34 THE IMPORTANCE OF BIRD LIFE 



time of year or other, included insects as a part 

 of their menu. Twenty-four species fed on grass- 

 hoppers, twenty-one took leaf-mining beetles, 

 thirty-nine consumed ants, and forty-four had 

 eaten weevils. Most birds took two, three, or all 

 the forms of insects mentioned. About one third 

 of all the food consumed by the 645 consisted of 

 insects, 27 per cent, of which were harmful to 

 crops and less than 4 per cent, beneficial. These 

 were the average birds — ^robins, catbirds, swal- 

 lows, woodpeckers, kingbirds, crows, and the like 

 — that are found on any typical farm of the east- 

 ern United States. 



4 



Consumption of Seeds 



It will not be necessary to enlarge greatly upon 

 the destruction of weeds by birds, as that has 

 been discussed in the previous chapter. To give 

 some idea, however, of the capacity of individuals 

 in that direction, the number of seeds estimated 

 to be eaten by a single bob-white is here set 

 down: ^ 



Barn-yard grass , i .2,500 



Beggar-ticks , 1,400 



Black mustard , 2,500 



Burdock ,. .i. . . . . . 600 



iMrs. Margaret Morse Nice in "Journal of Economic Ento- 

 mology"; Vol. Ill, No. 3. 



