grasshoppers, crickets, June-beetles, and other common'insects. Pour or five 

 kinds of these birds breed in our state in large numbers every summer, and 

 may frequently be seen following the farmer as his plow turns up the juicy 

 but destructive grubs. ' 



The ducks and geese, like their tame relatives, are also very fond of insects, 

 which they catch about the margins of ponds and lakes near which they 

 build their nests and raise their young. Even such birds as the bitterns and 

 other herons kill many insects in addition to the snails, fishes, frogs, and other 

 small animals which in part make up their bill of fare. 



The different kinds of snipes and their relatives are also great destroyers of 

 insects. Moving over the landscape, as many of them do, in large flocks 

 which spread out over the meadows, pastures, hillsides, and fields, they per- 

 form a large amount of systematic police service in discovering and arresting 

 the rascals among insects. They even pry them out of the cracks and holes 

 in the ground where they have crawled and are hiding during the daytime. 

 This they are enabled to do on account of the long, slender bills with which 

 they are provided. 



The Prairie Chicken and Sharp-tailed Grouse, as well as the Quail or " Bob- 

 white," all feed almost entirely on insects during the summer. They also eat 

 large numbers of these creatures during the remainder of the year whenever 

 they can get them. The Quail especially is to be considered one of our very 

 best insect destroyers, since it eats both the Colorado potato beetle and the 

 chinch-bug. Perhaps no other bird on the farm pays higher prices for the 

 little grain it gets than does the Quail. Living about hedge-rows, groves, 

 and in ravines, where insects gather and lurk during the greater part of the 

 year, this bird discovers and devours large numbers of these enemies daily. 

 Not only during the summer months when these vermin are moving about, 

 but all winter, too, it scratches among the fallen leaves, and other rubbish 

 seeking for hibernating insects of various kinds. Being a timid bird it seldom 

 leaves cover to feed openly in the fields, and therefore does little real harm in 

 the way of destroying grain. 



Even the barnyard fowls do much in the way of destroying many different 

 kinds oJt insects throughout the summer months. Where fields of grain can 

 be gone over systematically by chickens, turkeys, guinea hens, and ducks, 

 little or no damage is done by grasshoppers, cut-worms, and other similar 

 pests, unless, of course, these insects are too. numerous to be eaten by them. 



Ordinarily doves and pigeons are not considered harmful, yet they eat but 

 few insects. But, on the other hand, many weed seeds, as sunflower, ragweed, 

 foxtail, etc., are eaten by them. Perhaps, all told, the good done by them 

 during the year will greatly overbalance the harm caused by their visits to 

 the grain fields and feed lots. 



During recent years, since we began studying more carefully just what our 

 various kinds of birds have been eating, it has been learned that many of those 

 which we heretofore called rascals should really be considered as friends. 

 Hawks and owls, all of which were killed on sight by nearly every man or 

 boy who could shoot, are now spared, except when caught in the very act of 

 stealing chickens. This change is due to the fact that we now .know that 



