V 
ROM a purely practical point of view the most 
-S- important of the relations of native birds to 
man are the economic. The esthetic value of birds 
is great—greater, indeed, than that of any other 
group of animals; and that this is a real and espe¬ 
cially treasured value is not to be denied. But it 
is in their relation to insect and other enemies of 
crops that birds are most directly associated with 
the welfare of mankind, and their value in this par¬ 
ticular should be made as widely known as possible. 
This bulletin is one of a series designed to assist 
in doing this. Not all birds are beneficial, and all 
facts tending to show in which class each species 
belongs will be set forth. The useful kinds far out¬ 
number the injurious, however, and so great is their 
value as insect destroyers in the United States that 
to them may be given the credit of being one of 
the greatest controlling factors in limiting the de¬ 
velopment of insect pests and in preventing many 
disastrous outbreaks. 
In the following pages are discussed the habitat, 
food habits, and relation to agriculture of more than 
50 species of birds common to farming sections. 
IX 
