The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1908-07-24
Our Useful Song Birds.
Albert A. johnson in the New York Ever
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One item in the wealth of the
country that is seldom considered
is the value Of song birds Some
may say this is purely sentimental,
and that the pleasure their songs
and bright colors give cannot be
reckoned in dollars and cents
Nevertheless, it is not difficult to.
show that the birds have an actual
money value
In his war against insects man :
most valuable ally Is the bird. The,
greater number Of birds live on in
sects. Even those which live on
seeds when fully grown are fed on
insects while in the nest. As young
birds grow fast, it takes many a
worm to satisfy their hearty appe-
titles
A feature of the warfare Of bird
on bug is the system with which it
! is carried ON. Nothing is haphaz-
ard, bat each species Of bird has its
own field Of work, and in many in
stances certain insects to which ii Is
partial. I'm winter, when there
I seems to be no activity on the part
Of the insects, one might expect
the birds to take a rest, but there
/ is no cessation in the work of those
which live ON insects found on the
bark Of the trees.
Watch a flock of chicadees. They
alight in a tree and examine each
twig for grubs or eggs. The little
black eyes rarely mistake a mouth
I ful of food. Birds even swing,
head down, from the branches that
/ the under side may be inspected
I Nuthatches and brown creepers ex-
plore the trunk, and with their
long, sharp bills dig many an insect
from its winter quarters. The wood
peckers have a work all their own
/ The small, downy woodpecker is a
good representative Of his family.
His bill is strong and sharp. His
1 tail feathers are stiffened to serve as
a brace while he clings upright
against the trunk. He cocks his
head to one side aud his quick ear
hears borer under the bark. A
few blows with the bill and a hole
Is dug, then a long tongue barbed
at the tip, is shot out and the bOrer
! is speared and snatched from It's
resting place.
AS insects increase with the com
ing of warmer weather, birds re-
turn from the South to fight them.
| One watches the cheerful robin hop
ping over the lawn He listens an
instant, then pokes his bill deep
into the ground Up comes his
head and he has captured a worm
The flicker, though a woodpecker,
is an immitator Of the robin. He
Is fond of ants and his big bill
makes a good pick to dig them
from their hills. Meadow larks
and quail live entirely ON insects
found close to the ground. Were
these birds strictly protected in the
Southwest instead Of being hunted
the boil weevil might not have
things so much his own way in the
cotton fields.
The trees, when in foliage, are
full of birds. Small warble1s and
viroes take care Of eggs and little
worms, while thrushes. orioles and
catbirds attend to those of larger
size. The rose breasted grosbeak
earns the right to favor by the way
he eats potato bugs. Some birds
cannot eat hairy caterpillers, but
they are a choice delicacy to the
chuckoo, which slips quietly
through the trees as it hunts for
/ them.
Insects ON the wing are not safe /;
for swallows and swifts in rapid
| flight skim back and forth over the
meadows, and, without pausing,
catch many "A small gnat. The
birds called tiycatchers also take
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