BIRDS AND BIRD LIFE 



27 



Fig. 23. — ^A, Rose-breasted Grosbeak at nest. A single pair of these birds, 

 with their young, have been known to keep an entire potato patch free from beetles. 

 They are beautiful of color and charming in song. B, Nest and eggs of Rose-breasted 

 Grosbeak. One in the few birds the male of which performs his full share of the 

 work of incubating the eggs. (Photos by B. S. Bowdish, Secretary, New Jersey 

 Audubon Society.) 



Fig. 24. — A, Hooded Warbler's nest and eggs. B, Hooded Warbler on nest. 

 A naturalist watching a Hooded Warbler found that it caught on an average of 

 two insects a minute, or 120 an hour. (Photos by B. S. Bowdish, Secretary, New 

 Jersey Audubon Society.) 



Protection of Our Wild Birds. — The domestic fowl is use- 

 ful to man because it produces eggs and meat for food. Most 

 of the common wild species are even more valuable because 

 they destroy the natural enemies of crops and trees. Exami- 

 nation of the stomach of a bird shows that it lives largely 

 on flies, grub worms, beetles and other insects. The common 



