Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1901-11-22

Birds as Weed Destroyers.

We have ever looked upon the Geo.
nomic value Of our native song birds as
resting Oh their services in the destruc-
ton of troublesome insects, but in - The
Year Book of Agriculture for the year
1898 Professor Sylvester D. Judd, as
sistant in biological survey for the Agri
cultural Department, points out the SER
vices Of some species in destroying in.
Vulnerable seeds of some Of our most
common weeds.
Some of the weeds from which these
birds like to pick the seeds, and which,
indeed, fol IN large part of their sub
sistence in winter and fall are ragweed,
smartweed, bindweed, pigweed, lambs
quarters, amaranth, dandelion, purs-
lane, knotweed and chickweed Then
there are the coarser grasses, as the
sedges, crab grass, nut grass, pigeon
grass and others that often crowd out
better grasses in fields and the lawns.
While it may be said that good farm
ing would mean the destruction of these
weeds, most of which are ANNALS, in
our cultivated fields, 80 that they should
not ripen their seed, yet few can do
even this, while the roadsides, edges of
woodlands, hedgerows and pastures will
produce many to perpetuate the pests.
And what power of psrpetuation they
have Some of the above species are
said to produce a hundred thousand
seeds to a single plant, while most of
them exceed FIVE thousand or ten thou
sand.
The birds most actively engaged in
this work are the sparrows and 6nches,
which include more than twenty species
horned larks, meadow larks, blackbirds,
cowbirds, quail, grouse, grosbeaks and
others. Their capacity for this work is
illustrated by few examples.
A crow blackbird will eat from thirty
to fifty seeds of smartweed or bi1dweed
at single meal, and field swarrow
one hundred seeds of crab grass, and
they take several meals day. In the
stomach of Nuttalrs sparrow were
found three hundred seeds of amaranth,
and in another three hundred seeds of
lambs quarters; tree sparrow had
eaten seven hundred seeds of pigeon
grass, and a snowflake in Shrewsbury,
Mass picked up one thousand seeds of
pigweed for its breakfast
Gold6nches have been noticed busily
feeding upon the seeds of the Scotch
thistle, the bull thistle, wild sunhowers,
cone flowers, wild lettuce, priokly let
tuce, catnip and MULLEN, and when
killed their stomachs we're found filed
With these seeds. Remember that for
h. least three-fourths Of the year weed
seeds are the principal food Of most of
these varieties. Very few Of them eat
much grain, even where it is grown
largely. Of nineteen native birds, in
GLIDING four varieties of sparrows, kill
ed in a wheat field few miles south of
Washington, only two had eaten grain.
and they but a single kernel each,
while FIVE English sparrows were liter
ally gorged with wheat. In fact, this
imported pest is the only one of our
small birds that is known to do much
damage to grain or fruit, excepting
some Of the larger species, which have
liking for cherries and green peas.
Many of these birds that breed in
New England and the Central States 60
further south for the winter, while 9th.
ers, whose homes in summer are across
the Canadian border. may be found with
us here in winter, busily at work along
hedges and bitches in seeking their ia
vorite food, which, by the way. seems
to vary with the different species.
American Cultivator.