The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-08-08
Common Birds
Of Farms and Orchards

A"A vi kILS SSSOo I'll
weeds. Selecting a typical member of
the group, the tree sparrow, for in
stance, o~ne-fourth ounce of weed seed
per day is a conservative estimate of
the 1000 of an adult. On this basis, in
a large agricultural state like Iowa tree
sparrows annually eat approximately
S75 tons of weed seeds, Only the farm
er upon whose shoulders falls the
heaVy burden of freeing his land of
noxious weeds can realize what this
vast consumption Of deed seeds means
IN the saving and cost of labor. Some
ldea Of the money value of this group
OF birds to the. country may be gained
from the statement that the total
value Of the farm products in the
United States in, 1910, reached the
amazing sum of $8,926, 900, 600. If we
estimate that the total consumption of
weed seed by the combined members
or the sparrow family resulted in a
saving Of only l per cent of the crors
hot a violent consumption-+the sum
saved to farmers by. these birds, in 1910
was $S9,260, 600. 9g@
The current idea in relation to
hawks and owls is erroneous. These
olrds are generally classed as thieves
and robbers whereas a large majority
OF them are the farmers friends and
spend the greater part of their long
lives in pursuit of injurious insects
and rodents. The hawks work by day,
the wis chiefly by night, so that the
useful activities of the two classes are
continued practically throughout the
tWenty-four hours. AS many as 100
grasshoppers have been found in the
stomach Of a Swainson's hawk, repre-
Sentlng a single meal; and in the re-
treat OF a pair Of barn owls have been
found more than 5000 skulls, 81 per
cent OF which were of mammals, the
DOIk consisting nf Ha11 raioa h1,.z-
mice, and common rats. Nearly half a
pushel of the remains of pocket GO
phers-animals which are very de-
structlve in certain parts-of the United
States-Was found near a nest of this
species. The notable Increase of nox-
ious rodents during the last few years
In certain parts of the United States
and the consequent damage to crons
are Que In no small part to the dimin-
lshed lumber of birds of prey, which
Formerly destroyed them and aided in
keeping down their numbers. A few
haWks are Injurious, and the bulk Of
the d~epredations on birds and chickens
manageable against hawks is commit
tea by three species-the Cooper's
hawk, the sharp Skinned hawk, and
the goshawk. The farmers boy should
learn to know these daring robbers by
ight SO as to kill them whenever pos
sible. ~
From the foregoing 1t will at once
appear that the practice of Offering
bounties fndiscriminately for the heads
OF W and owls, as has been done
py some states, is a serious mistake,
the result being not only a waste Of
public funds but the destruction Of
valuable birds which can be replaced,
IL at all, only after the lapse Of wears.
AS a rule birds do not live very long,
nut they i've fast. They breathe rap
IDLY and have 81 higher temperature
and a more rapid circulation than any
other vertebrates. This is a fortunate
circumstance, since to generate the
requisite force to sustain their active
pod1eS a large quantity of food is nec-
essary, and as a matter of fact birds
nave to devote most of their waking
hours 10 obtaining insects, seeds, ber-
RES, and other kinds of food. The ac-
tlVlty Of birds in the pursuit Of insects
is still further stimulated by the fact
that ne young of most species, ever
those which are by no means strictly
ln~sectiYorous require great quantities
q animal food In the early weeks OF
existence, sc that during the summer
months--the flood time Of insect life
pMus are cofapelleds TO fedouble their
ATTACKS Eon Our insecGf foes to satisfy
the wants of their aclan1orous 5young.
Field observations Of the food habits
OF blfds serve a useful purpose. but
Lhey are rarely accurate nough to be
Iully reliable. The presence Of certain
pros IN a corn or wheat field or in an
orchard is by no means proof, az is tod
oIten assumed, that they are devastat-
ing the grain or fruit. They may have
peen attracted by insects which. nm
knoWn to the farmer or or%chardist. are
Iast running his crop. Hence 1T has
peen round necessary to examine the
stomachs and crops of birds to ascer-.
taln definitely what and how much
they eat. The biological survey has M
this way examined upward Of 30. 900
blrds, most OF which have been obtains
ed during the last Twenty-Five Years
from scientific collectors, for our birds
are TOO useful to be sacrificed when IA
can possibly be avoided, even for the
sake OF obtaining data upon which to
base legislation for their protection.
~ Is interesting to observe that hum
Egry birds-arld birds are hungry most
sof the tinne-are not content to fili
their stornachs with insects or seeds
after the stomach is stuffed untilSit
VIII hold no more continue to eat TIT
the crop OF outlet also is cranlIned.S.
It is often the case that when tie
stomach is opened and the contents
Piled Up the pileis two or three times
az large as the stomach was when
filed. Birds may truly be said fo
have healthy appetites. To show the
astonishing capacity OF birds stofn-
achs and to reveal the extent to- which
man is Indebted to birds for the de-
isfructio1i OF noxious insects, the fol-
lowing facts are given as learned by