ECONOMIC VALUE OF BIRDS TO THE STATE. 



53 



sented among the beetles. From the stomachs of three young birds less than a 

 week old were taken four caterpillars, one fly, one small grasshopper, one hemip- 

 terous insect, together with undetermined fragments." (King.) 



SWALLOWS. Family Hirundinidae. 



" Field observation will convince any ordinarily attentive person that the food of 

 Swallows must consist of small insects captured in mid-air, or perhaps in some cases 

 picked from the tops of tall grass or weeds. This observation is borne out by an 

 examination of stomachs, which shows that the food consists of many small species 

 of beetles which are much on the wing ; many species of diptera (mosquitoes and 

 their allies), with large quantities of flying ants and a few insects of similar kinds. 

 Most of them are either injurious or annoying, and the numbers destroyed by Swal- 

 lows are not only beyond calculation, but almost beyond imagination. 



" It is a mistake to tear down the nests of a colony of Cliff Swallows from the 

 eaves of a barn, for, so far from disfiguring a building, the nests make a picturesque 

 addition, and their presence should be encouraged by every device. It is said that 

 Cliff and Barn Swallows can be induced to build their nests in a particular 

 locality, otherwise suitable, by providing a quantity of mud to be used as mortar. 

 Barn Swallows may also be encouraged by cutting a small hole in the gable of the 

 barn, while Martins and White-bellied Swallows will be grateful for boxes, like those 

 for the Bluebird, but placed in some higher situation." (Beal.) 



WAXWINGS. Family Ampelidae. 



Cedar Waxwing : Cherry Bird {Ampelis cedroruni). — "The Cedar Waxwing, 

 or Cherry Bird, inhabits the whole of the United States, but is much less common 

 in the west. Although the great bulk of the species retires southward in winter 

 the bird is occasionally found in every State during the colder months, especially if 

 wild berries are abundant. Its proverbial fondness for cherries has given rise to its 

 popular name, and much complaint has been made on account of the fruit eaten. 

 Observation has shown, however, that its depredations are confined to the trees on 

 which the fruit ripens earliest, while later varieties are comparatively untouched, 

 this probably owing to the fact that when wild fruits ripen they are preferred to 

 cherries, and constitute the bulk of the Cedar Bird's diet. 



"In 152 stomachs examined animal matter formed only 13 and vegetable 87 per 

 cent, showing that the bird is not wholly a fruit eater. With the exception of a 



