7 
NOTES. 
14. Tits*— Does splendid work, eating caterpillars and 
A. Blue Tit. . insects. The Tits all (particularly the Blue 
Tit) destroy Coccidas (scale insects), espe¬ 
cially the destructive Mytilaspis pomorum. 
Mr. Newstead is convinced that an enormous 
amount of good is done by them in this way; 
and reckons that quite 50 per cent, of these 
insects are destroyed by birds. (“ Monograph 
of the Coccidas of the British Isles.” Ray 
Society, 1891.) 
The Blue Tit will sometimes take peas 
from pods opened by Great Tits or House 
Sparrows. It does much harm by picking 
holes near the stems of pears, thus letting 
in the wet and rot. They take a few buds, 
probably for the sake of insects in them. 
b. Cole Tit . ) Eat an enormous quantity of insect food, 
c. Marsh Tit > including scale insects. 
15. Whitethroat . 
16. Whitethroat 
(Lesser). 
Attacks small fruit; no other blot on his 
character. The Whitethroats probably do 
more good than any of the Warblers, as they 
travel far afield in search of food, and are 
found everywhere, flying into the fields away 
from the hedges. 
19. Yellowhammer. Does very little harm, except to small seeds. 
Lives chiefly on weed-seeds; is getting scarce. 
I have tried to make a humble contribution towards economic 
classification of the birds with which I am most familiar. M*ny 
birds, I am aware, might be added to the saintly class, such as the 
Wheatear, Whinchat, and some of the small Warblers, with which 
I am not familiar. It must only be looked upon as an amateur 
beginning, to be enlarged and corrected by naturalists. It is very 
difficult to appraise the good work done by birds ; much easier to 
estimate the loss caused by them. Like all the best work, theirs 
is done without advertisement. 
The strongest evidence of their economic value is the history of 
bird protection in France. There the smallest birds were made 
“gibier” for the sportsman (?) and the gourmet, until whole 
districts became birdless. But now a close time has been intro¬ 
duced, and agriculturists are clamouring for further protection. 
* I have excluded the Great Tit. Perhaps I have a bias against him, as I 
have caught him picking out the brains of fresh-flown Martins. 
