The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1915-11-05
OUR NATIVE THRUSHES.
We Have Eleven Species and All Are
Friends of the Farmer.


Friends of the Farmer.
Prepared by United States department Of
agriculture
Altogether there are within the limits
of the United States eleven species Of
thrusles, five Of which are commonly
known rs robins and bluebirds The
other six include the Townsend soil
taire, the wood the yeery the gray
cheek. the olive back and the hermit
thrush.
The robins and bluebirds nest close
to houses, and even the shiest of the
other species are content with the Sc
cluSion Of an acre or two Of woodland
or swamp. For this reason the thrush
es are among the best known and most
carefully protected of native American
birds, and at times their numbers be-
come SO great that it is feared they
will do much harm to crops and fruit
The Investigations of the department
of agriculture however, show that
there is very little ground for this fear
On the other hand, they destroy such .
vast number Of insects each year that
it is probable That without them many
crops would suffer serious damage.
OF all the thrushes the robin is prob
ably the best known 1t has been fire.
quently accused of destroying fruits
and berries. but it has now been ascer-
tanned 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 orchards of
California, but it is prol lat they
are driven to the @ ecause OF
the scarcity of native berries at these
times. Where a wild fruit is available
the birds seem to prefer it to the culti-
waited varieties.
Like the robin, the buebird is very
domestic; but, unlike the robin it does
not prey upon any cultivated product
or work any injury whatever TO the
fruit grower During the fruit season,
in fact fye-sixths of its food consists
Of insects. 1t seems, therefore that the
common practice of encouraging the
bluebird to nest near houses 10y placing
convenient boxes in which it may build
its home is thoroughly justified
The six other species Of the thrush
group also feed principally on insects
and fruit, but great portion of the
fruit which they consume is wild ber-
ries. Domestic fruits are eaten so spar
ingly by these species that the damage
done is quite negligible
The bird known as the Townsend
40 f-o to aI,t r., IT,
which is said to be at times the finest
of any OF the thrush family. This
thrush, however, confines itself almost
entirely to the mountains and gorges of
the far west The wood thrush, on the
other hand, is distributed over the east
ern part of the United States and is
frequenter of open groves and bushy
pastures This thrush also is noted for
it's sweet song. especially in the early
evening. 1t does not nest in gardens or
orchards, however and is seldom seen
about farm buildings so that many
people who are familiar with its song
would not know the bird by sight The
wood thrush consumes a number of
very harmful insects such as the Colo
rado potato beetle and white grubs.
The fruit which it eats it usually picks
up from the ground instead of taking
fresh from the trees. There is there
fore no reason why the wood thrush
should not be rigidly protected.
The other varieties also seem to eat
little that is of value to farmers. while,
on the other hand. they destroy multi
tudes of harmful insects each year.