Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-12-08

than is commonly believed and should
be tolerated for the greater good they
| do.
The hard-blled birds-canarles, gold
| finches and native sparrows--ar seed
eaters. and may be induced TO live
about our homes by being fed the
sweepings OF the hay loft left In 4
sheltered and sunny place, With the
addition, perhaps, of mllet seed, sun
flower seeds and waste grain. None
of these birds do any damage. The
blaokbirds are much maligned, and It
must be admitted that they feed large
ly on grain,
CASE OF THE BLACKBIRD.
In the case OF the red-wlnged variety
however, only three kinds Of grain
corn, wheat and oats-were found IN
appreciable quantities in the stomachs.
They aggregate but little more than 10
per cent OF the whole food, oats form
ing nearly half Of this amount. III view
OF the many complaints that the red
wing eats grain, this record is surpris-
ingly small. The most important item
Of the BIRDS food, however, IL weed
seed which forms practically the whole
food In winter and about 81 per cent
Of the fare Of the whole year. The
principal weed seeds eaten are those OF
ragweed, barn grass, and smartweed.
That these seeds are preferred Is shown
by the fact that the birds begin TO eat
them in August when grain Is still
readily accessible, and continue feeding
on them even after insects become plen-
tiful In April. The redwlng eats very
little fruit and does practically 10 harm
IN the garden or orchard. Nearly seven
eghths OF its food Is made up of weed
seed or of Insects injurious to agricul-
ture, indicating Enthusiastically that the
bird should be protected, except, per-
haps, in II few places where II Is over
abundant.
In the case of tho crow blackbird, the
total grain consumed during the year
constitutes As per cent OF the whole
food, but 1t Is safe to say that at least
half IL waste grain. and consequently
OF no value. Although the crow black
bird eats In their season few cherries
and backberries, and In the fall some
wild fruit, 1t apparently does no dam
age IN this way.
Large nocks OF crow blackbrds no
doubt do considerable injury to grain
crops and there seems to be no remedy
except the destruction OF the birds,
which is In itself expensive. During
the breeding season, however, the spe-
cles does much good by eating insects
and by feeding them to its young, which
are reared almost entirely upon this
food. The bird does the greatest
amount of good IN spring. when 1t fol-
lows the plow In search OF large grub
worms, Of which 81 is so fond that II
sometimes literally Grams its stomach
full of them.
THE WOODPECKER.
Wood peckers are generally looked
upon with suspicion, but an examna-
ton of many stonachs OF the best
known kinds shows that from two
thirds TO three-fourths of the food
consists of Insects, chiefly noxious.
Wood boring beetles, both adglts and
larvae, are conspicuous, and with them
are associated many cateipillars, most
ly species that burrow into trees. Mex,
in Importance are the ants that live IN
decaying wood. all OF which are sought
by woodpeckers and eaten In great
quantities. Many ants are particular
~ harmful TO timber, for II they find
a small spot of decay In the vacant
'burrow of some Woodborer. they en-
largo the hole and as their colony Is
always OH the Increase. continue 20 eat
away the wood until the whole trunk
is honeycombed. Moreover, those In
ScctS are not hcccSSlDlf 10 otncf plfuSt
and could pursue their career of do
struction unmoested were II not for the
woodpeckers, whose beaks and tongues
are especially fitted for digging out and
devourlng them.
The woodpeckers seem the only
agents which can successfully cope
with certain insect enemies of the for
ests. and to some extent. with those
OF fruit trees also. For this reason
II for no other, they should be pro-
tected IN every possible way.
THE NIGHTHAWK.
Too much can scarcely be said IN
praise of the nighthawk, which takes
It's food on the wing. sometimes de-
vourlng | 800 flying ants In a day.
Moreover. these ants are killed at the
most important epoch OF their lives,
when they are preparing 10 propagate
their kind. and when the death Of every
female ant means the prevention OF
hundreds or perhaps thousands Of 9TH
ers. Grassheppers, potato beetles,
chinch bugs, etc, are ravenously con-
sumed. go that the nighthawk is one
OF our most useful birds.