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IDYLLS OF BIRD LIFE 
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should be encouraged to live near the abode of man, so as to aid 
him in his extermination of insect pests. When the fruits, such 
as strawberries, cherries, raspberries, and blackberries are at 
their best, the bluebird lives upon insects to the extent of four- 
fifths of its food. Its fruit-eating period is from the late Fall 
to early Spring. One point, though not of much consequence, 
is, that the bluebird destroys predacious beetles to a very large 
extent during the early Spring. 
L \ 
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"In the thickets and the meadows 
Piped the bluebird, the Owaissa. 
On the summit of the lodges, 
Sang the robin, the Opechee.” 
Longfellow. 
