THE HOUSE SPARROW. 



421 



standard works on British birds ; but for practical purposes the 

 following notes, for which I was indebted to Mr. F. Norgate, of 

 Sparham, near Norwich (who has devoted particular attention to 

 the subject), give some useful points. 



Amongst various kinds of birds serviceable generally on 

 forest trees, apple trees, and fruit bushes, Mr. Norgate mentions 

 the titmice, including the blue, cole, marsh, long-tailed, and 

 great tit (and of these the blue tit may be especially observed 

 at work amongst aphides on gooseberry bushes) ; also the 

 warblers, woodpeckers, nuthatch, and tree-creepers. The 

 lesser spotted woodpecker is noted as especially frequenting 

 the apple ; the gold-crested regulus frequents the Scotch pine, 

 spruce, and other Coniferce ; the bearded tit, yellow wagtail, 

 titlark, wren, cuckoo, and water rail are mentioned as service- 

 able in osier-beds and reeds, and in marsh-hay. Amongst goose- 

 berry, currant, and raspberry bushes the titmice and warblers, 

 the wren and the cuckoo, are noticed as of especial use. 



Amongst cabbage and turnip crops the partridge, spotted 

 flycatcher, swifts, swallows, and martins are of use ; and on 

 grass (besides the warblers, swallows, swifts, martins, and 

 partridge before mentioned) the wagtails, pipits, and starlings 

 are all serviceable. The cuckoo is of especial service as eating 

 hairy larvae, and the flycatcher as destroying white butterflies. 



During the twenty years in which I have received notes from 

 agriculturists on measures of prevention of insect attacks, many 

 other kinds of birds have been mentioned as serviceable, and 

 especially the rook (when not in such overwhelming numbers as 

 to do as much harm to the crop in their work of extirpation as 

 the insects) ; and in connection with the great attack of antler 

 moth in the South of Scotland in 1894, I had observations 

 from one district of the stomachs of the snow buntings being 

 full of the caterpillars in the winter. 



In the case of the disastrous infestation of diamond-back 

 moth in 1891, in reply to my official request for information as to 

 what birds were observed as helpful in clearing the caterpillars 

 from the infested turnip and cabbage leafage, I received notes of 

 presence of the following kinds : — Rooks, crows, seagulls, 

 peewits, grey plovers, green or golden plovers, starlings, 

 linnets, green linnets or greenfinches, chaffinches, and 

 yellow-hammers. But amongst all the returns sent me, which 



