14 THE AUD UiBOWNCS UU es 

The Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers feed on the insects that are found 
on trees, both those that are found on the limbs and branches and those 
that burrow into the tree. 
The Purple Martin and the other swallows by reason of their strong 
flight are able to catch insects in the air and thus dispose of countless 
numbers that would not be reached by birds with less speedy flight. 
Even the Blue Jay and Grackle, though much under suspicion, destroy 
quantities of injurious insects. Grackles are particularly fond of white 
grubs, grasshoppers, and locusts, and, unless they congregate in great 
flocks, are conceded to be more beneficial than injurious. 
The findings of the Department of Agriculture in Washington and the 
valuable work done under the supervision of Prof. S. A. Forbes of the 
University of Illinois prove conclusively that with very few exceptions 
the birds of the State of Illinois are of enormous value and that they are 
the greatest asset to farmers, gardeners and horticulturists as an efficient 
check on the spreading of injurious insects and the seed of noxious weeds. 
The conservation of bird life should be one of the most important sub- 
jects for instruction in the rural districts of Illinois. The recent invasion 
of the European corn borer has been the cause of very prompt action for 
the protection of the corn-growing states. Expert entomologists have 
already discovered the Downy Woodpecker investigating dead corn- 
stalks to find a new addition to its larder. 

Photograph by Arthur Brooker Klugh 
Downy Doine His Bir 
