Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-08-10
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Birds in Orchards.

Ell. Forbush, ornithologist to the Mas
sachusetts state board of agriculture has
made an exhaustive study of the food hab-
its of birds and their value in orchards.
He made experiments with the aid OF
Mr.. Bailey in an old, typical New Eng
land orchard He says:
Believing from my own observations
that the chickadees (Parus atricapillus)
were feeding on the eggs of the fall can
ker worm, asked Mr.. Bailey to attract
the birds, IL possible, to the orchard by
suspending pieces Of meat, bone, suet,
etc from the trees These food materials
are suitable for birds at times when the
trees are covered with snow or ice and
when lacking such nourishment, they
might starve. Although birds will fire.
auently visit bait provided for them and
in time will eat a considerable portion OF
the meat they do not depend entirely on
this allment, but spend the greater por-
ton OF their time In searching for insects
and eggs in the immediate vicinity.
Finding a plentiful supply Of food.
the chickadees remained about the or
chard most Of the winter except for
week or two, when the meat gave out, but
they were lured back again later by
fresh supply which was placed In he
trees Not only were the chickadees at
tracted to the orchard in large numbers,
but other birds came also.
All paid frequent visits to the meat ana
suet, and also thoroughly inspected the
trees in search OF insect food. They made
excursions also to the trees in the neigh
borhood, but the greater portion OF the1f
attention was confined to the orchard In
which the bait was suspended. They grew
quite tame and could be viewed at dls-
lance Of few feet.
Mr. Bailey was thus enabled TO deter
mine accurately without killing them
what they were feeding upon, and was
soon convinced that they were destroying
the eggs of the cankerworm moth In large
number as well as the alternating Larvae
and pupse Of other insects injurious to
trees.
To determine how many eggs a single
cbickadee would eat few birds were
killed and their stomach contents exam
ined, with surprising results. There was
no difficulty in identifying the eggs Of the
canker- worm moth which were found in
the birds stomachs, as great portion. OF
the shells remained intact. Mr.. Bailey S
notes show that 1923 eggs OF the fall can
ker worms were found in the stomachs Of
four chiukadees Four birds killed later
in the season had eaten 105 female Ina
gos of the spring canker. worm.
Mr. Bailey Ia very positive, from his
continuous field observations, that each
chickadee will devour on the average 80
female canker worm moths per day from
the goth of March to the 18th Of April,
provided these insects are plentiful. If
the average number of eggs laid by each
female Is 1856 one chickadee would thus
destroy in one day $3.50 eggs and in the
20 days in which the canker-w moths
run or crawl up the trees, 1873, $50. 1t
may BIO thought that this computation Is
excessive, and 1t is probable that some Of
the moths were not captured until they
had laid some of their eggs, but the
ohickadees are also busy eating their eggs
Mr.. Bailey now regards the chiokadee as
the best friend the farmer has, for the rca-
son that 1t is with him oil the year and
there Ia no bird that can compare with 1t
in destroying the female moths and their
eggs
The woodpeckers and nuthatches which
frequented the orchards were not seen o
cat the eggs OF the canker- worm. The nut
matches were eating many scales which
they found on the limbs of the apple
trees In a neighboring orchard.
Every scale covered dead female of I'll c
preceding year and the alternating eggs,
many of which must have been dispos, d
of by the Muthatches 1t was shown, both
by observation and dissection, that birds
feeding In the same neighborhood and up
on the same trees showed considerable va
riance In the character Of their food,
Kinglets taken had no canker- worm
eggs, but had eaten largely OF barkborers
Woodpeckers seemed to confine them
selves to the Larvae Of borers and to wood
ants and other insects which bore into the
wood Of the tree. Chickadees and nut
matches ate the pupe and eggs Of insects
found upon the bark OF in the crevices of
the trunks No birds were seen to eat the
eggs of the tent caterpillar. nor were any
found In the stomachs of any of the birds
examined 10 seems probable that these
eggs are so protected by a hard covering
that they are not eaten by most birds.
1t was found tn at these birds were not
only destroying the eggs of the canker
worm In this orchard, but were feeding
on the eggs of the same Insect in the
woods where bait had been suspended.
AS the frost left the ground on the first
warm days Of spring the wingless females
of the spring canker-worm moth appeared
in the orchard and began ascending the
trees in great numbers. The chickadees
commenced catching and eating the fe-
males and their eggs
1t was noticed as spring approached and
insects became more numerous, that the
cLickadees came very seldom to ths meat.
Towards the last of April the English
or house sparrow (passar doInestious) be-
gan to make Its appearance in the vicinity
and apparently drove the chickadees to
the woods, where they paired and nestled
/ believe that the English sparrow is
largely responsible for the fact that chick
ADDE'S are not now found nesting In our
orchards. Though they still nest in the
orchards on the remoter farms and In
the villages where the English sparrow is
not numerous, they seem to have disap-
peared in summer from orchards near
cities.
OF summer birds Mr. Bailey observed
the crow feeding on canker worms aud
nearly all the small birds eating canker
worms and negl Getting to a certain extent
4 ID kn oh I'D