138 USEFUL BIRDS. 
twelve minutes in the apple tree, and were busy all the time eating 
brown-tail larvae. I could see but one distinctly, and he ate forty-three 
brown-tails that I saw, and probably a few more, but not many. 
May 26.—I watched a Maryland Yellow-throat on the low willow 
sprouts, and saw him pick off fifty-two gipsy moth larve before flying 
away. Isaw Warblers flying in and out among the trees, taking one 
here and another there all the time I was there, but could not watch 
any one individual for any length of time. The Yellow Warblers were 
taking them from the trunks as well as the sprouts, and also in the tops 
of the tall trees. A pair came to a bunch of sprouts near me, and I 
counted thirty-five gipsy larve that they took in the two minutes they 
were there. A pair of English Sparrows have a nest in a hollow tree in 
the grove, and they are almost continually chasing the Warblers and 
other birds that come near them; but I did not see them feed any in the 
grove, —they go out to the streets and dooryards. The Redstarts were 
also eating large numbers of the larve. One that I got near enough 
to observe ate thirty-one gipsy larvee before he left the clump of willows. 
At the brown-tail moth tree a Black-billed Cuckoo came, and, going 
to a branch where the larvse were very numerous, began eating them 
greedily. He had taken four mouthfuls when a Robin, that has a nest ~ 
in a pine tree near, chased him out. A Yellow-throated Vireo came to 
the tree and ate fourteen brown-tails in less than five minutes. He 
probably ate many more, as he could not be distinctly seen nearly all 
of the time. A Red-eyed Vireo came to the opposite side of the tree 
and ate several larve, but his doings could not be clearly seen. A 
male Indigo Bird perched on the topmost branch of the apple tree and 
sang for several minutes, then hopped down a branch or two and 
picked the larvee from the branch. I saw him eat sixteen of them 
(brown-tails) after he had hammered them on the branch. 
May 27.—A Yellow-billed Cuckoo came to a willow tree near me 
and ate forty-seven forest tent caterpillars in six minutes, then flew 
to a small maple tree and sat on a branch for nearly ten minutes and 
plumed his feathers, then returned to the willow and ate sixteen more, 
and flew away. He would take the caterpillar and hammer it once 
or twice, then swallow it. A Blue Jay came, and took two of the 
forest tent caterpillars and flew away with them. A male Redstart ate 
three forest tent caterpillars. He would take one, fly to a neighboring 
branch, hammer it well, swallow it, then go back foranother. A male. 
Oriole came to the tree three times during the forenoon, and fed on the 
forest tent caterpillars. The first time he came he stayed four minutes, 
and took eighteen caterpillars ; the second time he stayed seven minutes, 
and took twenty-six larvee; and the last time he stayed about ten min- 
utes, and ate fourteen larve. At the brown-tail moth tree there were 
quite a number of birds feeding in the surrounding trees, but not nearly 
all the species visited the apple tree. A Red-eyed Vireo came to the 
tree and would take the brown-tail moth larve and hammer them a 
