Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-05-14

grubs and other noxious insects. The
flicker or yellowhammer runs its long
bill into an ants nest and collects in
sects on its sticky tongue. 1t is
thought ants compose half its food; rs
many as 5000 have been taken from
one stomach. These birds do some
harm and the yellow bellied wood
pecker or sap-sucker has bad habit
of baking series of holes around limbs
of fruit trees. In fruit growing reg
lions this species may be positively IN
furious. The little black and white
spotted, downy woodpecker, often
found about cur dooryard trees, espec-
tally in winter. is one of the most bene-
fetal species 1t destroys cooling moth
pupae on the bark of apple trees.
| The Nighthawk-Thi bird does no
harm and feeds entirely on insects,
(which it catches on the wing. -Four
Inighthawks had. respectively, 60, IS,
l22 and 10 grasshoppers in their stom-
Iachs. AS many as 1000 winged ants
have been taken from one bird, and
10000 ants were found in the stom-
achs of 81 nighthawks.
The King Bird or Bee Martin-This
NOISY, alert member of the fycatcher
family acts somewhat as a policeman
lby keeping away such large birds as
hawks and crows. 1t does little harm
in catching bees, which were found in
The bulk of their food is noXious in
lsects.
The Bluejay-The bluejay is friend
lof the farmer, although it eats some
corn and does little other mischief
The food of nearly 800 buejays, taken
Estates. showed that nearly quarter
of it was insects. mostly harmful ones
lGrasshoppers, caterpillars and beetle.
constitute nearly two-thirds of the
food taken in August.
Observation-Disclosures appear to dc
much damage to the corn for a shor
time in the fall, but during the res
of the year they do much good by eat
ing insects. The examination of sew
Ieral thousand stomachs by the United
States biological survey showed larg'
numbers of white grubs, cutworm
and grasshoppers.
Meadow Larll-The meadow lark il
one of the most beneficial of all bird
To the farmer 1t is estimated it save:
, $1.20 a season by killing grasshopper
J alone.
\ The II common sparrows are al
beneficial except the English sparrow
The rose-breasted grosbeak is an i'm
, portant enemy of the Colorado potat,
: beetle. They have been seen to gorg
themselves with potato beetles unit
they could scarcely fly.
The cardinal groSbeak or common
redbird is a valuable insect destroyer
The Swallows-The several specie
of swallows, including the large pun
lple martin, are among the most valua
: BILE insect destroyers. The Englisl
sparrow drives them away and de
; stroys their young and eggs and man
farmers pull down their nests. The
eat very little that is of value to tn
farmer and are especially adapted TO
captuTing insects in midair.
|
unless there is enough wild fruit, bu
it offsets this by destroying ants, bee
ties, caterpillars and grasshoppers.
, The Brown Thrush-Dr. S. A. FOrbe
studied the food eaten by 80 thrushe
Tor brown thrushes) shot in Illinois
land says: Insects amount to abou
half of the food for each month eXcep
May, when they raise to threefourth:
and in July, when they drop to one
fourth June beetles, curculios, ant
and some caterpillars were found.
The robin destroys great many il
sects, and in this way undoubtedl
lpays for the fruit it eats except in II
sions where a great deal of fruit
raised. 1t will eat wild fruit instea
if such can be found. DR.. Forbes foun
lrObins eating cutworms extensively i
lsprinS.-ProfeSsor 7. l.. Hankinso:
Illinois Farmers Institute, Springfield
An Entry For the Derby.