Norwich bulletin., 1915-05-08
OPINIONS AS TO THE VALUE OF BIRDS

a large cage until the following May.
 During the spring I offered them every
 kind of insect I could find and even
 withheld all other food for AS hours,
 yet could not coax them to eat any
 kind of insect.
 I have examined contents of crops
 and gizzards of quail under magnify
 ing glass many times, and have in no
 instance found remains of insect food.
 Their food consists largely of foh-
 age. such as clover, sorrel, grass,
 wintergTeen, sweet fern, etc, and some grain, weedseeds, acorns, chest
 nuts,
 This is testimony at first hand, and is very strong. At the same time, it is negative testimony, in a sense. So far as this correspondents test on his
 quail goes, it is conclusive. That
 bunch didn't eat bugs and couldn't be made to eat bugsi But, if another man finds other quail eating insects and their crops and gizzards filled with them, his testimony must, also, De taken into consideration. It won't quite do to dismiss all other witness es as liars because their observations do not agree with ours. The famous shield of the fable had two sides. Per haps Bob White has two sides, like wise. I believe my correspondent is telling the exact truth when he re- ports his observations. I can't doubt that such men as E. H. Forbush, state ornithologist of Massachusetts, Dr. E. P. Felt. state entomologist of New York, and Dr. Sylvester Judd of the national Bureau of Biological Survey are also telling the truth about their observations. As to the quails Dr. Judd says in his bulletin on 'the Bob white and other Quails of the United States in their Economic Relations" :-
 "The Bobwhite is preeminentTy seed-eater, 52.87 per cent. of it's food for the year consisting of seeds * Notwithstanding statements to the the BobWhite eats insects in every month of the year. They form 15.05 Der cent of its entire food for the year, From June to August, inclusive when insects are most numerous, their proportion in the food is 35.97 per cent. Moreover, the large proportion of in furious insects habitually eaten rem ders the services of this bird more val uable than those of many birds whose percentage of insect food though greater, includes smaller proportion of injurious species. Conspicuous among the pests destroyed are the Colorado potato beetle, 12-spotted cu- cumber beetle, bean leaf beetle, squash lady bird, wire worms and May bee ties. From June to August, inclusive, insects and their allies form, as prev 1ously stated, about one-third of their food. Of this beetles make up nearly half, or 15.37 percent, bugs 8.5 per cent, caterpillars 1.37 per cent, grass hoppers 6.93 per cent, miscellaneous insects 1.33 per cent, and spiders and other invertebrates 2.43 per cent''
 Now, these figures are derived from the examination of hundreds and of Bobwhite crops and gig zards from all parts of the country and m all seasons of the year. I cannot bring myself to consider such state ments, following such long and pains taking and. widespread investigation, as 'nature-faking''. They are simply positive testimony as to what certain trained observers have actually found That other equally honest observers have failed to find similar testimony In other cases does not, necessarily, impeach the affirmative witnesses. When Lawrence Bruner in his mono graph on Nebraska Birds notes the finding of 101 Colorado potato beetles in single Bobwhite's crop, I am strongly inclined to believe that he tells the truth: should so believe, even though I personally had failed to find a single beetle in a dozen crops A dozen witnesses who didn't see a crime committed cannot offset the testimony of the one who did see it.
 My correspondent asks: Have you ever seen any evidence that any birds eat tent caterpillars ?"
 hrofbay 6ax1o