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ACTIVE GLEANERS 
that no insect should be left alive, and birds of less 
regular habits pick them up indiscriminately wherever 
they can be found* Where bird activity is unmolested 
it seems almost strange that any insects escape* All 
are devoured at sight* Even the obnoxious Potato 
Beetle, once regarded as enjoying immunity, is food 
for the Whip-Poor-Will* When the nestlings are first 
demanding attention the greatest destruction occurs. 
Although parent birds may show a preference 
for fruit and other delicacies, the young demand an 
insect diet* That accounts for the insectivorous 
activity of the Catbird, the Brown Thrasher, the 
Robin, and other birds which show an epicurean 
weakness for fruit in season* The crusade against all 
kinds of insects is joined by the Blackbird and other 
grain-eaters* Even such marauders and outlaws as 
the Crow and the English Sparrow like to treat their 
young to an insect feast* The Ruby-throated Hum- 
ming-bird, dainty enough to subsist on the nectar of 
flowers, is a plebeian feeder on Gnats, Ants, Flies, 
and minute parasitic Wasps* The Sparrow-hawk 
lives largely on Grasshoppers, but more formidable 
members of the family do not descend to insect food* 
Partridge, Quail, and Prairie Chickens, destructive 
grain and bud-eaters as they are, feed their young 
on Grasshoppers, Beetles, Cutworms, Caterpillars, 
Maggots, Chinch Bugs, and similar delicacies* 
Although this destruction goes on by night as well 
