The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1859-08-27
Icrirult srdl ..
s,...,,,. " C,a, on Birds and their Food.

(assius VI. Clay Oh Birds ana 'he'r f"o"'
At ,ayhreak. | estimate that 400 song
,te~s break forth into one grand lubiiatlon
Of mingled songs on my 81 acres OF irult
and pleasure grounds. Among these
mote the cat bird, the thrush, the blue,
black and red birds. the bell martin, the
S,v. lark and quail the sparrow and /
bumrnins-bir,i. robin and jay, the house, /
r,orrh. and barn swallows and many varIe- /
tic. of orioles. woodpecke.s, sapsuckers, |.
&c. Ac.
To-day. nv mind running upon the use
Of birds. took my position about fifteen
feet from the nest OF an oriole, built III the
ton of 4 peach tree, twelve feet high, TO
observe their habits. The nest Is formed
If blades of blue grass worked INTO 4 b;'s-
10, form on the limbs OF the peach tree
.ct;,, ~ braces This variety has the fe-
nal. Of n duskv blush yellow the male
lack-nea,led. and hlackish wings, with
brick dust or robin red-breast color on the
breast and sides There are four young
ones. well fedged, which every how and
then stand upon the edges OF thencst, ana
try their wings. l lay upon the green
sward long time, and observed the
movements OF the parents, with my watch
in nv hand They made 2 visit with food
about every four minutes on an average,
They would light upon the black locust,
,reaS the vine. the grass and other places.
cliuoiur at times to the delicate and cx-
,rem.. points of the leaves. | observed
rlaiuly green and brown .GraS>hoppers, cat
er,illars. and smaller flies; sometimes one
and sometimes as many rs SIX. were plainly
fed To the Young ones. whose heads | could
ace above the nest They would also carry
back the refuse litter from the nest drop
ping il 80 yards or more oil: which same
thing saw the brown thrush, which has
its nest in climbing rose about 10 yards
off also doing; they having four young
ones.
birds making q visit every i'ninutes-
/ in
60 minutes divided by SO visits in an
hour
worms on an average-l20 worms to
the hour
working hours-I20 day
300 pairs on the ground-li4,0oO day.
200 pairs in thirty days., 10000 a
month. ,o,,-o
POO pairs old ones, do. by 2-I0I 100000
in the season. -,,
400 crows. do by do-l,4lffo001o.
400 do eating times by 4-3jj1 900.
Grows and birds together-6, 364, 100000
Double the estimate Of birds and crows
which | think fair on my farm, and we
have
G.35t. SSO.0o0x-i=25,45 G 100000;
That IS to saw. twenty-five billions, foul
hundred aud tiity-niue millions, two hun
dred thousand c.terpillars and other IN
sects DESTROYED in one year, If these es
Inmates seem large. we must remember
that the circulation and respiration o1
birds extremely rapid, and Of course the
conSump;ion OF food is rapid III proportion
Here i no 'sickly sentimentalIty. but
plain economical facts, based upon "hser
vation. Shall we spare the crows ana
other birds little corn and fruit; or, sinai
we kill them. and revive tie famincs o
the East and the raVag"s OF other days?
Not Iou.r since. SAYS the Newark N,rerp
We witnessed the bringing M hy hand
of several orphan sona-hir,l- which hao
lost their parents, probably 10y the gun o
some va-lHoud sportsman. They wer,
amply supplied a was thought. with food
hut bv anil 10y one began t. anguish. an,
at leiinth died On q rost-mortcm cNaIIli
nation it appeared thar the creature la,
famisIic,l-notlIiu- vas in li~ crop &"
other passages. \ hint was taken - sup
DIV the table of the others more literally
ior they had already showed similar SYM
toms OF failing in health. This was done
and the quantity al insects and other too'
they consumed was wholly UncXP"Ctcd-
They throve IT once. We We're thus cor
WINGED. that birds. especially song birds
cnioved excellent appcIitcs, and required
most generous diet. as human opera sing
er> are known 10 dc.
II i for men 10 turn this voracity t
their profit. If they please, The owners c
land can have birds or they can have d,
srruct:ve insects. it depends on them t
choo-,, which Il they like vermin on til
tree and crops on the tops, the hranchc
roots, everywhere, they then get rid {
birds of course.