BIRDS, CATERPILLARS, AND PLANT LICE. 137 
caterpillars from the web and ate them. There were two Crows in the 
brown-tail moth tree when I came in sight of it. I saw one of them 
peck twice at the branch, and swallow something. In attempting to get 
nearer to them I made a noise, and frightened them away. Could find 
nothing on the branch they were on except brown-tail moths, which 
they were eating. The next visitor was an Oriole, who came to the 
tree and ate thirty-four larve in six minutes, then flew away. He 
hammered each larva once or twice before swallowing it. The next 
visitor was a Wilson’s Thrush. He first perched on a small oak on the 
top of the ledge, then hopped to the dry leaves, and seemed to be 
searching among them for food for about five minutes. Then he few 
to the tree and took a larva while in sight and swallowed it. He 
probably took more while in the tree. He was in the tree four minutes. 
He then flew down and began searching in the grass. A Red-eyed 
Vireo perched in the oaks and searched for about nine minutes. I saw 
him take over fifty larvee of various kinds from the leaves, some of 
which were leaf-rollers. I could see him picking insects from the under 
sides of the leaves. ‘Io accomplish this he would grasp the petiole with 
his feet, and hang, back down, and pick the larvee off. Je then went 
to the apple tree and took twenty-nine larve (brown-tail) before flying 
across the boulevard. He was in the apple tree about six minutes. He 
beat nearly every one on the branch before eating it. 
From this and later experiences it seems that many birds 
have learned to eat the larve of the brown-tail moth even 
when the caterpillars reach an age when the detachable hairs 
are dangerous. Probably by shaking off these hairs the birds 
render the larve eatable, and even fit to feed to their young. 
May 25.— A Golden-winged Warbler came to the oak trees next 
the boulevard, and sang for nearly five minutes in a low, wiry voice. 
He then began searching for food. Frequently I would see him take 
some small green larve from the leaves, but could not tell what kind 
it was. He then flew to the apple tree and picked eleven brown-tail 
larvee from the leaves and swallowed them, after hammering them on 
the limbs. He probably took more while feeding in the tree, about 
eight minutes. Te then flew over the ledge. A pair of Orioles were 
back and forth over the ledge, and would occasionally stop and eat the 
brown-tail larvse for a moment or two, but did not make a long stay 
while I was there. They had probably got their fill earlier in the day. 
An Indigo Bird lit in the top of one of the oak trees for a moment, then 
flew to the apple tree and ate six of the brown-tail larvee, and was then 
chased out by the English Sparrows. Three of the Sparrows perched 
in the tree and picked off two or three brown-tail larve apiece, then 
flew to the boulevard. A pair of Scarlet Tanagers perched for about 
