Omaha daily bee., 1897-06-27
BIRDS HELP THE FARMER
Results of Investigations Conducted by the
Agricultural Department.

Results of Investigations Conducted by the
Agricultural Department.
DESTROYING N0Xt0US WEEDS AND INSECTS
what All the wild Birds Eat
-Thcir Bad Habits and Their
Good-How Agriculture
Is ~BcncHtcd.
1t 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 than the good.
Whether a bird is injurious or beneficial de-
ponds almost entirely upon what it eats,
says the Globe Democrat and &. the case OF
species which are unusually abundant or
which depend in part upon the farmers crops
for subsistence the character of the food
often becomes a very practical question, the
answer to which may be found in a bulletin
just issued by the Department OF Agricul-
ture, entitled Some Common Birds In Their
Relation to Agriculture The practical value
Of birds in controlling insect peste should be
more generally recognized, says Prof. Beal,
the author. 1t may be an easy matter to
extorminatc the birds In an orchard or grain
field, but 1t Is an extremely difficult ono to
control the insect pests. 1t Is certain, too,
that the value of native sparrows as weed de-
stroycrs 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 number of noNious
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 noNious insects
and weeds, and o few hours spent In put
ting up boxes for hluebirds, martins and
wrens will prove a good investment. Birds
are protected by law in many states, but ii
remains for the agriculturiSts to see that
the laws are faithfully observed.
Farmers are prone to look on woodpeCk-
crs with suspicion. When the birds are seen
scrambling over fruit trees and peckiug at
the bark. and fresh holes are found in
the tree. it is concluded that they are doing
harm. Careful observers, however, have no
ticed that, excepting a single species tine
Nellow-bellicd woodpocker or sapsuckerl,
these birds rarely leave any important mark
on Il healthy tree. but that when a tree Is
affected by wood-boring larvae the insects
are accurately located, dlslodged and de-
vOured. In case the holes from which the
borers are taken are afterward occupied ana
enlarged by colonies of ants, these ants In
turn are drawn out and eaten.
VALUE OF WOODPECKERS.
Two OF the best known woodpeckers, the
hairy woodpecker and the downy wood
! pccker, 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. An eXaminl-
tlon of many stomaChs shows that from two
| IfrIC II thr-.- f,,tp he ~ t1, food ,a.,pfgtE
of insects, chiefly noXious. Moreover, these
insects are not accessible to other birds, and
could pursue their career Of destruction un-
molcSted were 1t not that the woOdpeckers,
with beaks and tongues especially fitted for
such work, dig out and devour them. 1t
is thus evident that woodpCckers are great
colservators of forests. To them, more
than to any other agency, we owe the
preservation of timber from hordes OF de-
structive insects.
The rod-headed woodpecker. unlike some
of the other species, prefers fence posts and
telegraph poles to trees as f~Oraging ground.
It's food consists largely of adult beetles and
wasps and grasshoppCrs. 1t has a peculiar
habit of selecting very large beetles. The
yellow-ballicd woodpecker. or sapsucker, has
been shown to be guilty of pecking holes in
the bark OF various forest trees, and some
times In that Of apple trees. from which it
drinks the sap when the pits become filled.
In some cases the trees are injured by being
thus puntured, and die in a year or two,
but since comparatively few are touched
the damage IS not great. 1t is equally prob
able, moreover, that the bird fully compen-
safes for this injury by the insects it CON
sumcs. The vegetable food OF woodpeckers
is varied, but consists largely Of small fruits
and berries. These birds are certainly the
only agents which can successfully cope with
certain insect enemies of The forests, and tc
some extent, of fruit trees, also.
The kingbird is essentially a lover of the
orchard. Its antipathy for hawks and crows
is well known. 1t never h~esitateS to give
battle o these mareuders and for this rea-
son is a desirable adjunct to a poultry yard.
Song birds are similarly protected. Its food
is largely insectivorOus. 1t is a true fly
catcher, but does not, however, confne it
self 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 com
plant against the kingbird is that it preys
largely upon honey bees. But in an exami-
nation of 2S1 stomachS collected in various
parts OF the country, but four working bees
were found.
The phoebe is an early arrival from the
south, and preferably builds its nest in the
vicinity Of farm buildings. 1t subsists al
most exclusively on insects. There is hardly
a more useful species than the phoebe about
the farm, and it should receive every en-
couragement. To furnish nesting boxes is
unnecessary, as it usually prefers a more
open situation, like a shed, or a nook under
the caves, but it should be protected from
cats and other marauders.
THE JAY AND THE CROW.
The bluejay is a common bird east OF the
great plains, and remains throughout the
year in most &C its rarge. The results OF
the stomach eX.- mination show a that the
jay eats many noXiOus insects; () that its
habit of robbing the nests of ether birds is
much less common than has been asserted,
and (3) that it does little harm TO agricul-
ture, since all but a small amount of corn
eaten is waste grain.
The crow is commonly regarded a black
leg and a thief. He is accused of doing
more mischief than either the j:y or the
hawk, by pulling sprout.ng corn, destroying
chickens and robblng nests of small birds,
An examination of a large number of stOm-
achs shows that the birds nesting habit, aG
in the case of the jay, is not so universe
a. has been supposed, and that, so far from
being an habitual nest robber, the crow only
occasionally INDUCES in that reprehenslble
practice. The same Is true in regard TO de-
strOying chickens, for he is able to carry
off none but very young ones, and his OPP
portunitles for capturing them are somewhat
limited. In his insect food, however, the
crow makes amends for sins in the rest Of
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