The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-09-25
WELCOME THE THRUsHEs
These Birds Do the Farmer Little Harm and Much
 Good.

That thrushes-the group of birds in which are included robins and bluebirds-do a great deal. of good and very little harm to agriculture, is tors of the United States Departm ent of Agriculture who have carefully studied the food habits of these birds. Altogether there are within the limits of the United States eleven species of thrushes, five of which are birds. The other six include the Townsend solitaire, the wood, the veery, the gray-cheek, the oIive-bac and the hermit thrushes.
 The robins and bluebirds nest close to houses, and even the shyest of the other species are content with the se- c1usion of an acre or two of wood land or swamp. For this reason the, thrushes are among the best known and most carefully protected of na- tive American birds, and at times their numbers become so great that it is feared they will do much harm to crops and fruit. <~ The recent in vestigations of the Department of Ag- ricultures however show that there is very little ground for this fear. On thes other hand, they destroy such a vast number of insects each year, that it is probable that without them many crops would suffer serious dam age.
 Of all the thrushes. the robin is probably the best known. It has been fredtently accused of destroying fruits and berries, but it has now been ascertained that this only occurs in regions that are so thickly settled that there is no wild fruit upon which the robin may subsist. In some years the bird is a great pest in the olive or chards of California, but It IS propa- bIe that without them many crops VUO11Td SI1ffer Seri0IIS damage.
 Of all the thrl1shes, the robin is probably the best known. It has been frequently accused of destroying fruits and berries, but it has now been ascertained that this only oc- CUTS in regions that are. so thickIy settled that there is wild fruit upon which. the robin may ssubsist. In some years the bird is a great pest in the olive orchards of California, but it is probable that they are driven to the orchards because of the scarcity of native berries at these times. Where wild fruit is available, the birds seem to prefer this to the cul- tivated varieties.
 Like the robin. the b1uebird is very domestic, but unlike the robin, it does not prey upon any cultivated pro- duct or work any injury whatsoever to the fruit grower During the fruit season, in fact, fYe-sixths of its fo od consists of insects. It seems, there fore, that the common practice of en- courag ging the b1uebird to nest near houses by placing convenient boxes in which it may build it's home is thor oughly justified.
 4 detaNed description of the habits of the robins and bIuebirds is con tained in Bulletin No. III of the United States Department of Agricul- tture Bulletin No. 280, which has just been published, takes up the ha bits of the six other species of the thrush group, which are not quite so we'll known These birds also feed principally on insects and fruit, but a great portion of the fruit which they consume is wild berries. Do- me5tic fruits are eaten so sparingly bv these species that the damage done is quite negligible.
 The bird known as the Townsend solitaire is noted chiefly for it's song which is said to be at times the finest of any of the thrush family. This thrush, however. confines itself aI- most entirely to the mountains and gorges of the far west. The wood thrush on the other hand, is dis tributed over the eastern part of the United States, and is 9 freQuenter of open groves and bushy pastures This thrush also is noted for its sweet song, especially ideF1e early evening" It does not nest |"in gardens or or chards, however, and is seldom seen about farm buildings, so that many people who are familiar with it's song would not know the bird by sight. The wood thrush consumes a number~of very harmful insects such as the Col