374 USEFUL BIRDS. 
which birds eat in winter. The elms ripen their seeds 
early, thus providing bird food in June, while their branches 
furnish favorite nesting places for Robins, Orioles, and 
Vireos. The spanworms which infest these trees are sought 
by nearly all small land birds. The maples are favorite 
nesting trees, and 
their seeds, which 
sometimes remain 
on-the trees, form a 
staple article of food 
for the Pine Gros- 
beak. The seeds 
of the ash are eaten 
by Grosbeaks and 
Purple Finches. 
Among the conifer- 
ous trees none are 
more attractive to 
certain birds than 
the white pine, the pitch pine, and the larch or hackmatack. 
The first two offer insect food to many Warblers ; their cones 
and shoots are utilized by birds and squirrels in winter. The 
spruces and hemlocks also have their following among the 
birds. These conifers are valuable for the shelter they pro- 
vide in winter to all birds, from Owls to Sparrows. 
There are numerous fruit-bearing trees, shrubs, and vines 
that are essential to bird welfare. In the present state of 
our knowledge of bird food it would not be difficult to name 
most of these plants, giving with each a provisional list of 
the birds that feed upon it; but it will be sufficient for the 
‘present purpose to give merely a list of the plants, indicat- 
ing by an asterisk which are among the most important as 
furnishing food for a large number of birds. 
Fig. 15'7.—Seed catkins of the gray birch. 
A List of Fruit-bearing Trees, Shrubs, und Vines furnishing Food for 
Birds. 
Wild sarsaparilla, : Aralia nudicaulis. 
* American mountain ash, : : 7 . Sorbus Americana. 
* European mountain ash, 5 ; 7 - Sorbus Aucuparia. 
* Staghorn sumac, . : : . : - Rhus hirta. 
