60 BIRDS OF A MARYLAND FARM. 



List of birds feeding on nndherries. 



Blue jay. Cardinal. Downy woodpecker. 



Crow. Carolina chickadee. Cedar bird. 



Crow blackbird. Song sparrow. Catbird. 



Orchard oriole. Red-eyed vireo. Kingbird. 



Baltimore oriole. "White-eyed vireo. Bobwhite. 



Raspberries and blackberries. — The black raspberiT, the dewberry, 

 and the blackberry, which are the wild fruits that, in the order given, 

 ripen next, are too plentiful and too widely distributed for much 

 remunerative field observation. The following list of birds that ate 

 them was prepared chiefly from stomach examination: 



List of birds feeding on raspberries and blacJ:berries. 



Bobwhite. Brown thrasher. Kingbird. 



Summer redbird. Catbird. Red-headed woodpecker. 



Cardinal. Orchard oriole. Cedar bird. 



Song sparrow. Bluebird. 



Field sparrow. Crow. 



A few field notes on the destruction of these fruits were made, how- 

 ever. Catbirds were seen, May 30, 1896, in black raspberry bushes 

 near the house, eating half a dozen berries apiece. During June, 1899, 

 lot 2 was overrun with a network of dewberr}' vines. Here, on the 

 ITth, bobwhites were observed walking from vine to vine, picking the 

 berries in a systematic fashion. During 1896 blackberries fruited 

 heavily, and birds were not slow to take advantage of the generous 

 food supply. July 12 a red-headed woodpecker was observed to come 

 and feed on the berries with catbirds and orchard orioles, and a king- 

 bird was seen to fly down to a bush, hover beside it, and pluck a 

 berry. In early August, 1898, two field sparrows were seen in several 

 instances selecting fruit which had dried on the bushes in preference 

 to that which was fresh and juic}^ The}" ma}^ have done this to obtain 

 the seeds of the beriy and extract their meat. A number of song' 

 sparrows picked up blackberries from the ground as they had mul- 

 berries. Since this species is often very abundant in cultivated patches 

 of blackberries and takes 10 percent of its food from this fruit in its 

 season, the habit of feeding on fallen berries ma}' be fortunate for the 

 horticulturist. Rubus fruits are not raised for market at Marshall 

 Hall, hence it is unimportant whether the birds eat them or no't: if 

 they were, and if there were no other fruit available, the abundant 

 frugivorous birds would probably decrease the profits considerably. 



Elderberries. — Elderberries ripen next, usually during the latter half 

 of July. There are so few of them on the farm that the record is 

 scanty, but field notes made August 5, 1898, show how much they are 



