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-Project Gutenberg's USDA Farmers' Bulletin No. 54, by F. E. L. Beal
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: USDA Farmers' Bulletin No. 54
-       Some Common Birds In Their Relation to Agriculture
-
-Author: F. E. L. Beal
-
-Release Date: July 16, 2020 [EBook #62675]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK USDA FARMERS' BULLETIN NO. 54 ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Tom Cosmas
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-Transcriber Note
-
-Text emphasis denoted by _Italics_.
-
-
-Revised!
-
-                     U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
-
-
-
-
-
-                        FARMERS' BULLETIN No. 54·
-
-
-
-
-                            SOME COMMON BIRDS
-
-                    IN THEIR RELATION TO AGRICULTURE.
-
-
-                                    BY
-
-                          F. E. L. BEAL, B. S.,
-
-               ASSISTANT ORNITHOLOGIST, BIOLOGICAL SURVEY.
-
-
-                               [May, 1897.]
-
-                              [Illustration]
-
-
-                               WASHINGTON:
-
-                       GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
-
-                                  1898.
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS.
-
-                                                                     Page.
-
-  Introduction                                                          3
-
-  The cuckoos (_Coccyzus americanus and C. erythophthalmus_) (fig. 1)   5
-
-  The woodpeckers (figs. 2-5)                                           6
-
-  The kingbird (_Tyrannus tyrannus_) (fig. 6)                          11
-
-  The phœbe (_Sayornis phœbe_) (fig. 7)                                13
-
-  The bluejay (_Cyanocitta cristata_) (fig. 8)                         14
-
-  The crow (_Corvus americanus_)                                       15
-
-  The bobolink, or ricebird (_Dolichconyx oryzivorus_) (fig. 9)        17
-
-  The redwinged blackbird (_Agelaius phœniceus_) (fig. 10)             19
-
-  The meadow lark, or old field lark (_Sturnella magna_) (fig. 11)     21
-
-  The Baltimore oriole (_Icterus galbula_) (fig. 12)                   23
-
-  The crow blackbird, or grackle (_Quiscalus quiscula_) (fig. 13)      24
-
-  The sparrows (fig. 14)                                               26
-
-  The rose-breasted grosbeak (_Zamelodia ludoviciana_) (fig. 15)       28
-
-  The swallows (fig. 16)                                               30
-
-  The cedarbird (_Ampelis cedrorum_) (fig. 17)                         31
-
-  The catbird (_Galeoscoptes carolinensis_) (fig. 18)                  33
-
-  The brown thrasher (_Harporhynchus rufus_) (fig. 19)                 34
-
-  The house wren (_Troglodytes aëdon_) (fig. 20)                       35
-
-  The robin (_Merula migratoria_) (fig. 21)                            37
-
-  The bluebird (_Sialia sialis_) (fig. 22)                             39
-
-
-
-
-SOME COMMON BIRDS IN THEIR RELATION TO AGRICULTURE.
-
-
-
-
-INTRODUCTION.
-
-
-It has long been known that birds play an important part in relation to
-agriculture, but there seems to be a tendency to dwell on the harm they do
-rather then on the good. Whether a bird is injurious or beneficial depends
-almost entirely upon what it eats, and in the case of species which are
-unusually abundant or which depend in part upon the farmer's crops for
-subsistence the character of the food often becomes a very practical
-question. If crows or blackbirds are seen in numbers about cornfields,
-or if woodpeckers are noticed at work in an orchard, it is perhaps not
-surprising that they are accused of doing harm. Careful investigation,
-however, often shows that they are actually destroying noxious insects,
-and also that even those which do harm at one season may compensate
-for it by eating noxious species at another. Insects are eaten at all
-times by the majority of land birds, and during the breeding season most
-kinds subsist largely and rear their young exclusively on this food.
-When insects are unusually plentiful, they are eaten by many birds which
-ordinarily do not touch them. Even birds of prey resort to this diet, and
-when insects are more easily obtained than other fare, the smaller hawks
-and owls live on them almost entirely. This was well illustrated during
-the recent plague of Rocky Mountain locusts in the Western States, when it
-was found that locusts were eaten by nearly every bird in the region, and
-that they formed almost the entire food of a large majority of the species.
-
-Within certain limits, birds feed upon the kind of food that is most
-accessible. Thus, as a rule, insectivorous birds eat the insects that
-are most easily obtained, provided they do not have some peculiarly
-disagreeable property. It is not probable that a bird habitually passes by
-one kind of insect to look for another which is more appetizing, and there
-seems little evidence in support of the theory that tire selection of
-food is restricted to any particular species of insect, for it is evident
-that a bird eats those which by its own method of seeking are most easily
-obtained. Thus, a ground-feeding bird eats those it finds among the dead
-leaves and grass; a flycatcher, watching for its prey from some vantage
-point, captures entirely different kinds; and the woodpecker and warbler,
-in the tree tops, select still others. It is thus apparent that a bird's
-diet is likely to be quite varied, and to differ at different seasons of
-the year.
-
-In investigating the food habits of birds, field observation can be relied
-on only to a limited extent, for it is not always easy to determine what
-a bird really eats by watching it. In order to be positive on this point,
-it is necessary to examine the stomach contents. When birds are suspected
-of doing injury to field crops or fruit trees, a few individuals should be
-shot and their stomachs examined. This will show unmistakably whether or
-not the birds are guilty.
-
-In response to a general demand for definite information regarding the
-food habits of our native birds, the biological Survey of the Department
-of Agriculture has for some years past been conducting a systematic
-investigation of the food of species which are believed to be of economic
-importance. Thousands of birds' stomachs have been carefully examined in
-the laboratory, and all the available data respecting the food brought
-together. The results of the investigations relating to birds of prey,
-based on an examination of nearly 3,000 stomachs, were published in 1893,
-in a special bulletin entitled The Hawks and Owls of the United States.
-Many other species have been similarly studied and the results published,
-either in special bulletins or as articles in the yearbooks. The present
-bulletin contains brief abstracts of the results of food studies of about
-30 grain and insect eating birds belonging to 10 different families.[1]
-
-[1] The limits of this bulletin preclude giving more than a very brief
-statement regarding the food of each bird, but more detailed accounts
-of some of the species will be found in the following reports of the
-Biological Survey (formerly Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy): The
-Cuckoos--Bulletin No. 9, 1898, pp. 1-14; Crow--Bulletin No. 6, 1895,
-pp. 1-98; Woodpeckers--Bulletin No. 7, 1895, pp. 1-39; Kingbird--Annual
-Report Secretary of Agriculture for 1893, pp. 233-234; Redwinged
-Blackbird--Yearbook for 1897, pp. 349-351; Baltimore Oriole--Yearbook
-for 1895, pp. 426-430; Grackles--Yearbook for 1894, pp. 233-248;
-Meadowlark--Yearbook for 1895, pp. 420-426; Cedarbird--Annual Report
-Secretary of Agriculture for 1892, pp. 197-200; Catbird, Brown Thrasher,
-and Wren--Yearbook for 1895, pp. 405-418.
-
-These species comprise among others the crow blackbirds and ricebirds,
-against which serious complaints have been made on account of the damage
-they do to corn, wheat, rice, and other crops; and also the cuckoos,
-grosbeaks, and thrashers, which are generally admitted to be beneficial,
-but whose true value as insect destroyers has not been fully appreciated.
-The practical value of birds in controlling insect pests should be more
-generally recognized. It maybe an easy matter to exterminate the birds
-in an orchard or grain field, but it is an extremely difficult one to
-control the insect pests. It is, certain, too, that the value of our
-native sparrows as weed destroyers is not appreciated. Weed seed forms
-an important item of the winter food of many of these birds, and it is
-impossible to estimate the immense numbers of noxious weeds which are thus
-annually destroyed.
-
-If birds are protected and encouraged to nest about the farm and garden,
-they will do their share in destroying noxious insects and weeds, and a
-few hours spent in putting up boxes for bluebirds, martins, and wrens will
-prove a good investment. Birds are protected by law in many States, but
-it remains for the agriculturalists to see that the laws are faithfully
-observed.
-
-
-
-
-THE CUCKOOS.
-
-(_Coccyzus americanus and C. erythophthalmus_)
-
-
-Two species of cuckoos, the yellow-billed (fig. 1) and the black-billed,
-are common in the United States east of the Plains, and a subspecies of
-the yellow-billed extends westward to the Pacific. While the two species
-are quite distinct, they do not differ greatly in food habits, and their
-economic status is practically the same.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 1.--Yellow-billed cuckoo.]
-
-An examination of 155 stomachs has shown that these cuckoos are much
-given to eating caterpillars, and, unlike most birds, do not reject those
-covered with hair. In fact, cuckoos eat so many hairy caterpillars that
-the hairs pierce the inner lining of the stomach and remain there, so that
-when the stomach is opened and turned inside out, it appears to be lined
-with a thin coating of fur.
-
-An examination of the stomachs of 40 black-billed cuckoos, taken during
-the summer months, showed the remains of 900 caterpillars, 44 beetles,
-96 grasshoppers, 100 sawflies, 30 stink bugs, and 15 spiders. In all
-probability more individuals than these were represented, but their
-remains were too badly broken for recognition. Most of the caterpillars
-were hairy, and many of them belonged to a genus that lives in colonies
-and feeds on the leaves of trees, including the apple tree. One stomach
-was filled with larvæ of a caterpillar belonging to the same genus as the
-tent caterpillar, while others contained that species. Other larvæ were
-those of large moths, for which the bird seems to have a special fondness.
-The beetles were mainly click beetles and weevils, with a few May beetles.
-The sawflies were all found in two stomachs, one of which contained no
-less than 100 in the larval stage.
-
-Of the yellow-billed cuckoo, 109 stomachs (collected from May to October,
-inclusive) were examined. The contents consisted of 1,865 caterpillars, 93
-beetles, 242 grasshoppers, 37 sawflies, 69 bugs, 6 flies, and 86 spiders.
-Most of the caterpillars belonged to hairy species and many of them were
-of large size. One stomach contained 250 American tent caterpillars;
-another 217 fall webworms. In places where tent caterpillars are abundant
-they seem to constitute a large portion of the food of these two birds.
-The beetles were distributed among several families, but all more or less
-harmful to agriculture. In the same stomach which contained the tent
-caterpillars were two Colorado potato beetles; in another were three
-goldsmith beetles and remains of several other large beetles. Besides
-grasshoppers were several katydids and tree crickets. The sawflies were
-in the larval stage, in which they resemble caterpillars so closely that
-they are commonly called false caterpillars, and perhaps this likeness may
-be the reason the cuckoos eat them so freely. The bugs consisted of stink
-bugs and cicadas or dog-day harvest flies, with the single exception of
-one wheel bug, which was the only useful insect eaten, unless the spiders
-be counted as such.
-
-
-
-
-THE WOODPECKERS.
-
-
-Five or six species of woodpeckers are familiarly known throughout the
-eastern United States, and in the west are replaced by others of similar
-habits. Several species remain in the northern States through the entire
-year, while others are more or less migratory.
-
-Farmers are prone to look upon woodpeckers with suspicion. When the birds
-are seen scrambling over fruit trees and pecking at the bark, and fresh
-holes are found in the tree, it is concluded that they are doing harm.
-Careful observers, however, have noticed that, excepting a single species,
-these birds rarely leave any important mark on a healthy tree, but that
-when a tree is affected by wood-boring larvæ the Insects are accurately
-located, dislodged, and devoured. In case the holes from which the borers
-are taken are afterwards occupied by colonies of ants, these ants in turn
-are drawn out and eaten.
-
-Two of the best known woodpeckers, the hairy woodpecker (_Dryobates
-villosus_) (fig. 2) and the downy woodpecker (_D. pubescens_), including
-their races, range over the greater part of the United States, and for the
-most part remain throughout the year in their usual haunts. They differ
-chiefly in size, for their colors are practically the same, and the males,
-like other woodpeckers, are distinguished by a scarlet patch on the head.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 2.--Hairy woodpecker.]
-
-An examination of many stomachs of these two birds shows that from
-two-thirds to three-fourths of the food consists of insects, chiefly
-noxious. Wood-boring beetles, both adults and larvæ, are conspicuous, and
-with them are associated many caterpillars, mostly species that burrow
-into trees. Next in importance are the ants that live in decaying wood,
-all of which are sought by woodpeckers and eaten in great quantities. Many
-ants are particularly harmful to limber, for if they find a small spot of
-decay in the vacant burrow of some wood-borer, they enlarge the hole, and
-as their colony is always on the increase, continue to eat away the wood
-until the whole trunk is honey-combed. Moreover, these insects are not
-accessible to other birds, and could pursue their career of destruction
-unmolested were it not that the woodpeckers, with beaks and tongues
-especially fitted for such work, dig out and devour them. It is thus
-evident that woodpeckers are great conservators of forests. To them, more
-than to any other agency, we owe the preservation of timber from hordes of
-destructive insects.
-
-One of the larger woodpeckers familiar to everyone is the flicker, or
-golden-winged woodpecker (_Colaptes auratus_) (fig. 3), which is generally
-distributed throughout the United States from the Atlantic Coast to the
-Rocky Mountain. It is there replaced by the red-shafted flicker (_C.
-cafer_), which extends westward to the Pacific. The two species are as
-nearly identical in food habits as their environment will allow. The
-flickers, while genuine woodpeckers, differ somewhat in habits from the
-rest of the family, and are frequently seen upon the ground searching
-for food. Like the downy and hairy woodpeckers, they eat wood-boring
-grubs and ants, but the number of ants eaten is much greater. Two of the
-flickers' stomachs examined were completely filled with ants, each stomach
-containing more than 3,000 individuals. These ants belonged to species
-which live in the ground, and it is these insects for which the flicker is
-searching when running about in the grass, although some grasshoppers are
-also taken.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 3.--Flicker.]
-
-The red-headed woodpecker (_Melanerpes erythrocephalus_) (fig. 4) is well
-known east of the Rocky Mountains, but is rather rare in New England.
-Unlike some of the other species, it prefers fence posts and telegraph
-poles to trees as a foraging ground. Its food therefore naturally differs
-from that of the preceding species, and consists largely of adult beetles
-and wasps, which it frequently captures on the wing, after the fashion
-of flycatchers. Grasshoppers also form an important part of the food.
-The red-head has a peculiar habit of selecting very large beetles, as
-shown by the presence of fragments of several of the largest species in
-the stomachs. Among the beetles were quite a number of predaceous ground
-beetles, and unfortunately some tiger beetles, which are useful insects.
-The red-head has been accused of robbing the nests of other birds; also
-of attacking young birds and poultry and peeking out their brains, but
-as the stomachs showed little evidence to substantiate this charge it is
-probable that the habit is rather exceptional.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 4.--Red-headed woodpecker.]
-
-It has been customary to speak of the smaller woodpeckers as "sapsuckers,"
-under the belief that they drill holes in the bark of trees for the
-purpose of drinking the sap and eating the inner bark. Close observation,
-however, has fixed this habit upon only one species, the yellow-bellied
-woodpecker, or sapsucker (_Sphyrapicus varius_) (fig. 5). This bird has
-been shown to be guilty of pecking holes in the bark of various forest
-trees, and sometimes in that of apple trees, from which it drinks the sap
-when the pits become filled. It has been proved, however, that besides
-taking the gap the bird captures large numbers of insects which are
-attracted by the sweet fluid, and that these form a very considerable
-portion of its diet. In some cases the trees are injured by being thus
-punctured, and die in a year or two, but since comparatively few are
-touched the damage is not great. It is equally probable, moreover, that
-the bird fully compensates for this injury by the insects it consumes.
-
-The vegetable food of woodpeckers is varied, but consists largely of small
-fruits and berries. The downy and hairy woodpeckers eat such fruits as
-dogwood, Virginia creeper, and others, with the seeds of poison ivy,
-sumac, and a few other shrubs. The flicker also eats a great many small
-fruits and the seeds of a considerable number of shrubs and weeds. None of
-the three species is much given to eating cultivated fruits or crops.
-
-The red-head has been accused of eating the larger kinds of fruit, such
-as apples, and also of taking considerable corn. The stomach examinations
-show that to some extent these charges are substantiated but that the
-habit is not prevalent enough to cause much damage. It is quite fond of
-mast, especially beechnuts, and when these nuts are plentiful the birds
-remain north all winter, instead of migrating as is their usual custom.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 5.--Yellow-bellied woodpecker.]
-
-Half the food of the sapsucker, aside from sap, consists of vegetable
-matter, largely berries of the kinds already mentioned, and also a
-quantity of the inner bark of trees, more of which is eaten by this
-species than by any other.
-
-Many other woodpeckers are found in America, but their food habits agree
-in the main with those just described. Those birds are certainly the only
-agents which can successfully cope with certain insect enemies of the
-forests, and, to some extent, of fruit trees also. For this reason, if for
-no other, they should be protected in every possible way.
-
-
-
-
-THE KINGBIRD
-
-(_Tyrannus tyrannus_)
-
-
-The kingbird (fig. 6) Is essentially a lover of the orchard, and wherever
-the native groves have been replaced by fruit trees this pugnacious bird
-takes up its abode. It breeds in all of the States east of the Rocky
-Mountains, and less commonly in the Great Basin and on the Pacific Coast.
-It migrates south early in the fall, and generally leaves the United
-States to spend the winter in more southern latitudes.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 6.--Kingbird.]
-
-The kingbird manifests its presence in many ways. It is somewhat
-boisterous and obtrusive, and its antipathy for hawks and crows is well
-known. It never hesitates to give battle to any of these marauders, no
-matter, how superior in size, and for this reason a family of kingbirds is
-a desirable adjunct to a poultry yard. On one occasion in the knowledge of
-the writer a hawk which attacked a brood of young turkeys was pounced upon
-and so severely buffeted by a pair of kingbirds, whose nest was near by,
-that the would-be robber was glad to escape without his prey. Song birds
-that nest near the kingbird are similarly protected.
-
-In its food habits this species is largely insectivorous. It is a true
-flycatcher by nature, and takes a large part of its food on the wing. It
-does not, however, confine itself to this method of hunting, but picks
-up some insects from trees and weeds, and even descends to the ground in
-search of myriapods or thousand legs. The chief complaint against the
-kingbird is that it preys largely upon honeybees; and this charge has been
-made both by professional bee keepers and others. Many observers have seen
-the bird at work near hives, and there is no reason to doubt the honesty
-of their testimony. One bee raiser in Iowa, suspecting the kingbirds of
-feeding upon his bees, shot a number near his hives, but when the birds'
-stomachs were examined by an expert entomologist not a trace of honeybees
-could be found.
-
-The Biological Survey has made an examination of 281 stomachs collected
-in various parts of the country, but found only 14 containing remains of
-honeybees. In these 14 stomachs there were in all 50 honeybees, of which
-40 were drones, 4 were certainly workers, and the remaining 6 were too
-badly broken to be identified as to sex.
-
-The insects that constitute the great bulk of the food of this bird are
-noxious species, largely beetles--May beetles, click beetles (the larvæ
-of which are known as wire worms), weevils, which prey upon fruit and
-grain, and a host of others. Wasps, wild bees, and ants are conspicuous
-elements of the food, far outnumbering the hive bees. During summer
-many grasshoppers and crickets, as well as leaf hoppers and other bugs,
-are also eaten. Among the flies were a number of robber flies--insects
-which prey largely upon other insects, especially honeybees, and which
-have been known to commit in this way extensive depredations. It is thus
-evident that the kingbird by destroying these flies actually does good
-work for the apiarist. Nineteen robber flies were found in the stomachs
-examined; these may be considered more than an equivalent for the four
-worker honeybees already mentioned. A few caterpillars are eaten, mostly
-belonging to the group commonly known as cutworms, all the species of
-which are harmful. About 10 per cent of the food consists of small native
-fruits, comprising some twenty common species of the roadsides and
-thickets, such as dogwood berries, elder berries and wild grapes. The
-bird has not been reported as eating cultivated fruit to an injurious
-extent, and it is very doubtful if this is ever the case, for cherries
-and blackberries are the only ones that might have come from cultivated
-places, and they were found in but few stomachs.
-
-Three points seem to be clearly established in regard to the food of the
-kingbird--(1) that about 90 per cent consists of insects, mostly injurious
-species; (2) that the alleged habit of preying upon honeybees is much less
-prevalent than has been supposed, and probably does not result in any
-great damage; and (3) that the vegetable food consists almost entirely of
-wild fruits which have no economic value. These facts, taken in connection
-with its well-known enmity for hawks and crows, entitle the kingbird to a
-place among the most desirable birds of the orchard or garden.
-
-
-
-
-THE PHŒBE.
-
-(_Sayornis phœbe._)
-
-
-Among the early spring arrivals at the North, none more welcome than the
-phœbe (fig. 7). Though, naturally building its nest under an overhanging
-cliff of rock or earth, or in the mouth of a cave, its preference for the
-vicinity of farm buildings is so marked that in the more thickly settled
-parts of the country the bird is seldom seen at any great distance from a
-farmhouse except where a bridge spans some stream, affording a secure spot
-for a nest. Its confiding disposition has rendered it a great favorite,
-and consequently it is seldom disturbed. It breeds throughout the United
-States east of the Great Plains, and winters from the South Atlantic and
-Gulf States southward.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 7.--Phœbe.]
-
-The phœbe subsists almost exclusively upon insects, most of which are
-caught upon the wing. An examination of 80 stomachs showed that over 93
-per cent of the year's food consists of insects and spiders, while wild
-fruit constitutes the remainder. The insects belong chiefly to noxious,
-species, and include many click beetles. May beetles, and weevils.
-Grasshoppers in their season are eaten to a considerable extent, while
-wasps of various species, many flies of species that annoy cattle, and a
-few bugs and spiders are also eaten regularly. It is evident that a pair
-of phœbes must materially reduce the number of insects near a garden or
-field, as the birds often, if not always, raise two broods a year, and
-each brood numbers from four to six young.
-
-The vegetable portion of the food is unimportant, and consists mainly of a
-few seeds, with small fruits, such as wild cherries, elder berries, and
-juniper berries. The raspberries and blackberries found in the stomachs
-were the only fruits that might have banged to cultivated varieties, and
-the quantity was trifling.
-
-There is hardly a more useful species than the phœbe about the farm,
-and it should receive every encouragement. To furnish nesting boxes is
-unnecessary, as it usually prefers a more open situation, like a shed, or
-a nook under the eaves, but it should be protected from cats and other
-marauders.
-
-
-
-
-THE BLUE JAY.
-
-(_Cyanocitta cristata._)
-
-
-The blue jay (fig. 8) is a common bird of the United States east of the
-Great Plains, and remains throughout the year in most of its range,
-although its numbers are somewhat reduced in winter in the Northern
-States. During spring and summer the jay is forced to become an
-industrious hunter for insects, and is not so conspicuous a feature of
-the landscape as when it roams the country at will after the cares of the
-nesting season are over.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 8.--Blue Jay.]
-
-Ornithologists and field observers in general declare that a considerable
-portion of its food in spring and early summer consists of the eggs and
-young of small birds, and some farmers accuse it of stealing corn to an
-injurious extent in the fall. While there may be some truth in these
-accusations, they have almost certainly been exaggerated. No doubt many
-jays have been observed robbing nests of other birds, but thousands have
-been seen that were not so engaged.
-
-In an investigation of the food of the blue jay 292 stomachs were
-examined, which showed that animal matter comprised 24 per cent and
-vegetable matter 70 per cent of the bird's diet. So much has been said
-about the nest robbing habits of the jay that special search was made
-for traces of birds or birds' eggs in the stomachs, with the result that
-shells of small birds' eggs were found in three and the remains of young
-birds in only two stomachs. Such negative evidence is not sufficient to
-controvert the great mass of testimony upon this point, but it shows that
-the habit is not so prevalent as has been believed. Besides birds and
-their eggs, the jay eats mice, fish, salamanders, snails, and crustaceans,
-which altogether constitute but little more than 1 per cent of its diet.
-The insect food is made up of beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and
-a few species of other orders, all noxious, except some 3½ per cent of
-predaceous beetles. Thus something more than 19 per cent of the whole food
-consists of harmful insects. In August the jay, like many other birds,
-turns its attention to grasshoppers, which constitute nearly one-fifth of
-its food during that month. At this time, also, most of the other noxious
-insects, including caterpillars, are consumed, though beetles are eaten
-chiefly in spring.
-
-The vegetable food is quite varied, but the item of most interest is
-grain. Corn was found in 70 stomachs, wheat in 8, and oats in 2--all
-constituting 19 per cent of the total food. Corn is evidently the favorite
-grain, but a closer inspection of the record shows that the greater part
-was eaten during the first five months of the year, and that very little
-was taken after May, even in harvest time, when it is abundant. This
-indicates that most of the corn is gleaned from the fields after harvest,
-except what is stolen from cribs or gathered in May at planting time.
-
-The jay's favorite food is mast (i. e., acorns, chestnuts, chinquapins,
-etc.), which was found in 158 of the 292 stomachs and amounted to more
-than 42 per cent of the whole food. In September corn formed 15 and mast
-35 per cent, while in October, November, and December corn dropped to
-an almost inappreciable quantity and mast amounted to 64, 82, and 83
-per cent, respectively. And yet in these months corn is abundant and
-everywhere easily accessible. The other elements of food consist of a few
-seeds and wild fruits, among which grapes and blackberries predominate.
-
-The results of the stomach examination show, (1) that the jay eats many
-noxious insects; (2) that its habit of robbing the nests of other birds is
-much less common, than has been asserted; and (3) that it does little harm
-to agriculture, since all but a small amount of the corn eaten is waste
-grain.
-
-
-
-
-THE CROW.
-
-(_Corvus americanus._)
-
-
-There are few birds so well known as the common crow, and unlike most
-other species he does not seem to decrease in numbers as the country
-becomes more densely populated. The crow is commonly regarded as a
-blackleg and a thief. Without the dash and brilliancy of the jay, or the
-bold savagery of the hawk, he is accused of doing more mischief than
-either. That he does pull up sprouting corn, destroy chickens, and rob the
-nests of small birds has been repeatedly proved. Nor are these all of his
-sins. He is known to eat frogs, toads, salamanders, and some small snakes,
-all harmless creatures that do some good by eating insects. With so many
-charges against him, it may be well to show why he should not be utterly
-condemned.
-
-The examination of a large number of stomachs, while confirming all the
-foregoing accusations, has thrown upon the subject a light somewhat
-different from that derived slowly from field observation. It shows that
-the bird's nesting habit, as in the case of the jay, is not so universal
-as has been supposed; and that, so far from being a habitual nest robber,
-the crow only occasionally indulges in that reprehensible practice. The
-same is true in regard to destroying chickens, for he is able to carry off
-none but very young ones, and his opportunities for capturing them are
-somewhat limited. Neither are many toads and frogs eaten, and as frogs are
-of no great practical value, their destruction is not a serious matter;
-but toads are very useful, and their consumption, so far as it goes, must
-be counted against crow. Turtles, crayfishes, and snails, of which he eats
-quite a large number, may be considered neutral, while mice may be counted
-to his credit.
-
-In his insect food, however, the crow makes amends for sins in the rest of
-his dietary, although even here the first item is against him. Predaceous
-beetles are eaten in some numbers throughout the season, but the number
-is not great. May beetles, "dor-bugs," or June bugs, and others of the
-same family, constitute the principal food during spring and early summer,
-and are fed to the young in immense quantities. Other beetles, nearly all
-of a noxious character, are eaten to a considerable extent. Grasshoppers
-are first taken in May, but not in large numbers until August, when, as
-might be expected, they form the leading article of diet, showing that
-the crow is no exception to the general rule that most birds subsist,
-to a large extent, upon grasshoppers in the month of August. Many bugs,
-some caterpillars, mostly cutworms, and some spiders are also eaten--all
-of them either harmful or neutral in their economic relations. Of the
-insect diet Mr. E. A. Schwarz says: "The facts, on the whole, speak
-overwhelmingly in favor of the crow."
-
-Probably the most important item in the vegetable food is corn, and by
-pulling up the newly sprouted seeds the bird renders himself extremely
-obnoxious. Observation and experiments with tame crows show that hard, dry
-corn is never eaten if anything else is to be had, and if fed to nestlings
-it is soon disgorged. The reason crows resort to newly planted fields
-is that the kernels of corn are softened by the moisture of the earth,
-and probably become more palatable in the process of germination, which
-changes the starch of the grain to sugar. The fact, however, remains that
-crows eat corn extensively only when it has been softened by germination
-or partial decay, or before it is ripe and still "in the milk." Experience
-has shown that they may be prevented from pulling up young corn by
-tarring the seed, which not only saves corn but forces them to turn their
-attention to insects. If they persist in eating green corn it is not so
-easy to prevent the damage; but no details of extensive injury in this way
-have yet been presented and it is probable that no great harm has been
-done.
-
-Crows eat fruit to some extent, but confine themselves for the most part
-to wild species, such as dogwood, sour gum, and seeds of the different
-kinds of sumac. They have also a habit of sampling almost everything
-which appears eatable, especially when food is scarce. For example, they
-eat frozen apples found on the trees in winter, or pumpkins, turnips,
-and potatoes which have been overlooked or neglected; even mushrooms are
-sometimes taken, probably in default of something better.
-
-In estimating the economic status of the crow, it must be acknowledged
-that he does some damage, but, on the other hand, he should receive much
-credit for the insects which he destroys. In the more thickly settled
-parts of the country the crow probably does more good than harm, at
-least when ordinary precautions are taken to protect young poultry and
-newly-planted corn against his depredations. If, however, corn is planted
-with no provision against possible marauders, if hens and turkeys are
-allowed to nest and to roam with their broods at a distance from farm
-buildings, losses must be expected.
-
-
-
-
-THE BOBOLINK, OR RICEBIRD.
-
-(_Dolichconyx oryzivorus_)
-
-
-The bobolink (fig. 9) is a common summer resident of the United States,
-north of about latitude 40°, and from New England westward to the Great
-Plains, wintering beyond our southern border. In New England there are few
-birds, if any, around which so much romance has clustered; in the South
-none on whose head so many maledictions have been heaped. The bobolink,
-entering the United States from the South at a time when the rice fields
-are freshly sown, pulls up the young plants and feeds upon the seed. Its
-stay, however, is not long, and it soon hastens northward, where it is
-welcomed as a herald of summer. During its sojourn in the Northern States
-it feeds mainly upon insects and small seeds of useless plants; but while
-rearing its young, insects constitute its chief food, and almost the
-exclusive diet of its brood. After the young are able to fly, the whole
-family gathers into a small flock and begins to live almost entirely upon
-vegetable food. This consists for the most part of weed seeds, since in
-the North these birds do not appear to molest grain to any great extent.
-They eat a few oats, but their stomachs do not reveal a great quantity of
-this or any other grain. As the season advances they gather into larger
-flocks and move southward, until by the end of August nearly all have
-left their breeding grounds. On their way they frequent the reedy marshes
-about the mouths of rivers and on the inland waters of the coast region,
-subsisting largely upon wild rice. After leaving the Northern States they
-are commonly known as reed birds, and having become very fat are treated
-as game.
-
-They begin to arrive on the rice fields in the latter part of August, and
-during the next month make havoc in the ripening crop. It is unfortunate
-that the rice districts lie exactly in the track of their fall migration,
-since the abundant supply of food thus offered has undoubtedly served to
-attract them more and more, until most of the bobolinks bred in the North
-are concentrated with disastrous effect on the south east coast when the
-rice ripens in the fall, there was evidently a time when no such supply of
-food awaited the birds on their journey southward, and it seems probable
-that the introduction of rice culture in the South, combined with the
-clearing of the forests in the North, thus affording a larger available
-breeding area, has favored an increase in the numbers of this species. The
-food habits of the bobolink are not necessarily easily inimical to the
-interests of agriculture. It simply happens that the rice affords a supply
-of food more easily obtainable than did the wild plants which formerly
-occupied the same region. Were the rice fields at a distance from the
-line of migration, or north of the bobolinks' breeding ground, they would
-probably never be molested; but lying, as they do, directly in the path
-of migration, they form a recruiting ground, where the birds can rest and
-accumulate flesh and strength for the long sea flight which awaits them in
-their course to South America.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 9.--Bobolink.]
-
-The annual loss to rice growers on account of bobolinks has been estimated
-at $2,000,000. In the face of such losses it is evident that no mere
-poetical sentiment should stand in the way of applying any remedy which
-can be devised. It would be unsafe to assume that the insects which the
-birds consume during their residence in the North can compensate for such
-destruction. If these figures are any approximation to the truth, the
-ordinary farmer will not believe that the bobolink benefits, the Northern
-half of the country nearly as much as it damages the Southern half, and
-the thoughtful ornithologist will be inclined to agree with him. But even
-if the bird really does more harm than good, what is the remedy! For years
-the rice planters have been employing men and boys to shoot the birds
-and drive them away from the fields, but in spite of the millions slain
-every year their numbers do not decrease. In fact, a large part of the
-loss sustained is not in the grain which the birds actually eat, but in
-the outlay necessary to prevent them from taking it all. At present there
-seems to be no effective remedy short of complete extermination of the
-species, and this is evidently impracticable even were it desirable.
-
-
-
-
-THE REDWINGED BLACKBIRD.
-
-(_Agelaius phœniceus._)
-
-
-The redwinged, or swamp, blackbird (fig. 10) is found all over the United
-States and the region immediately to the north. While common in most of
-its range, its distribution is more or less local, mainly on account of
-its partiality for swamps. Its nest is built near standing water, in
-tall grass, rushes, or bushes. Owing to this peculiarity the bird may be
-absent from large tracts of country which afford no swamps or marshes
-suitable for nesting. It usually breeds in large colonies, though single
-families, consisting of a male with several wives, may sometimes be found
-in a small slough, where each of the females builds, her nest and rears
-her own little brood, while her liege lord displays his brilliant colors
-and struts in the sunshine. In the Upper Mississippi Valley it finds the
-conditions most favorable, for the countless prairie sloughs and the
-margins of the numerous shallow lakes form nesting sites for thousands
-of redwings; and there are bred the immense flocks which sometimes do so
-much damage to the grain fields of the West. After the breeding season is
-over, the birds collect in flocks to migrate, and remain thus associated
-throughout the winter.
-
-Many complaints have been made against the redwing, and several States
-have at times placed a bounty upon its head. It is said to cause great
-damage to grain in the West, especially in the Upper Mississippi Valley;
-and the rice growers of the South say that it eats rice. No complaints
-have been received from the Northeastern portion of the country, where the
-bird is much less abundant than in the West and South.
-
-An examination of 725 stomachs showed that vegetable matter forms 74 per
-cent of the food, while the animal matter, mainly insects, forms but
-26 per cent. A little more than 10 per cent consists of beetles, mostly
-harmful species, Weevils, or snout-beetles, amount to 4 per cent of the
-year's food, but in June reach 25 per cent. As weevils are among the most
-harmful insects known, their destruction should condone for at least some
-of the sins of which the bird has been accused. Grasshoppers constitute
-nearly 5 per cent of the food, while the rest of the animal matter is
-made up of various insects, a few snails, and crustaceans. Several dragon
-flies were found, but these were probably picked up dead, for they are
-too active to be taken alive, unless by one of the flycatchers. So far as
-the insect food as a whole is concerned, the redwing may be considered
-entirely beneficial.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 10.--Redwinged blackbird.]
-
-The interest in the vegetable food of this bird centers around the grain.
-Only three kinds, corn, wheat, and oats, were found in appreciable
-quantities in the stomachs, and they aggregate but little more than 13
-per cent of the whole food, oats forming nearly half of this amount. In
-view of the many complaints that the redwing eats grain, this record
-is surprisingly small. The crow blackbird has been found to eat more
-than three times as much. In the case of the crow, corn forms one-fifth
-of the food, so that the redwinged blackbird, whose diet is made up of
-only a trifle more than one-eighth of grain, is really one of the least
-destructive species; but the most important item of this bird's food is
-weed seed, which forms practically the whole food in winter and about 57
-per cent of the whole year's fare. The principal weed seeds eaten are
-those of ragweed, barn grass, smartweed, and about a dozen others. That
-these seeds are preferred is shown by the fact that the birds begin to
-eat them in August, when grain is still readily accessible, and continue
-feeding on them even after insects become plentiful in April. The redwing
-eats very little fruit and does practically no harm in the garden or
-orchard.
-
-While it is impossible to dispute the mass of testimony which has
-accumulated concerning its grain-eating propensity, the stomach
-examinations show that the habit must be local rather than general. As
-the area of cultivation increases and the breeding grounds are curtailed,
-the species is likely to become reduced in numbers and consequently less
-harmful. Nearly seven-eighths of the redwing's food is made up of weed
-seed or of insects injurious to agriculture, indicating unmistakably that
-the bird should be protected, except, perhaps, in a few places where it is
-too abundant.
-
-
-
-
-THE MEADOW LARK, OR OLD FIELD LARK.
-
-(_Sturnella magna._)
-
-
-The meadow lark (fig. 11) is a common and well-known bird occurring from
-the Atlantic Coast to the Great Plains, where it gives way to a closely
-related subspecies, which extends thence westward to the Pacific. It
-winters from our southern border as far north as the District of Columbia,
-southern Illinois, and occasionally Iowa. Although it is a bird of the
-plains, finding its most congenial haunts in the prairies of the West, it
-does not disdain the meadows and mowing lands of New England. It nests on
-the ground and is so terrestrial in its habits that it seldom perches on
-trees, preferring a fence rail or a telegraph pole. When undisturbed, it
-may be seen walking about with a peculiar dainty step, stopping every few
-moments to look about and give its tail a nervous flirt or to sound a note
-or two of its clear whistle.
-
-The meadow lark is almost wholly beneficial, although a few complaints
-have been made that it pulls sprouting grain, and one farmer claims that
-it eats clover seed. As a rule, however, it is looked upon with favor and
-is not disturbed.
-
-In the 238 stomachs examined, animal food (practically all insects)
-constituted 73 per cent of the contents and vegetable matter 27 per cent.
-As would naturally be supposed, the insects were ground species, such as
-beetles, bugs, grasshoppers, and caterpillars, with a few flies, wasps,
-and spiders. A number of the stomachs were taken from birds that had been
-killed when the ground was covered with snow, but still they contained a
-large percentage of insects, showing the bird's skill in finding proper
-food under adverse circumstances.
-
-Of the various insects eaten, crickets and grasshoppers are the most
-important, constituting 29 per cent of the entire year's food and 69 per
-cent of the food in August. It is scarcely necessary to enlarge upon this
-point, but it can readily be seen what an effect a number of these birds
-must have on a field of grass in the height of the grasshopper season.
-Of the 238 stomachs collected at all seasons of the year, 178, or more
-than two-thirds, contained remains of grasshoppers, and one was filled
-with fragments at 37 of those insects. This seems to show conclusively
-that grasshoppers are preferred and are eaten whenever they can be
-procured. The great number taken in August is especially noticeable. This
-is essentially the grasshopper month, i. e., the month when grasshoppers
-reach their maximum abundance; and the stomach examination has shown that
-a large number of birds resort to this diet in August, no matter what may
-be the food during the rest of the year.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 11.--Meadow lark.]
-
-Next to grasshoppers, beetles make up the most important item of the
-meadow lark's food, amounting to nearly 21 per cent, of which about
-one-third are predaceous ground beetles. The others are all harmful
-species, and when it is considered that the bird feeds exclusively on the
-ground, it seems remarkable that so few useful ground beetles are eaten.
-Many of them have a disgusting odor, and possibly this may occasionally
-save them from destruction by birds, especially when other food is
-abundant. Caterpillars, too, form a very constant element, and in May
-constitute over 28 per cent of the whole food. May is the month when the
-dreaded cutworm begins its deadly career, and then the bird does some of
-its best work. Most of these caterpillars are ground feeders, and are
-overlooked by birds which habitually frequent trees; but the meadow lark
-finds them and devours them by thousands. The remainder of the insect food
-is made up of a few ants, wasps, and spiders, with a few bugs, including
-some cinch bugs.
-
-The vegetable food consists of grain, weed, and other hard seeds. Grain
-in general amounts to 14, and weed and other seeds to 12 per cent. The
-grain, principally corn, is mostly eaten in winter and early spring, and
-must be therefore simply waste kernels; only a trifle is consumed in
-summer and autumn, when it is most plentiful. No trace of sprouting grain
-was discovered. Clover seed was found in only six stomachs, and but little
-in each. Seeds of weeds, principally ragweed, barn grass, and smartweed,
-are eaten from November to April, inclusive, but during the rest of the
-year are replaced by insects.
-
-Briefly stated, more than half of the meadow lark's food consists of
-harmful insects; its vegetable food is composed either of noxious weeds
-or waste grain, and the remainder is made up of useful beetles or neutral
-insects and spiders. A strong point in the bird's favor is that, although
-naturally an insect eater, it is able to subsist on vegetable food, and
-consequently is not forced to migrate in cold weather any farther than is
-necessary to find ground free from snow. This explains why it remains for
-the most part in the United States during winter, and moves northward as
-soon as the snow disappears from its usual haunts.
-
-There is one danger to which the meadow lark is exposed. As its flesh is
-highly esteemed the bird is often shot for the table, but it is entitled
-to all possible protection, and to slaughter it for game is the least
-profitable way to utilize this valuable species.
-
-
-
-
-THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE.
-
-(_Icterus galbula._)
-
-
-Brilliancy of plumage, sweetness of song, and food habits to which no
-exception can be taken are some of the striking characteristics of the
-Baltimore oriole (fig. 12). In summer this species is found throughout
-the northern half of the United States east of the Great Plains, and
-is welcomed and loved in every country home in that broad land. In the
-Northern States it arrives rather late, and is usually first seen, or
-heard, foraging amidst the early bloom of the apple trees, where it
-searches for caterpillars or feeds daintily on the surplus blossoms. Its
-nest commands hardly less admiration than the beauty of its plumage or the
-excellence of its song. Hanging from the tip of the outermost bough of a
-stately elm, it is almost inaccessible, and so strongly fastened as to bid
-defiance to the elements.
-
-By watching an oriole which has a nest one may see it searching among
-the smaller branches of some neighboring tree, carefully examining each
-leaf for caterpillars, and occasionally trilling a few notes to its mate.
-Observation both in the field and laboratory shows that caterpillars
-constitute the largest item of its fare. In 113 stomachs they formed 34
-per cent of the food, and are eaten in varying quantities during all the
-months in which the bird remains in this country, although the fewest
-are eaten in July, when a little fruit is also taken. The other insects
-consist of beetles, bugs, ants, wasps, grasshoppers, and some spiders. The
-beetles are principally click beetles, the larvæ of which are among the
-most destructive insects known; and the bugs include plant and bark lice,
-both very harmful, but so small and obscure as to be passed over unnoticed
-by most birds. Ants are eaten mostly in spring, grasshoppers in July and
-August, and wasps and spiders with considerable regularity throughout the
-season.
-
-Vegetable matter amounts to only a little more than 10 per cent of the
-food during the bird's stay in the United States, so that the possibility
-of the oriole doing much damage to crops is very limited. The bird has
-been accused of eating peas to a considerable extent, but remains of peas
-were found in only two stomachs. One writer says that it damages grapes,
-but none were found. In fact, a few blackberries and cherries comprised
-the only cultivated fruit detected in the stomachs, the remainder of the
-vegetable food being wild fruit and a few miscellaneous seeds.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 12.--Baltimore oriole.]
-
-
-
-
-THE CROW BLACKBIRD, OR GRACKLE.
-
-(_Quiscalus quiscula._)
-
-
-The crow blackbird (fig. 13) or one of its subspecies is a familiar
-object in all of the States east of the Rocky Mountains. It is a resident
-throughout the year as far north as southern Illinois, and in summer
-extends its range into British America. In the Mississippi Valley it is
-one of the most abundant birds, preferring to nest in the artificial
-groves and windbreaks near farms instead of the natural "timber" which
-it formerly used. It breeds also in parks and near buildings, often in
-considerable colonies. Farther east, in New England, it is only locally
-abundant, though frequently seen in migration. After July it becomes very
-rare, or entirely disappears, owing to the fact that it collects in large
-flocks and retires to some quiet place, where food is abundant and where
-it can remain undisturbed during the molting season, but in the latter
-days of August and throughout September it usually reappears in immense
-numbers before moving southward.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 13.--Crow blackbird.]
-
-It is evident that a bird so large and so abundant may exercise an
-important influence upon the agricultural welfare of the country it
-inhabits. The crow blackbird has been accused of many sins, such as
-stealing grain and fruit and robbing the nests of other birds; but the
-farmers do not undertake any war of extermination against it, and, for the
-most part, allow it to nest about the premises undisturbed. An examination
-of 2,258 stomachs showed that nearly one-third of its food consists of
-insects, of which the greater part are injurious. The bird also eats a few
-snails, crayfishes, salamanders, small fish, and occasionally a mouse. The
-stomach contents do not indicate that it robs other birds' nests to any
-great extent, as remains of birds and birds' eggs amount to less than one
-half of 1 per cent.
-
-It is, however, on account of its vegetable food that the grackle is most
-likely to be accused of doing damage. Grain is eaten during the whole
-year, and during only a short time in summer is other food attractive
-enough to induce the bird to alter its diet. The grain taken in the
-winter and spring months probably consists of waste kernels gathered from
-the stubble. The stomachs do not indicate that the bird pulls sprouting
-grain; but the wheat eaten in July and August, and the corn eaten in the
-fall, are probably taken from fields of standing grain. The total grain
-consumed during the year constitutes 45 per cent of the whole food, but
-it is safe to say that at least half is waste grain, and consequently of
-no value. Although the crow blackbird eats a few cherries and blueberries
-in their season, and some wild fruit in the fall, it apparently does no
-damage in this way.
-
-Large flocks of crow blackbirds no doubt do considerable injury to grain
-crops, and there seems to be no remedy except the destruction of the
-birds, which is in itself expensive. During the breeding season, however,
-the species does much good by eating insects and by feeding them to its
-young, which are reared almost entirely upon this food. The bird does the
-greatest amount of good in spring, when it follows the plow in search
-of large grub worms, of which it is so fond that it sometimes literally
-crams its stomach full of them. The farmer must decide for himself
-whether or not these birds cause more damage than can be repaid by insect
-destruction; but when they destroy an entire crop it is no consolation to
-know that they have already eaten a multitude of insects which, if left
-alone, would have accomplished the same result.
-
-
-
-
-THE SPARROWS.[2]
-
-
-[2] The sparrows here mentioned are all native species. For a full
-account of the English sparrow, including its introduction, habits, and
-depredations, see Bull. No. 1 of the Division of Ornithology, published in
-1896.
-
-
-Sparrows are not obtrusive birds, either in plumage, song, or action.
-There are some forty species, with nearly as many subspecies, in North
-America, but their differences, both in plumage and habits, are in most
-cases too obscure to be readily recognized, and not more than half a dozen
-forms are generally known in any one locality. All the species are more or
-less migratory, but so widely are they distributed that there is probably
-no part of the country where some can not be found throughout the year.
-
-While sparrows are noted seed eaters, they do not by any means confine
-themselves to a vegetable diet. During the summer, and especially in the
-breeding season, they eat many insects, and probably feed their young
-largely upon the same food. An examination of the stomachs of three
-species--the song sparrow (_Melospiza_), chipping sparrow (_Spizella
-socialis_), and field sparrow (_Spizella pusilla_) (fig. 14)--shows
-that about one third of the food consists of insects, comprising many
-injurious beetles, such as snout-beetles or weevils, and leaf beetles.
-Many grasshoppers are eaten, and in the case of the chipping sparrow
-these insects form one eighth of the food. Grasshoppers would seem to
-be rather large morsels, but the bird probably confines itself to the
-smaller species; indeed, this is indicated by the fact that the greatest
-amount (over 36 per cent) is eaten in June, when the larger species are
-still young and the small species most numerous. Besides the insects
-already mentioned, many wasps and bugs are taken. Predaceous and parasitic
-Hymenoptera and predaceous beetles, all useful insects, are eaten only
-to a slight extent, so that as a whole the sparrows' insect diet may be
-considered beneficial.
-
-Their vegetable food is limited almost exclusively to hard seeds. This
-might seem to indicate that the birds feed to some extent upon grain, but
-the stomachs examined show only one kind--oats--and but little of that.
-The great bulk of the food is made up of grass and weed seed, which form
-almost the entire diet during winter, and the amount consumed is immense.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 14.--Field sparrow.]
-
-Anyone acquainted with the agricultural region of the Upper Mississippi
-Valley can not have failed to notice the enormous growth of weeds in every
-waste spot where the original sward has been disturbed. By the roadside,
-on the borders of cultivated fields, or in abandoned fields, wherever they
-can obtain a foothold, masses of rank weeds spring up, and often form
-impenetrable thickets which afford food and shelter for immense numbers
-of birds and enable them to withstand great cold and the most terrible
-blizzards. A person visiting one of these weed patches on a sunny morning
-in January, when the thermometer is 20° or more below zero, will be struck
-with the life and animation of the busy little inhabitants. Instead of
-sitting forlorn and half frozen, they may be seen flitting from branch to
-branch, twittering and fluttering, and showing every evidence of enjoyment
-and perfect comfort. If one of them be killed and examined, it will be
-found in excellent condition--in fact, a veritable ball of fat.
-
-The snowbird (_Junco hyemalis_) and tree sparrow (_Spizella monticola_)
-are perhaps the most numerous of all the sparrows. The latter fairly
-swarms all over the Northern States in winter, arriving from the north
-early in October and leaving in April. Examination of many stomachs shows
-thats in Winter the tree sparrow feeds entirely upon seeds of weeds; and
-probably each bird consumes about one-fourth of an ounce a day. In an
-article contributed to the New York Tribune in 1881 the writer estimated
-the amount of weed seed annually destroyed by these birds in the State of
-Iowa. Upon the basis of one-fourth of an ounce of seed eaten daily by each
-bird, and supposing that the birds averaged ten to each square mile, and
-that they remain in their winter range two hundred days, we shall have
-a total of 1,750,000 pounds, or 875 tons, of weed seed consumed by this
-one species in a single season. Large as these figures may seem, they
-certainly fall far short of the reality. The estimate of ten birds to a
-square mile is much within the truth, for the tree sparrow is certainly
-more abundant than this in winter in Massachusetts, where the food supply
-is less than in the Western States, and I have known places in Iowa where
-several thousand could be seen within the space of a few acres. This
-estimate, moreover, is for a single species, while, as a matter of fact,
-there are at least half a dozen birds (not all sparrows) that habitually
-feed on these seeds during winter.
-
-Farther south the tree sparrow is replaced in winter by the white-throated
-sparrow, the white-crowned sparrow, the fox sparrow, the song sparrow,
-the field sparrow, and several others; so that all over the country there
-are a vast number of those seed eaters at work during the colder months
-reducing next year's crop of worse than useless plants.
-
-In treating of the value of birds, it has been customary to consider them
-mainly as insect destroyers; but the foregoing illustration seems to
-show that seed eaters have a useful function, which has never been fully
-appreciated.
-
-
-
-
-THE ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK.
-
-(_Zamelodia ludoviciana._)
-
-
-The beautiful rose-breasted grosbeak (fig. 15) breeds in the northern half
-of the United States east of the Missouri River, but spends its winters
-beyond our boundaries. Unfortunately it is not abundant in New England,
-and nowhere as plentiful as it should be. It frequents groves and orchards
-rather than gardens or dooryards, but probably the beauty of the male is
-the greatest obstacle to its increase; the fully adult bird is pure black
-and white, with a broad patch of brilliant rose color upon the breast and
-under each wing. On account of this attractive plumage the birds are
-highly prized for ladies' hats; and consequently heave been shot in season
-and out, till the wonder is not that there are so few, but that any remain
-at all.
-
-When the Colorado potato beetle first swept over the land, and naturalists
-and farmers were anxious to discover whether or not there were any enemies
-which would prey upon the pest, the grosbeak was almost the only bird seen
-to eat the beetles. Further observation confirmed the fact, and there can
-be no reasonable doubt that where the bird is abundant it has contributed
-very much to the abatement of the pest which has been noted during the
-last decade. But this is not the only good which the bird does, for many
-other noxious insects besides the potato beetle are also eaten.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 15.--Rose-breasted grosbeak.]
-
-The vegetable food of the grosbeak consists of buds and blossoms of forest
-trees, and seeds, but the only damage of which it has been accused is the
-stealing of green peas. The writer has observed it eating peas and has
-examined the stomachs of several that had been killed in the very act. The
-stomachs contained a few peas and enough potato beetles, old and young, as
-well as other harmful insects, to pay for all the peas the birds would be
-likely to eat in a whole season. The garden where this took place adjoined
-a small potato field which earlier in the season had been so badly
-infested with the beetles that the vines were completely riddled. The
-grosbeaks visited the field every day, and finally brought their fledged
-young. The young birds stood in a row on the topmost rail of the fence and
-were fed with the beetles which their parents gathered. When a careful
-inspection was made a few days later, not a beetle, old or young, could be
-found; the birds had swept them from the field and saved the potatoes.
-
-It is easy to advise measures either for increasing the numbers of this
-bird or inducing it to take up its residence on the farm. Naturally it
-inhabits thin, open woods or groves, and the change from such places to
-orchards would be simple--in fact, has already been made in some parts
-of Pennsylvania and Ohio. In New England the bird is somewhat rare, and
-perhaps the best that can be done here or elsewhere it to see that it is
-thoroughly protected.
-
-
-
-
-THE SWALLOWS.
-
-
-There are seven common species of swallows within the limits of the United
-States, four of which have, to some extent, abandoned their primitive
-nesting habits and attached themselves to the abodes of man. As a group,
-swallows are gregarious and social in an eminent degree. Some species
-build nests in large colonies, occasionally numbering thousands; in the
-case of others only two or three pairs are found together; while still
-others nest habitually in single pairs.
-
-Their habits are too familiar to require any extended description. Their
-industry and tirelessness are wonderful, and during the day it is rare to
-see swallows at rest except just before their departure for the South,
-when they assemble upon telegraph wires or upon the roofs of buildings,
-apparently making plans for the journey.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 16.--Barn swallow.]
-
-A noticeable characteristic of several of the species is their attachment
-to man. In the eastern part of the country the barn swallow (_Chelidon
-erythrogastra_) (fig. 16) now builds exclusively under roofs, having
-entirely abandoned the rock caves and cliffs in which it formerly nested.
-More recently the cliff swallow (_Petrochelidon lunifrons_) has found a
-better nesting site under the eaves of buildings than was afforded by the
-overhanging-cliffs of earth or stone which it once used, and to which it
-still resorts occasionally in the East, and habitually in the unsettled
-West. The martin (_Progne subis_) and white-bellied swallow (_Tachycineta
-bicolor_) nest either in houses supplied for the purpose, in abandoned
-nests of woodpeckers, or in natural crannies in rocks. The other species
-have not yet abandoned their primitive habitats, but possibly may do so as
-the country becomes more thickly settled.
-
-Field observation will convince any ordinarily attentive person that the
-food of swallows must consist of the smaller insects captured in mid-air,
-or perhaps in some cases picked from the tops of tall grass or weeds. This
-observation is borne out by an examination of stomachs, which shows that
-the food consists of many small species of beetles which are much on the
-wing; many species of Diptera (mosquitoes and their allies), with large
-quantities of flying ants and a few insects of similar kinds. Most of them
-are either injurious or annoying, and the numbers destroyed by swallows
-are not only, beyond calculation, but almost beyond imagination.
-
-The white-bellied swallow eats a considerable number of berries of the
-bayberry, or wax myrtle. During migrations and in winter it has a habit of
-roosting in these shrubs, and it probably obtains the fruit at that time.
-
-It is a mistake to tear down the nests of a colony of cliff swallows from
-the eaves of a barn, for so far from disfiguring a building the nests make
-a picturesque addition, and their presence should be encouraged by every
-device. It is said that cliff and barn swallows can be induced to build
-their nests in a particular locality, otherwise suitable, by providing a
-quantity of mud to be used as mortar. Barn swallows may also be encouraged
-by cutting a small hole in the gable of the barn, while martins and
-white-bellied swallows will be grateful for boxes like those for the
-bluebird, but placed in some higher situation.
-
-
-
-
-THE CEDAR BIRD.
-
-(_Ampelis cedrorum._)
-
-
-The cedar waxwing, or cherry bird (fig. 17), inhabits the whole of the
-United States, but is much less common in the West. Although the great
-bulk of the species retires southward in winter, the bird is occasionally
-found in every State during the colder months, especially if wild berries
-are abundant. Its proverbial fondness for cherries has given rise to its
-popular name, and much complaint has been made on account of the fruit
-eaten. Observation has shown, however, that its depredations are confined
-to trees on which the fruit ripens earliest, while later varieties are
-comparatively untouched. This is probably owing to the fact that when wild
-fruits ripen they are preferred to cherries, and really constitute the
-bulk of the cedar bird's diet.
-
-In 152 stomachs examined animal matter formed only 13 and vegetable 87
-per cent, showing that the bird is not wholly a fruit eater. With the
-exception of a few snails, all the animal food consisted of insects,
-mainly beetles--and all but one more or less noxious, the famous elm
-leaf-beetle being among the number. Bark or scale lice were found in
-several stomachs, while the remainder of the animal food was made up of
-grasshoppers, bugs, and the like. Three nestlings were found to have been
-fed almost entirely on insects.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 17.--Cedar bird.]
-
-Of the 87 per cent of vegetable food, 74 consisted entirely of wild fruit
-or seeds and 13 of cultivated fruit, but a large part of the latter was
-made up of blackberries and raspberries, and it is very doubtful whether
-they represented cultivated varieties. Cherry stealing is the chief
-complaint against this bird, but of the 152 stomachs only 9, all taken in
-June and July, contained any remains of cultivated cherries, and these
-aggregate but 5 per cent of the year's food. As 41 stomachs were collected
-in those months, it is evident that the birds do not live to any great
-extent on cultivated cherries.
-
-Although the cherry bird is not a great insect destroyer, it does some
-good work in this way, since it probably rears its young mostly upon
-insect food. On the other hand, it does not devour nearly as much
-cultivated fruit as has been asserted, and most, if not all, of the
-damage can be prevented. The bird should therefore be considered a useful
-species, and as such should be accorded all possible protection.
-
-
-
-
-THE CATBIRD.
-
-(_Galeoscoptes carolinensis._)
-
-
-The catbird (fig. 18), like the thrasher, is a lover of swamps, and
-delights to make its home in a tangle of wild grapevines, greenbriars,
-and shrubs, where it is safe from attack and can find its favorite food
-in abundance. It is found throughout the United States west to the Rocky
-Mountains; occurs also in Washington, Idaho, and Utah, and extends
-northward into British America. It winters in the Southern States, Cuba,
-Mexico, and Central America.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 18.--Catbird.]
-
-The catbird always attracts attention, and the intruder upon its haunts
-soon understands that he is not welcome. There is no mistaking the meaning
-of the sneering voice with which he is saluted, and there is little doubt
-that this gave rise to the popular prejudice against the bird; but the
-feeling has been increased by the fact that the species is sometimes a
-serious annoyance to fruit growers. All such reports, however, seem to
-come from the prairie country of the West. In New England, according
-to the writer's experience the catbird is seldom seen about gardens
-or orchards; the reason may possibly be found in the fact that on the
-prairies fruit-bearing shrubs which afford so large a part of this bird's
-food are conspicuously absent. With the settlement of this region comes an
-extensive planting of orchards, vineyards, and small fruit gardens, which
-furnish shelter and nesting sites for the catbird, as well as for other
-species, with a consequent large increase in their numbers, but without
-providing the native fruits upon which they have been accustomed to feed.
-Under these circumstances, what is more natural than for the birds to
-turn to cultivated fruits for their supplies? The remedy is obvious;
-cultivated fruits can be protected by the simple expedient of planting
-wild species or others which are preferred by the birds. Some experiments
-with catbirds in captivity showed that the Russian mulberry was preferred
-to any cultivated fruit that could be offered.
-
-The stomachs of 213 catbirds wore examined and found to contain 44 per
-cent of animal (insect) and 56 per cent of vegetable food.[3] Ants,
-beetles, caterpillars, and grasshoppers constitute three-fourths of the
-animal food, the remainder being made up of bugs, miscellaneous insects
-and spiders. One-third of the vegetable food consists of cultivated
-fruits, or those which may be cultivated, such as strawberries,
-raspberries, and blackberries; but while we debit the bird with the whole
-of this, it is probable--and in the eastern and well-wooded part of the
-country almost certain--that a large part was obtained from wild vines.
-The rest of the vegetable matter is mostly wild fruit, such as cherries,
-dogwood, sour gum, elder berries, greenbriar, spice berries, black alder,
-sumac, and poison ivy.
-
-[3] The investigation of the food of the catbird, brown thrasher, and
-house wren was made by Mr. Sylvester D. Judd and published in the Yearbook
-of the Department of Agriculture for 1895, pp. 405-418.
-
-Although the catbird sometimes does considerable harm by destroying small
-fruit, the bird can not be considered injurious. On the contrary, in most
-parts of the country it does far more good than harm, and the evil it does
-can be reduced appreciably by the methods already pointed out.
-
-
-
-
-THE BROWN THRASHER.
-
-(_Harporhynchus rufus._)
-
-
-The brown thrasher (fig. 19) breeds throughout the United States east
-of the Great Plains, and winters in the south Atlantic and Gulf States.
-It occasionally visits the garden or orchard, but nests in swamps or in
-groves standing upon low ground. While it generally prefers a thickly
-grown retreat, it sometimes builds in a pile of brush at a distance from
-trees. On account of its more retiring habits it is not so conspicuous
-as the robin, although it may be equally abundant. Few birds can excel
-the thrasher in sweetness of song, but it is so shy that its notes are
-not heard often enough to be appreciated. Its favorite time for singing
-is the early morning, when, perched on the top of some tall bush or low
-tree, it gives an exhibition of vocal powers which would do credit to a
-mockingbird. Indeed, in the South, where the latter bird is abundant, the
-thrasher is known as the sandy mocker.
-
-The food of the brown thrasher consists of both fruit and insects. An
-examination of 121 stomachs showed 30 per cent of vegetable and 64 of
-animal food, practically all insects, and mostly taken in spring before
-fruit is ripe. Half the insects were beetles, and the remainder chiefly
-grasshoppers, caterpillars, bugs, and spiders. A few predaceous beetles
-were eaten, but, on the whole, its work as an insect destroyer may be
-considered beneficial.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 19.--Brown thrasher.]
-
-Eight per cent of the food is made up of fruits like raspberries and
-currants which are or may be cultivated, but the raspberries at least
-are as likely to belong to wild as to cultivated varieties. Grain, made
-up mostly of scattered kernels of oats and corn, is merely a trifle,
-amounting to only 3 per cent, and though some of the corn may be taken
-from newly planted fields it is amply paid for by the May beetles which
-are eaten at the same time. The rest of the food consists of wild fruit or
-seeds. Taken all in all, the brown thrasher is a useful bird, and probably
-does just as good work in its secluded retreats as it would about the
-garden, for the swamps and groves are no doubt the breeding grounds of
-many insects that migrate thence to attack the farmers' crops.
-
-
-
-
-THE HOUSE WREN.
-
-(_Troglodytes aëdon._)
-
-
-The diminutive house wren (fig. 20) frequents barns and gardens, and
-particularly old orchards in which the trees are partially decayed.
-He makes his nest in a hollow branch where perhaps a woodpecker had a
-domicile the year before, but he is a pugnacious character, and if he
-happens to fancy one of the boxes that have been put up for the bluebirds
-he does not hesitate to take it. He is usually not slow to avail himself
-of boxes, gourds, tin cans, or empty jars placed for his accommodation.
-
-As regards food habits, the house wren is entirely beneficial.
-Practically, he can be said to live upon animal food alone, for an
-examination of 62 stomachs showed that 98 per cent of the stomach
-contents was made up of insects or their allies, and only 2 per cent was
-vegetable, including bits of grass and similar matter, evidently taken by
-accident with the insects. Half of this food consisted of grasshoppers
-and beetles; the remainder of caterpillars, bugs, and spiders. As the
-house wren is a prolific breeder, frequently rearing from twelve to
-sixteen young in a season, a family of these birds must cause considerable
-reduction in the number of insects in a garden. Wrens are industrious
-foragers, searching every tree, shrub, or vine for caterpillars, examining
-every post and rail of the fence, and every cranny in the wall for insects
-or spiders. They do not, as a rule, fly far afield, but work industriously
-in the immediate vicinity of their nests. In this way they become valuable
-aids in the garden or orchard, and by providing suitable nesting boxes
-they may be induced to take up residence where their services will do most
-good. Their eccentricities in the selection of a home are well-known.
-Almost anything, from an old cigar box to a tomato can, an old teapot, a
-worn-out boot, or a horse's skull, is acceptable, provided it be placed
-well up from the ground and out of reach of cats and other prowlers.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 20.--House wren.]
-
-It does not seem possible to have too many wrens, and every effort should
-be made to protect them and to encourage their nesting about the house.
-
-
-
-
-THE ROBIN.
-
-(_Merula migratoria._)
-
-
-The robin (fig. 21) is found throughout the United States east of the
-Great Plains, and is represented farther west by a slightly different
-subspecies. It extends far north through Canada, and is found even in
-Alaska. Although the great bulk of the species leaves the Northern States
-in winter, a few individuals remain in sheltered swamps, where wild
-berries furnish an abundant supply of food.
-
-The robin builds its nest in orchards and gardens, and occasionally takes
-advantage of a nook about the house, or under the shelter of the roof of
-a shed or outbuilding. Its food habits have sometimes caused apprehension
-to the fruit grower, for it is fond of cherries and other small fruits,
-particularly the earlier varieties. For this reason many complaints have
-been lodged against it, and some persons have gone so far as to condemn
-the bird. The robin is, however, too valuable to be exterminated, and
-choice fruit can be readily protected from its depredations.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 21.--Robin.]
-
-An examination of 330 stomachs shows that over 42 per cent of its food is
-animal matter, principally insects, while the remainder is made up largely
-of small fruits or berries. Over 19 per cent consists of beetles, about
-one-third of which are useful ground beetles, taken mostly in spring and
-fall, when other insects are scarce. Grasshoppers makeup about one-tenth
-of the whole food, but in August comprise over 30 per cent. Caterpillars
-form about G per cent, while the rest of the animal food, about 7 per
-cent, is made up of various insects, with a few spiders, snails, and
-angle-worms. All the grasshoppers, caterpillars, and bugs, with in large
-portion of the beetles, are injurious, and it is safe to say that noxious
-insects comprise more than one-third of the robin's food.
-
-Vegetable food forms nearly 58 per cent of the stomach contents, over 47
-being wild fruits, and only a little more than 4 per cent being possibly
-cultivated varieties. Cultivated fruit amounting to about 25 per cent was
-found in the stomachs in June and July, but only a trifle in August. Wild
-fruit, on the contrary, is eaten in every month, and constitutes a staple
-food during half the year. No less than forty-one species were identified
-in the stomachs of these, the most important were four species of dogwood,
-three of wild cherries, three of wild grapes, four of greenbriar, two
-of holly, two of elder; and cranberries, huckleberries, blueberries,
-barberries, service berries, cranberries, and persimmons, with four
-species of sumac, and various other seeds not strictly fruit.
-
-The depredations of the robin seem to be confined to the smaller and
-earlier fruits, and few, if any, complaints have been made against it
-on the score of eating apples, peaches, pears, grapes, or even late
-cherries. By the time these are ripe the forests and hedges are teeming
-with wild fruits, which the bird evidently finds more to its taste. The
-cherry, unfortunately, ripens so early that it, is almost the only fruit
-accessible at a time when the bird's appetite has been sharpened by a
-long-continued diet of insects, earthworms, and dried berries, and it is
-no wonder that at first the rich juicy morsels are greedily eaten. In view
-of the fact that the robin takes ten times as much wild as cultivated
-fruit, it seems unwise to destroy the birds to save so little. Nor is this
-necessary, for by a little care both may be preserved. Where much fruit is
-grown, it is no great loss to give up one tree to the birds; and in some
-cases the crop can be protected by scarecrows. Where wild fruit is not
-abundant, a few fruit-bearing shrubs and vines judiciously planted will
-serve for ornament and provide food for the birds. The Russian mulberry
-is a vigorous grower and a profuse bearer, ripening at the same time as
-the cherry, and, so far as observation has gone, most birds scorn to
-prefer its fruit to any other. It is believed that a number of these trees
-planted around the garden or orchard would fully protect the more valuable
-fruits.
-
-Many persons have written about the delicate discrimination of birds for
-choice fruit, asserting that only the finest and costliest varieties are
-selected. This is contrary to all careful scientific observation. Birds,
-unlike human beings, seem to prefer fruit like the mulberry, that is
-sweetly insipid, or that has some astringent or bitter quality like the
-chokecherry or holly. The so-called black alder (_Ilex verticillata_),
-which is a species of holly, has bright scarlet berries, as bitter as
-quinine, that ripen late in October, and remain on the bushes through
-November, and though frost grapes, the fruit of the Virginia creeper,
-and several species of dogwood are abundant at the same time, the birds
-eat the berries of the holly to a considerable extent, as shown by the
-seeds found in the stomachs. It is moreover a remarkable fact that the
-wild fruits upon which the birds feed largely are those which man neither
-gathers for his own use nor adopts for cultivation.
-
-
-
-
-THE BLUEBIRD.
-
-(_Sialia sialis._)
-
-
-The common and familiar bluebird (fig. 22) is an inhabitant of all the
-States east of the Rocky Mountains from the Gulf of Mexico northward into
-Canada. It winters as far north as southern Illinois, in the Mississippi
-Valley, and Pennsylvania in the east; in spring it is one of the first
-migrants to arrive in the Northern States, and is always welcomed as an
-indication of the final breaking up of winter. It frequents orchards and
-gardens, where it builds its nest in hollow trees, or takes advantage of a
-nesting box provided by the enterprising farmer's boy.
-
-[Illustration: Fig. 22.--Bluebird.]
-
-So far as known, this bird has not been accused of stealing fruit or of
-preying upon any crops. An examination of 205 stomachs showed that 76 per
-cent of the food consists of insects and their allies, while the other
-24 per cent is made up of various vegetable substances, found mostly in
-stomachs taken in winter. Beetles constitute 28 per cent of the whole
-food, grasshoppers 22, caterpillars 11, and various insects, including
-quite a number of spiders, comprise the remainder of the insect diet. All
-these are more or less harmful, except a few predaceous beetles, which
-amount to 8 per cent, but in view of the large consumption of grasshoppers
-and caterpillars, we can at least condone this offense, if such it may be
-called. The destruction of grasshoppers is very noticeable in the months
-of August and September, when these insects form more than 60 per cent of
-the diet.
-
-It is evident that in the selection of its food the bluebird is governed
-more by abundance than by choice. Predaceous beetles are eaten in spring,
-as they are among the first insects to appear; but in early summer
-caterpillars form an important part of the diet, and are replaced a
-little later by grasshoppers. Beetles are eaten at all times, except when
-grasshoppers are more easily obtained.
-
-So far as its vegetable food is concerned, the bluebird is positively
-harmless. The only trace of any useful product in the stomachs consisted
-of a few blackberry seeds, and even these more probably belonged to wild
-than cultivated varieties. Following is a list of the various seeds
-which were found: Blackberry, chokeberry, juniperberry, pokeberry,
-partridgeberry, greenbriar, Virginia creeper, bittersweet, holly,
-strawberry bush, false spikenard, wild sarsaparilla, sumac (several
-species), rose haws, sorrel, ragweed, grass, and asparagus. This list
-shows how little the bluebird depends upon the farm or garden to supply
-its needs, and indicates that by encouraging the growth of some of these
-plants, many of which are highly ornamental, the bird can be induced to
-make its home on the premises.
-
-Bluebirds are so well known that it seems unnecessary to urge anything
-more in their favor; but in view of the fact that large numbers were
-destroyed during the severe storm of 1895, more than ordinary vigilance
-should be exercised in protecting them until they have regained their
-normal abundance.
-
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-
-Transcriber Note
-
-
-Figures were moved so as to prevent splitting paragraphs. Hyphenation
-was standardized to the most prevalent form used in the publication.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-End of Project Gutenberg's USDA Farmers' Bulletin No. 54, by F. E. L. Beal
-
-*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK USDA FARMERS' BULLETIN NO. 54 ***
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