The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-01-18

kinds of caterpillars; and it is to ':be |
noted these were mostly hairy cater
pillars, for this is one OF the very few
birds willing to eat the hairy species
of caterpillars. When the tent cater
pillar is abundantit forms nearly one
half the cuckoois food. Is not this a
bird worthy Of our, protection? .Unz]
like the European cuckoo, which de-
posts it's egg in: other birds nests, the
| American cuckoo is independently; /
raising it's own yothg. 'si
Now comes bad bird, the yellow
belliedz woodpeckeE4or sapsucker.5 OF
all the :woodpeckef fanlily,s this is
! practically the only Injurious mem Der. /
It's tongue differs from that of Aother.
woodpeckers, not being adapted to-
pull from; 81 theiEsgs l burrows Injurious
] borers or e extfa othef Jinsects 5. from
sure, consists in part of insects, also
Of berries, very largely of, +sap 4and
to some extent OF the inner layer Sof
the bark of trees. Its main food may
be said to be sap. It has been seen.
to remain for as many as six or seven
hours upon a tree whose bark it had
punctured, slipping the sweet sap from
time to time that gathered, in the
holes it made. 1T may have been
originally an exclusively rinsectivorous
bird, but in seeking for i2sects by
means of perforating the bark it may
have acquired a fondness for the sap.
To this sap .focl- many insects so
that the bird can change it's diet foc-:
casionally without much effort. Trees
have been known to die as a result of
.. the bleeding caused by this pest. It
! affects white birch and maple, apple,
hickory and even pine as we'll as
, many other trees, n@fact, is a general
, feeder The: bird is yellow on the
f belly, with a black or blackish breast
Of In iy, 1,n
) adult. SA& I;
A modest little bird, but a good
J. worker, is the brown creeper. It has
l stiff tail feathers, which it keeps
-, pressed against the trunk of the tree
: as it travels over the surface, pick
: ing out many an insect from it's re-
treat beneath the bark. 1t is un-
:. doubtedly a useful bird and is found
. with us thruout the year. It eats
' beetles, saw flies, ants and spiders.
Professor Aughey states that in June,
1895, he saw pair bring to the nest
of young tWenty-seven lOcusts in one
hour. It harmonizes in color so close
ly with the bark that its enemies, the
butcher bird or the hawk, would have
difficulty in distinguishing it.
Our winter woods are enlivened by
the chickadees. Always cheerful, al
. ways busy, seemingly. not Winding the
one-half of the food taken during the
winter months consists of insects. II
also eats spiders and spider eggs. Its
Z especial value to the nurseryman, and
:, :. orchardist lies in the fact, that it drags
= from their retreat beneath the bark
II large number Of the larvae of the
- cOdling moth. Who does not remenl
= Der, not only it's cheerful 80 hickadee,
" dee" in our snoW-laden woods, bu
i also that other musical note which
$. entities it really to a place amongs
# our songsters. It has a great fond
ness for eggs of plant lice and eat
It various pupae.
le Another useful bird in Minnesota
is is the white-bellied nuthatch. This
If bird has curious habit in crawli1a,
d over the bark of trees, Of sometime
st hanging head downwards; that is, !
lie will travel down the tree or. down
ic branch as readily as up, so1nethin,
which the brown creeper never does
lie Twenty-Five stomachs examined b.
v government. experts contained beetles
ants caterpillars and grubs. TIL
nuthatch will eat seeds of variou
sorts, sometimes including corn whe1
insect food is scarce: In some. state
the nuthatch has done very good worl
by eating the winter eggs Of the pea
tree psylla, a pest which has destroye
in one year many thousand dollar
worth of pears by infesting the trees
Our Bob White or quail, the part
ridge of the south, altho affording fin
sport for the gunner and being a de
licious titbit for our tables, really de
serves protection It eats army worm
and probably other cut worms. e.
in feeds freely upon potato beetles. 10
so being taken from the stomach of on
II bird; this 100 must have been cate
Or in one day, of course. AS many a
20 500 chinch bugs have been found i
m the crop of one quail early in tn
Ill day.
~ Turning to a, different class of much
at maligned birds, the hawks and owl
Y, use as an illustration the sparro'
r hawk, believing tito be on the Who'll
: a useful bird. It is familiar to all {
A. us, particularly in the late summe
x and early autumn, when: it is see
r, along the country roads perching upo
ly the fence poles.
us In some government work done
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