by dif- 
ferent observers. 
I have published some notes on the feeding of young 
Chickadees by the parent birds. Six visits were made to 
these young within thirteen minutes. In each case the bills 
