146 USEFUL BIRDS. 
flew out and went to the meadow land near by, and were searching for 
grasshoppers most of the day. I could hear them feeding their young 
there very often. Whenever I left the place for a few minutes to go to 
the spring they would fly back again. I counted nine Blue Jays in the 
colony at one time, and they were all busy eating the larva and pup. 
I could see only one distinctly, and he ate five pup and two larve in 
two and one-half minutes. A family of Oven-birds were scratching 
about on the ground among the thick bushes. They were walking 
about like a fiock of chickens, and took the larve that were crawling 
on the ground or that happened to fall from the leaves. A young 
Cuckoo was perched in the oak sprouts near me. The old bird 
brought him larve at the rate of one every two minutes for about 
thirty-six minutes; he then went into the swamp. A Red-eyed Vireo 
came into the colony and ate steadily for forty minutes. He ate sev- 
enty-three larve that I saw. He would hold the larve with his feet, 
pull out the inside, eat it, and drop the outside. A Downy Woodpecker 
came into the colony, ate two pups, and then flew away. 
JuLy 14.— The Crows are still in the colony, back and forth, when 
no one is there. They fly out when they see any one. They seem to 
be eating great numbers of the pups. A Yellow-billed Cuckoo came 
in the early morning and fed forty-eight minutes, and ate eighty-one 
larve. He would beat each one once or twice and swallow it, then rest 
a short time before taking another. Chickadees are still here in large 
numbers, and are eating a great many caterpillars, as they 
eat only the inside. Blue Jays are still eating large quan- 
tities of larvee and pupz, but their actions cannot be seen 
accurately, as they are so shy. Black-billed Cuckoos are 
here to-day, as before. I saw four at one time, and they 
were here at intervals all day, and always eating the cater- 
pillars. There were several Tanagers, or the same one 
several times; each one would eat two or three of the 
larvz each time he was in sight. He seemed to pick out the small 
ones. He would hammer them well before he swallowed them. 
JuLy 15.— When I arrived this morning there were three Flickers 
in the path where the larvae were crossing to get green food. These 
birds were picking the larvee up as they crossed, and eating them. 
They would hammer them on the ground. Yesterday there was a 
Hairy Woodpecker around the colony, but I could not see what he was 
doing. To-day he came and picked into the mass of pups, pulled them 
in pieces, and ate them. ‘The Downy Woodpecker was also here again 
to-day. I saw him eat three pups. He was around nearly all day. 
The Crows are getting tamer, and came several times during the day, 
and’I saw them take both larvee and pups and feed their young with 
them. The Chickadees are here in greater numbers than any day be- 
fore; there were evidently two families of them. All were feeding on 
the larvee, inthe same manner as mentioned before. A Chewink perched 
