BIRDS AS CONSERVATORS OF THE FOREST. 253 



for food for one large stomach, we have in the ten times as numereus titmice an 

 equivalent stomach capacity divided into ten parts, and each portion furnished 

 with a pair of eyes and other accessories, such as wings and feet. As against 

 the one place occupied by the larger bird, ten are being searched for food at the 

 same time by the lesser ones. It is evident that this arrangement is more 

 effective in the destruction of the smaller species of insects than the plan of a 

 single large bird. 



The character of the food of the titmice gives a peculiar value to their services, 

 for it consists largely of the smaller insects and their eggs, objects which either 

 escape the search of the larger birds or are too insignificant to be considered 

 worthy of notice. Among the prominent elements of food which the titmice find 

 in their inspection of the trees in the winter are hibernating insects and their 

 eggs. A great many species pass through this cold season in the shape of eggs, 

 and thousands of these come to an untimely end in the stomach of these minute 

 birds. Others spend the winter in the larval or pupal state, still others hibernate 

 in the adult form, but unless buried beyond reach they are dragged forth from 

 their places of concealment and devoured. 



There are within the boundaries of the United States seventeen species, with 

 several subspecies, of titmice, all of them inhabitants of the forests and foragers 

 upon trees. Comparison of the food of the various species shows that it is of the 

 same general character for all, but that the particular kind of insects which 

 are eaten varies somewhat with the geographical range of the bird. But whatever 

 insect may be chosen it is nearly always some species that preys upon the foliage, 

 flowers, or fruit of some tree or shrub. Nearly one thousand stomachs of different 

 species and subspecies of titmice have been examined, and the result of careful 

 analysis has confirmed the observations made in the field and proved beyond 

 question that this family of birds is one of the most efficient conservators of the 

 forest. 



The common black-capped chickadee is abundant over the northern portion of 

 the country, as far south as the Potomac and Ohio rivers in winter, and remains 

 in one or two of the most northerly tiers of States during the whole year. With 

 its two subspecies it extends entirely across the continent from ocean to ocean. 

 In June the food of this species consists almost entirely of insects, and in winter 

 this part of the food sinks only to about forty-two per cent of the whole, which 

 is a large percentage for the cold months. Caterpillars and a few moths, with 

 many of their eggs, constitute one third of the entire food, and the consumption 

 of these during the winter months is but little below the average for the year. 

 This shows that these birds do not in vain search the trunks and branches of 



