Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-01-21

the yellow-beilied sapsucker. but as he does
not usually winter north of Virginia it is
not likely that ne will be seen here. Ten
TO one ii will be a G1wny or a hairy wood
pecker. These two are much alike in gen.
eTal appearance, except that the latter is
considerably larger than the former. In
either case he will be found very busy
searching for and devouring insects eggs
larvae and adult insects of one kind or an
other, which have their home on in or be-
low the bark of the tree. Some Of these
insects are pests of the worst sort and If
they were not gathered up by the birds in
the winter the trees would be alive with
them IN the spring, and in many cases they
would destroy not only the fruit 3ut in
some cases even the trees themselves OF
course these birds carry on their warfare all
through the rest of the year, eating ants,
caterpillars and crawlers of many kinds
by thousands but the farmer. being busy
with other matters, will not be so likely
to see them at 1t.
An Important Party.
Perhaps the next bird to appear may be
nuthatch, bird much smaller even than
the downy wood2ecker and quite different
IN appearance and manners. 1t may be a
white-breasted or a red-breasted nuthatch,
but In either case he will be seen to be a
very important little parsonage; not a hard
er worker than the woodpecker perhaps,
but with a greater appearance of hustle.
The woodpecker usually moves from a
lower point TO q higher, or SideWise If nee
esSary-Seldom down q tree for any dist
a,fce and never head first in this direction
The nuthatch seems to have no particular
rule about this: when he wants to go up
he goes up, and when he wants to 20 down
down he goes, and head first every time
sometimes pausing in the most absurd at
Itudes, with his neck stuck ont at right
angles from the trunk. to eye an observer
who may be rude enough to stand and
watch him.
m han of i,lra
dees of whose Identity no one can ever be
in doubt. since they repeat their own name
over and over, wherever they go, as they
swing, often head downward, among the
twfgs. Very tame they are q this season.
and with but little patience they will feed
from ones hands or lips, as they did from
mine more than a hundred times last win
ter They are engaged In the same work as
the woodpeckers and the nuhatches viz
the determination of myriads of insects
which If allowed to increase unchecked
would make the work OF the fruit grower
heart-breaking and Improbable.
Hawk Sails Along.
Let the farmer now look over the fields
beyond the orchard and observe that clear
cut figure of a hawk. sailing In circles
against the sky. II he will but believe 1t,
that is feathered servant working con-
scientiously from dawn until dusk and
without pay. to rid his farm of the rats,
mice and other rodents which play such
havoc with his property at all times OF the
year. 1t has been estimated that that
hawk will destroy in one year a
thousand mice their equivalent IN
noxious insects. and the farmer need not
be told what a thousand mice can do to his
fruit trees in the course of one severe win
ter. He knows only too well. perhaps, that
they can kill more than as many trees,
by girdling them with their teeth. as 1
saw many hundred trees killed last WIN
ter in the same way. Now and then a
hawk of come species will set chicken
from his poultry yard but let him not be
hasty to revenge the act. What other
workman can he get to do so much honest
work at so small a wage? In that hollow
apple tree by the barn he may find a
screech owl doing: and at dusk this soft
winged bird will take up the work of
mouse hunting where the hawk left of
If the farmer will only study the habits
OF the birds he sees before undertaking to
shoot any of them. and then shoot only
those which he proves have done him more
harm than good, his crops will be larger
and his bill for powder and shot will never
keep him awake at night
ERNEST HAROLD BAYNES.