ECONOMIC VALUE OF BIRDS TO THE STATE. 



51 



Song Sparrow {Melospiza meloda). — " Taking the food habits of the Song Spar- 

 row as a whole, it will be readily seen that this bird does much more good than 

 harm and is worthy of protection and encouragement. Only two per cent of the 

 food consists of useful insects, while 18 per cent is composed of injurious insects; 

 and grain, largely waste, amounts to 4 per cent, while the seeds of various species 

 of weeds constitute 50 per cent." (Judd.) 



Rose-breasted Grosbeak {Zamelodia ludoviciand). — " When the Colorado potato 

 beetle first swept over the land, and naturalists and farmers were anxious to discover 

 whether or not there were any enemies which would prey upon the pests, the Gros- 

 beak was almost the only bird seen to eat the beetles. Further observation con- 

 firmed the fact, and there can be no reasonable doubt that where the bird is 

 abundant it has contributed very much to the abatement of the pest, which has 

 been noted during the last decade. But this is not the only good the bird does, for 

 many other noxious insects besides the potato beetle are also eaten. • 



" The vegetable food of the Grosbeak consists of buds and blossoms of forest 

 trees and seeds, but the only damage of which it has been accused is the stealing 

 of green peas. The writer has observed it eating peas and has examined the 

 stomachs of several that had been killed in the very act. The stomachs contained a 

 few peas and enough potato beetles, old and young, as well as other harmful insects, 

 to pay for all the peas the birds would be likely to eat in a whole season. The 

 garden where this took place adjoined a small potato field which earlier in the 

 season had been so badly infested with beetles that vines were completely riddled. 

 The Grosbeaks visited the field every day, and finally brought their fledged young. 

 The young birds stood in a row on the topmost rail of a fence and were fed with 

 the beetles which their parents gathered. When a careful inspection was made a 

 few days later, not a beetle, old or young, could be found ; the birds had swept 

 them from the field and saved the potatoes." (Beal.) 



English Sparrow : House Sparrow {Passer domesticus). — The economic status 

 of the English Sparrow has been more discussed than that of any other bird. 

 There is no doubt, however, that the Sparrow is an undesirable bird. While the 

 grounds for objection to its presence in the city may be limited to its noisiness and 

 filth-producing habits, in the country more serious reasons for condemning it as 

 undesirable can be given. It is not only destructive to fruit and grain, but it occu- 

 pies feeding places formerly inhabited by native, and, economically, more desirable 

 birds. It does not follow that through pure aggressiveness the Sparrow expels from 

 their homes our Wrens, Bluebirds, Swallows and Martins. The Sparrow's success 

 in replacing these birds is due primarily to its non-migratory habits. Permanently 



