The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1912-04-26
INTRODUCTION
OF BIRDS
tContlnued From Page Nine,

! well performed by other species. 3"
Prof. jerks devised the system of ali.
mentary analysis which has been
much used in the study Of the habits
of birds The Biological Survey was
first organized in 1885, and from first
to last 300 or more papers have APP
/ peared of more or less value These
form the bulk of the work done on
the mainland, however. is OF direct
use in considering the problems of Ha-
wall, for the obvious reason that her
problems are her own and very pecul-
lar to the group.
The three methods of studying the
food of birds need not be discussed
here, since they are the usual meth
DDS of asCeTtaining the kind and
amount of food consumed BY their
use ornithologtsts have definitely
shown that practically all of the in
| juI.oas insects on the mainland have
their enemies among the birds, and
that often the amount of insect food
consumed it enormous. Owing to the
active nature of birds they demand
large quantities of food. 1t has been
shown that sixteen canaries Ckept by
Stanley ate one-sixth their weight
daily, Herrrick observed three young
red-winged blackbirds to be fed forty
times in four hours; four young king
mir IN,
four hours, four young song sparrows
were fed seventeen times in four
hours, four young song sparrows were
fed seventeen grasshopper nymphs
and two 5piders in sixty-seven min
utes, while a house wren made one
hundred and ten visits to her nest in
four and a half hours and fed one
hundred and eleven insects and spid-
ers to her young.
The relation of insect outbreaks
and the damage done by them to
crops huctuates greatly To ohviate
this a check should be provided by ma
lture that would be always at hand
and ready to feed on any new pest
that appears, without being too par
ticular as to the exact family and spe-
cies to which the pest belongs. Birds
meet the requirement better than any
other animal They are alert and &C
tive and mounted on swift wings. In
more than one instance they have
proven their ability to work together
for the common good. Two illustra7
lions selected almost at random from
published data are given to show the
way bird control works out on the
, mainland.
An observation conducted by Forbes
in an orchard badly infested with
canker worms is of interest. He shot
and examined oNe hundred forty-OHt
specimens. OF tie thirty-6Ye species
he found that twenty-siX sIecies had
been eating canker worms and eighty
five specimens, that is seventy-twc
per cent of the species and sixty pei
cent. of the specimens, had eaten the
worms. OF the entirel OF thirty-tivt
per cent. of their food consisted OF
the canker worms. He compared this
result with the normal May food OF
the birds and found that birds OF
varying sizes and habits had migrated
to the outbreak; that wrens, blue jays
meadow larFs, etc, etc, were among
them; that in addition to the cankeT
worms a sufficient per cent OF their
normal food of different kinds had
been eaten to prevent its increase;
and that with one exception birds
eating worms had simply added the
canker worm to the ration.
Prof. Aughey at the time of the red
legged locust outbreak in Nebraska
found all the birds from the humming
bird to the white pelican had done
their best to suppress the outbreak
Six robins had eaten 265; one olive
backed thrush, So; five cat birds, 1852;
one ruby-crowned kinglet, 20 locust5
and so on through long list; the
palm going to four cuckoos that had
devoured 416 locusts among them.
These and other examples that can
be cited leaves no doubt as to the
good intentions of our feathered
friends, and the facts seem to war
rant the belief that they put their
good intentions into practice.
The relation of birds to predaceous
and parasitic insects is of interest es-
pecially in Hawaii. | am aware that
DR.. Walsh and others have pronounc-
ed birds as of doubtful economic va
lue, but there is a general belief that
the error made by Walsh and his fol
lowers was one of basing their cen
J illusions on too narrow a view of the
role played by birds in the economy
of nature. All agree with Weed and
Dearborn that it was unfair to clas-
sify birds as injurious, beneficial All