16 BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA AFFECTING FRUIT INDUSTRY. 



a little, and then the bees and wasps take hold and finish the work. * * * 

 Birds that destroy the earlier fruits are generally regarded as the greater 

 nuisance, particularly to the farmer who has not a very extensive orchard. 

 Where fruit is handled as soon as it is in the proper condition, or for an orchard 

 of from ten to one hundred acres or more, 1 have never seen these birds plenti- 

 ful enough to do a great amount of damage. In some parts of the State I 

 presume they might do more. 



In regard to the habit of the linnet of eating ripe fruit, Dr. A. K. 



Fisher says: 



In this valley [Owens], both at Independence and Lone Pine, the species 

 [the linnet] was found to be very destructive to the ripened peaches during the 

 middle of August. Flocks of birds occurred in the orchards, and in some 

 places hardly an example of the ripe fruit could be found which was not more 

 or less mutilated. A number of birds shot in the peach orchards at Lone Pine 

 had little except the pulp of this fruit in their gullets or stomachs. It was 

 known as the 'peach bird.' « 



Examination of linnet stomachs does not reveal any very consid- 

 erable number of blossom buds, and it is probable that but little of 

 the alleged mischief to fruit blossoms is done by this bird. Moreover, 

 it may be stated that in most cases budding by birds does little, if 

 any, damage. It is only in very rare instances that birds take all 

 the buds from a tree, or even enough to cause considerable loss. On 

 the contrary, buds are usually superabundant, and budding, whether 

 by birds or by man, is frequently beneficial, relieving the trees from 

 excessive bearing and markedly improving both size and quality 

 of fruit. 



THE LINNET NATURALLY A SEED EATER. 



Before the settlement of the Pacific coast region it is evident that 

 the linnet must have subsisted almost entirely upon the seeds of 

 plants growing wild in the valleys and canyons. With the advent 

 of civilization tAvo new articles of food were presented — grain and 

 fruit. It would seem natural for the linnet, especially equipped as 

 the bird is to extract the kernel of seeds, to have chosen the former, 

 as did the blackbirds, doves, and some other species; but for some 

 reason best known to itself it selected fruit. How much the char- 

 acter of the food had to do with the bird's choice it is impossible to 

 say, but it is probable that attendant conditions greatly influenced 

 the result. Grain is grown on large, open areas, with few or no 

 trees to afford nesting sites, while orchards offer every inducement 

 to linnets as a permanent residence. Moreover, much of the fruit- 

 growing section of the State is divided into small holdings, each with 

 a dwelling with accompanying barns, sheds, and other buildings that 

 afford ideal homes for these birds. Having thus chosen the orchard 



o North American Fauna No. 7, U. S. Dept. of Agric, p. 80, 1893. 



