The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-08-28
THE GROsBEAK.
A Friend of the Farmer Deserving of
Protection.
(Hartford Courant.)

The grosbeak is very much malign-
ed bird and instead of being destruc-
tive to crops he is, on the contrary,
of great benefit, according to Farmers
Bulletin 456, just issued by Secretary
Wilson. The bulletin states that sew
en- kinds of finches, commonly known
as the. grosbeak, summer within our
boundaries. A majority of these are
good friends of the farmer and de-
serve to be widely known in order
that their services may be apprec1at-
ed The grosbeaks are easily dis
tinguished from other finches by their
stout form, bright plumage, massive
bills, and melodious voices. Two Of
them live mainly in cold, mountain
Gus areas and have little to do with
farms or with the insects that prey
upon crops, and these may be dismiss
ed without further notice. The other
five live largely in agricultural re-
about cultivated lands. They perform
invaluable service in destroying GER
tain of our worst insect pests. -
The rose-breasted species is a great
destroyer Of the potato bug. He
breeds over Kansas and the mountains
Of Tennessee. The Investigations OF
the department show that the bird is
fond of green peas, but invariably
consumes enough injurious insects, to
more than offset the damage. He
has become famous for his preying on
the Colorado potato beetle and no less
than one-tenth Of the total food it
consumes has been proven to be the
Der beetle 1t has proven an active
enemy of the Rocky Mountain locust
during that Insects ruinous invasions,
and among the other pests it consumes
are the spring and fall cankerworms.
orchard and forest tent caterpillars.
tussock, gypsy, and brown tail moths,
plum curculo, army worm, and chinch
bug. In fact. states the bulletin, it
attacks the worst enemies of agricul-
ture.
The cardinal or redbird species ran
ges from southern Mexico, Lower
California and Arizona north to Iowa
and Ontario, and east to the Atlantic
coast. They are permanent residents
spending the summer and winter in
the same locality. 1t has been claim
ed that they pull sprouting grain, but
no evidence of damage to either grain
Or other crops is shown from over 500
examinations (of stomachs). On the
contrary they do much good. They
feed on locusts, periodical cfcada, the
Colorado potato beetle. the rose cha
fer, cotton worm, plum Or cherry
scale, the zebra caterpillar of the cab
bage, the cucumber beetles, billbugs,
locust flea-beetle, corn-ear worm, est
ton cutform, southern fig-eater, cod
ling moth and boil weevil, and, in
addition are great consumers of in
furious weed seeds. The black-headed
grosbeak halls from southern Mexico
and invades North Dakota and Ne
braska 1t fills the same place in
the West that the rosebreast does in
the East. 1t is a foe to. the worst
pests of horticulture, the scale insect
a fourth of it's food.
IL. IL
southern two-tIirds Of tbs rTrs--a
States and rs greatly destructive co
weevils, grasshoppers, locusts, cater
pillars and worms.
The grey grosbeak inhabits Texas.
Arizona and New Mexico 1t is a |
consistent enemy Of the boil weevil
and cotton worm. It also consumes |
great quantities of harmful weed |
seeds
. The bulletin winds up with a plea !
for the protection of the grosbeak |
md saxs; Few of our birds are to