The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1909-07-09
Value OF Birds to tho Farmers.

Il
! Complaints often come from farmers
of the damage done by certain birds,
but before birds as class are con-
demned it might be we'll to examine
| the stomachs of few to see what they
are feeding upon. In this way the
farmer can readily ascertain which
birds are benefit and which a detri-
ment.
1t must not be forgotten that, no mat
ter what the parent birds feed on, they
must provide insect food for their
young, and in seeking this food birds
do not consider If they are benefiting
the farmer or not. In this search they
are apt to gather some of our friends as
well as many of our enemies.
In the spring birds very often feed on
injurious beetles, as at that time they
are about the only insect food avail
able. At times birds are compelled to
discriminate in the kind of insects they
consume, for the reason that some are
not so easily caught, and not because
! they can discriminate between the in
furious ones to the farmer.
The king bird has been accused of be-
ing injurious, as he has habit of
catching bees, and yet an examination
of his stomach will prove that it con-
tains more injurious insects than bees.
The redwing blackbird eats many seeds
Of noxious weeds, when a supply of
grain can easily be found, and the
robin, though considered grain eater,
destroys many seeds and berries of
noxious weeds and plants. The Colo
RADIO potato beetle has been found in the
stomach of these varieties of birds. The
grosbeak feeds largely on the potato
bug, but this variety of bird is very
scarce in this section of the country.
The best bird friend the fruit grower
has is the woodpecker. which feeds on
the beetles that infest trees, and also on
ants that are found on trees. The blue
jay lives on the tent caterpillar in win
ter. Nearly half of the food of the
cuckoo consists of caterpillars of various
kinds. Prof. F. E. L. Beal gives an in
stance of where $50 specimens of cater
pillars were found in the stomach of
single cuckoo. This bird feeds 80 largely
on the fuzzy caterpillar that the fuzz
has been known to pierce the stomach
and the inner lining of the stomach has
been thoroughly covered with this fuzz.
Prof. Beal of the New Jersey State
horticultural Society says great COM
plant has been made of birds destroy
ing fruit and grain, but, on investi-
cation, it has been found that the birds
have been so abundant that each ones
eating a small quantity amounts to a
great deal in the aggregate; yet, there
has been found but little in the stom-
ach of each, and they were doing more
good than harm, the weed seeds
amounting to 81 per cent. of their food
1t is hard to strike balance as if
bird eats quart of berries and also a
quart of injurious insects, no man can
tell the harm that might have been
done by the insects and their progeny,
while we can put a market value on the
fruit. What the horticulturist Is de-
handing is general lowering of this
injurious insect life. In no better way
can this be done than by encouraging
the increase of birds by providing suit
able resting places and by protecting
them in every way.
The English sparrow, imported from
another country, was not very bene-
fetal bird in its natural home, and on
being transferred to new environments
has become an injurious species here
1t is not desirable to import foreign
species to this country, as it has proved
to be failure wherever attempted
Protect our own birds, which every
farmer can do on his own premises if he
will .-Philadelphia Record
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