siecietee lesen 3-O Ne Bree en 13 
started may have some conception of the awful amount of insect life 
that might be produced if their increase was not checked by birds. The 
Yellow Warbler which frequently nests in residential communities is one 
of the most useful of the Warbler tribe in gardens. No part of the tree 
where insects may be found is left unvisited. 
Of the forty Warblers that are listed by Mr. Benjamin T. Gault in the 
“Check List of the Birds of Illinois” twenty-three are summer residents 
and seventeen transient visitors. Of the twenty-three summer residents 
sixteen nest in all portions of the state, three are listed as residents of the 
northern section only, three in the southern section only and one in the 
northern and southern sections with the possibility of its being found in 
the central section. 
The Oven-birds, Water-thrushes, Yellow-throats, and other ground 
Warblers are usually found feeding on the ground and, therefore, because 
of their size and the different class of insects found on the ground they 
are of very great value in gardens and among the shrubbery. Summing 
up the food requirements of the Warblers places them among the most 
valuable of our bird families, and the Mississippi Valley with its great 
number of streams, is the most traveled migration route for Warblers on 
the continent. On account of their small size and activity they are not so 
much preyed upon by enemies but there is a great loss of Warblers 
during migration on account of severe storms. They are our most 
abundant bird family and are spread over a very large portion of 
North America during the summer season. 
SomME Common BIRDS WITH THEIR PRINCIPAL Foop 
The Robin eats principally angleworms, cutworms, white grubs and 
many other insects and wild fruits. 
The Bluebird thrives on cutworms, caterpillars of various kinds, and 
grasshoppers. 
The Wood Thrushes eat insects to the amount of 71% of their total 
food, and wild fruits. 
The Kingbird’s diet consists mostly of flying insects but also of beetles, 
and weevils. It is known that Kingbirds destroy honey bees but ap- 
parently not a sufficient number to be of serious importance. 
The Meadowlarks eat insects that are found on the ground, among 
them large numbers of cutworms and grasshoppers. And during the 
time when the insects are not active they consume great quantities of 
weed seeds. 
All of the native sparrows are valuable because of the feeding of insects 
to the young and later as they reach maturity feeding on weed seeds. 
Of the Woodpecker family the Flicker is the only one of our Illinois 
group that feeds from choice on ants which consist of 45% of its food. 
The Flicker also eats weevils, grasshoppers, crickets, and many other 
insects that are found on the ground. 
