A YEAR WITH THE BIRDS 
585 
So far as known, this bird has not been accused of stealing 
fruit or of preying upon any crops. An examination of 205 
stomachs showed that 76 per cent, of the food consists of in- 
sects and their allies, while the other 24 per cent, is made up of 
various vegetable substances, found mostly in stomachs taken 
in winter. Beetles constitute 28 per cent, of the whole food, 
grasshoppers 22, caterpillars 11, and various insects, including 
quite a number of spiders, comprise the remainder of the insect 
diet. All these are more or less harmful. The destruction of 
grasshoppers is very noticeable in the months of August and 
September, when these insects form more than 60 per cent, of 
the diet. 
“ Bluebirds are so well known that it seems unnecessary to 
urge anything more in their favor ; but in view of the fact that 
large numbers were destroyed during the severe storm of 1895, 
more than ordinary vigilance should be exercised in protecting 
them until they have regained their normal abundance.” — F. 
E. L. Beal. 
“ When Nature made the Bluebird she wished to propi- 
tiate both the sky and the earth, so she gave him the color 
of one on his back and the hue of the other on his breast, and 
ordained that his appearance in spring should denote that the 
strife and war between these two elements was at an end. 
He is the peace-harbinger; in him the celestial and terrestrial 
strike hand and are fast friends.” — John Burroughs. 
BLUEBIRDS’ GREETING 
Over the mossy walls, 
Above the slumbering fields, 
Where yet the ground no fruitage yields, 
Save as the sunlight falls 
In dreams of harvest yellow, 
What voice remembered calls — 
So bubbling fresh, so soft and mellow? 
A darting, azure-feathered arrow 
From some lithe sapling’s low curve fleet 
The Bluebird, springing light and narrow, 
Sings in flight, with gurglings sweet. 
— George P. Lathrop 
