BIRDS USEFUL TO FARM AND ORCHARD 
Range 
Breeds in the United States (except 
the Gulf states), Canada, Alaska, and 
Mexico; winters in most of the United 
States and south to Gautemala. 
Habits and Economic Status 
In the North and some parts of the 
West the robin is among the most cher- 
ished of our native birds. The robin is 
an omnivorous feeder, and its food in- 
cludes many orders of insects, with no 
very pronounced preference for any. It 
is very fond of earthworms, but its real 
economic status is determined by the 
vegetable food, which amounts to about 
58 per cent of all. The principal item is 
fruit, which forms more than 51 per cent 
of the total food. The fact that in the 
examination of over 1,200 stomachs the 
percentage of wild fruit was found to be 
5 times that of the cultivated varieties 
suggests that berry-bearing shrubs, if 
planted near the orchard, will serve to 
protect more valuable fruits. The bird’s 
general usefulness is such, however, that 
all reasonable means of protecting or- 
chard fruit should be tried before killing 
the birds. 
Russet-Backed Thrush 
Hylocichla ustulata 
Length, seven and one-fourth inches. 
Among thrushes having the top of head 
and tail nearly the same color as the 
back, this one is distinguished by its 
tawny eye ring and cheeks. The Pacific 
coast subspecies is russet brown above, 
while the other suspecies is the olive- 
backed thrush. The remarks below apply 
to the species as a whole. 
Range 
Breeds in the forested parts of Alaska 
and Canada and south to California, Colo- 
rado, Michigan, New York, West Virginia 
(mountains), and Maine; winters from 
Mexico to South America. 
Habits and Economic Status 
This is one of a small group of thrushes 
the members of which are by many 
ranked first among American songbirds. 
The several members resemble one an- 
other in size, plumage, and habits. While 
this thrush is very fond of fruit, its 
627 
partiality for the neighborhood of streams 
keeps it from frequenting orchards far 
from water. It is most troublesome dur- 
ing the cherry season, when the young are 
in the nest. From this it might be in- 
ferred that the young are fed on fruit, 
but such is not the case. The adults eat 
fruit, but the nestlings, as usual, are 
fed mostly upon insects. Beetles con- 
stitute the largest item of animal food, 
and ants come next. Many caterpillars 
also are eaten. The great bulk of vege- 
table food consists of fruit, of which two- 
fifths is of cultivated varieties. Where 
these birds live in or near gardens or 
orchards, they may do considerable dam- 
age, but they are too valuable as insect 
destroyers to be killed if the fruit can 
be protected in any other way. 
Ruby-Crowned Kinglet 
Regulus calendula 
Length, about four and one-fourth 
inches. Olive green above, soiled whitish 
below, concealed feathers on head (crest) 
bright red. 
Range 
Breeds in Southern Canada, Southern 
Alaska, and the higher mountains of 
the Western United States; winters in 
much of the United States and south to 
Gautemala. 
Habits and Economie Status 
In habits and haunts this tiny sprite 
resembles a chickadee. It is an active, 
nervous little creature, flitting hither and 
yon in search of food, and in spring 
stopping only long enough to utter its 
beautiful song, surprisingly loud for the 
size of the musician. Three-fourths of its 
food consists of wasps, bugs, and flies. 
Beetles are the only other item of impor- 
tance (12 per cent). The bugs eaten by 
the kinglet are mostly small, but, happily, 
they are the most harmful kinds. Tree 
hoppers, leaf hoppers, and jumping plant 
lice are pests and often do great harm 
to trees and smaller plants, while plant 
lice and scale insects are the worst 
scourges of the fruit grower—in fact, the 
prevalence of the latter has almost risen 
to the magnitude of a national peril. It 
is these small and seemingly insignificant 
birds that most successfully attack and 
