636 
redwings, and consequently this region 
has become the great breeding ground 
for the species. These prairies pour forth 
the vast flocks that play havoc with 
grainfields. East of the Appalachian 
range, marshes on the shores of lakes, 
rivers, and estuaries are the only avail- 
able breeding sites and, as these are 
comparatively few and small, the species 
is much less abundant than in the West. 
Redwings are eminently gregarious, liv- 
ing in flocks and breeding in communi- 
ties. The food of the redwing consists 
of 27 per cent animal matter and 73 per 
cent vegetable. Insects constitute prac- 
tically one-fourth of the food. Beetles 
(largely weevils, a most harmful group) 
amount to 10 per cent. Grasshoppers are 
eaten in every month and amount to 
about five per cent. Caterpillars (among 
them the injurious army worm) are eaten 
at all seasons and aggregate six per cent. 
Ants, wasps, bugs, flies, dragon flies, and 
spiders also are eaten. The vegetable 
food consists of seeds, including grain, of 
which oats is the favorite, and some 
small fruits. When in large flocks this 
bird is capable of doing great harm to 
grain. 
Bobolink 
Dolichonyz oryzivorus 
Length, about seven inches. 
Range 
Breeds from Ohio northeast to Nova 
Scotia, north to Manitoba, and northwest 
to British Columbia; winters in South 
America. 
Habits and Economie Status 
When American writers awoke to the 
beauty and attractiveness of our native 
birds, among the first to be enshrined in 
song and story was the bobolink. Few 
Species show such striking contrasts in 
the color of the sexes, and few have songs 
more unique and whimsical. In its north- 
ern home the bird is loved for its beauty 
and its rich melody; in the South it 
earns deserved hatred by its destructive- 
ness. Bobolinks reach the southeastern 
coast of the United States the last half 
of April just as rice is sprouting, and at 
once begin to pull up and devour the 
sprouting kernels. Soon they move on 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
to their northern breeding grounds, 
where they feed upon insects, weed seeds, 
and a little grain. When the young are 
well on the wing, they gather in flocks 
with the parent birds and gradually move 
southward, being then generally known 
as reed birds. They reach the rice fields 
of the Carolinas about August 20, when 
the rice is in the milk. Then, until the 
birds depart for South America, planters 
and birds fight for the crop, and in spite 
of constant watchfulness and innumer- 
able devices for scaring the birds a loss 
of 10 per cent of the rice is the usual 
result. 
Common Crow 
Corvus brachyrhynchos 
Length, 19 inches. 
Range 
Breeds throughout the United States 
and most of Canada; winters generally 
in the United States. 
Habits and Economic Status 
The general habits of the crow are uni- 
versally known. Its ability to commit 
such misdeeds as pulling corn and steal- 
ing eggs and fruit and to get away un- 
scathed is little short of marvelous. Much 
of the crow’s success in life is due to co- 
operation, and the social instinct of the 
species has its highest expression in the 
winter roosts, which are sometimes fre- 
quented by hundreds of thousands of 
crows. From these roosts daily flights of 
many miles are made in search of food. 
Injury to sprouting corn is the most fre- 
quent complaint against this species, but 
by coating the seed grain with coal tar 
most of this damage may be prevented. 
Losses of poultry and eggs may be avert- 
ed by proper housing and the judicious 
use of wire netting. The insect food of 
the crow includes wireworms, cutworms, 
white grubs, and grasshoppers, and dur- 
ing outbreaks of these insects the crow 
renders good service. The bird is also 
an efficient scavenger. But chiefly be 
cause of its destruction of beneficial wild 
birds and their eggs the crow must be 
classed as a criminal, and a reduction in 
its numbers in localities where it is seri- 
ously destructive is justifiable. 
