XOTE. — Page 41. 



■ The amiable and indefatigable ornithologist, Alexander 

 Wilson, who perhaps was better acquainted with the habits 

 of our birds than any other person, when speaking of the 

 Sturnus preiatorius. or red winged black-bird, which, by the 

 way, is by our farmers considered the most mischievous of 

 birds, says 4 their food in spring and the early part of summer 

 consists of grub- worms, caterpiliars, and various other larvae, 

 the silent but deadly enemies of all vegetation, and whose 

 secret and iusidious attacks are more to be dreaded by the 

 husbandman than the combined forces of the whole feathered 

 tribes together ; for these vermin the black-birds search with 

 great diligence ; in the ground at the roots of plants, in 

 orchards and meadows, as well as among buds, leaves and 

 blossoms : and from their known voracity, the multitudes of 

 these insects which they destroy must be immense.' 



■ Let me illustrate this by a short computation. If we sup- 

 pose each bird, on an average, to devour fifty of these larvae 

 in a day, (a very moderate allowance) a single pair in four 

 months, the usual time such food is sought after, will con- 

 sume upwards of twelve thousand. It is believed that not less 

 than a million pairs of these birds are distributed over the 

 whole extent of the United States in summer: whose food 

 being nearly the same, would swell the amount of vermin de- 

 stroyed to twelve thousand millions. But the number of young 

 birds may be fairly estimated at double that of their parents, 

 and as these are constantly fed on larvae for at least three 



