FOOD HABITS OF THRUSHES. 23 
the nonpoisonous ones. The seed itself is rarely broken in the 
stomach to get any nutriment it may contain. But in spite of these 
facts Rhus seeds were found in 49 stomachs, while fruits of huckle- 
berries and blueberries, which are delicious to the human taste, were 
“found in only 13 stomachs; and blackberries and raspberries, highly 
esteemed by man, were found in only 5 stomachs. Next to Rhus the 
fruit most eaten was the dogwood berry, found in 34 stomachs, yet 
from a human estimate these berries are distasteful and contain such 
large seeds that they afford but very little actual food. 
Summary.—The hermit thrush, as it name indicates, is of solitary 
habits and neither seeks human companionship nor molests cultivated 
products. It destroys nothing indirectly helpful to man, as beneficial 
insects, but aids in the destruction of the myriad hosts of insect life 
which at all times threaten vegetation. While it is not easy to point 
out any especially useful function of the hermit thrush, it fills its 
place in the economy of nature, from which it should not be removed. 
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