88 



OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



loss of at least $200,000,000 to the agricultural interests of this country. 

 Thousands of the trees in our great city parks, as well as vast forests, 

 are already affected by a species of scale, which cannot be checked with- 

 out a great outlay of time and money, but which can be kept in check 

 if we will give protection to our bird life by wise legislation. 



The amount of harmful seeds destroyed by birds throughout the year 

 runs into millions of pounds, as one of the U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture ornithologists has figured out. One species of seed-eating 

 birds of the junco family consumes at the rate of one-fourth of an ounce 

 per day, and they average ten j uncos to each square mile of land. In 

 200 days this species, in the State of Iowa alone, consumes 875 tons of 

 noxious weed seed in a single season. Large as the figures seem, they 

 certainly fall far short of the reality. 



In treating of the economic value of birds, it has been mainly to show 

 them as consuming insects only, whereas we here find them, feeding on 

 thousands of pounds of harmful weed seeds as well, which fact has not 

 been fully known and appreciated. One of our many small sparrows 

 will fill hi3 crop with 1,000 seeds of the pigweed for its breakfast, 

 and as many as 7,500 seeds have been counted from a dove's crop. 

 Among many of the birds which feed on seeds are the towhees, song 

 sparrows, lark finches, horned larks, grosbeaks, Gambel's, golden- 

 crowned and field sparrows, as well as seven varieties of goldfinches 

 and others. 



I find 31 species noted feeding on seeds about my home. There are 

 84 species that can be found through parts of the year that live entirely 

 on insects. Among them are three forms of wrens, five warblers, two 

 titmice, four vireos,and woodpeckers, juncos, kinglets, Audubon's warbler, 

 and two species of goldfinch. I have seen two species feeding on the 

 apricot scale. The bush tit, warbling vireo, yellow warbler, and plain 

 titmouse will hunt the pear and apple orchard over for larvae of the 

 codling moth. 



Of birds that have been proven harmful to the orchardists, may be 

 mentioned more particularly the house finch, sometimes known as the 

 red-headed linnet. They will eat the base of the prune and cherry 

 blossoms for the sweet juice of the flower. Gambel's and golden-crowned 

 sparrows are the worst pests for destroying fruit blossoms and young 

 peas. The two sparrows named leave soon after the trees have blossomed 

 and are only a winter resident with us. There is only one remedy for 

 them — powder and dust shot. 



From the following subjoined notes from the laboratory work of 

 investigation of birds' stomachs from the Department of Agriculture 

 will be seen the character of the foods of many of our common birds: 



In 330 stomachs of the robin, 42 per cent was animal matter; 19 per 

 cent consisted of beetles; caterpillars, 6 per cent; grasshoppers, 30 per 



