The Raymer enterprise., 1916-06-01


NJ n deer ploser. chimney swift. buebird.
w downy woodpecker. phoebe, chickadee.
HN n barn swallow. purple martin and chip
MI ping sparrow
1 Having given the names OF the ten
birds over whose good deeds should
rejoice the ornithologst said. "But the list is
longer There arc other birds and many OF
them that work as hard or nearly as hard for
man as those which I have named Between
30 and 40 species there is small room for choice
bnt LET the ten stand because the list perhaps
cannot be improved upon"
Later the scientist wanted to hedge a little
Tor ne said that there were some birds OF prey
which at least should have place side by side
with the famliara OF orchard and garden to
which he had given first rank The cause OF the
birds OF prey. however, has been pleaded before
Inc barn owl. the sparrow hawk and some
others have been given their credit marks but
=" " 10 he doubted perhaps, n anything which
e2ih DC said In behalf OF n predatory one which
oecasiohaiy picks up chicken will serve To
save Its life when It Is caught In the act OF lar
ceny. Not one OF the birds In the Table of Ten
u thief Honest. wellmeaning cheerful and
Tor the most part neghborly. they go through
the'r lives working. which means eating In order
ina, mar more fully may reap what he has sown.
II ls admittedly probable that some close stu.
NN"'' VI 'uf Hhuit5 DI DlTuH may dispute the &C
euracy OF the list as II Is given but 1t Is not
likely that anyone who has watched the daily
operations of these friends in feathers from night
hawk to chipping sparrow will be able to prove
ehat 80 much as one black mark should be entered
On the daily records OF their lives
By their anpetites ye shal know them. A bird
is good or bad from the agricnltursts viewpoint
according to what and how much II eats. This
is plain tale OF the birds bill Of fare II Is
lucky. perhaps. for the sonesters as well as for
the hnncless ones. that tho birds of the best
tnSas OF life are well known by sight to all
Americans The trouble that the bird protectors
have found lies almost wholly In the fact that
the habits OF birds not as well known as
the birds themselves
" was DR. A. Il, Fisher OF the Biological Sur.
sey who named the ten most useful birds He
Is In charge OF economic investigations" In the
bureau OF the Biological Survey of the Depart
ment OF Agriculture. In the bureau are kept
the bird records, The papers In the pigeon holes
In part read like the catalogues OF seed store
and the collection lists OF an entomologlst One
can say OF the birds that seeds and insects form
the chief OF their diet"
To go TO the mammals for figure of speech
IL has taken years OF closest work and field work
to separate the sheep from the goats In the
bird world there are many more sheep than there
are goats. but the Job OF separation has been
hard In the little flock OF best friends OF the
farmer there are only two birds which, perhaps
arc not well known to all suburban dwellers The
two the kdeer pover and the yellow billed
cuckoo. The nghthawk. which heads the list
Is. or ought to be. known to everybody. or course
II is not a hawk at all and the name by which
II Is known In the North ern states has hurt IT,
Paraphraslng II might be said Give bird a
h.uA.
states the hghthawk Is known as the bull.bat
In the fall and winter II Is killed ruthlessly and
10 no purl,se except that of so-called sport. for
1t Is useleis, or virtually useless ab food
Eighthasks are wholly lnsectvorous They do
no damage to crops. =. T. L. Beal who has
made field studies for the Biological Survey OF
The dietary of virtually all the commoner birds.
Gays Of the food of the nighthawk True bugs.
moths. flies. grasshoppers and criekets are IN.
portant elements OF It's food Several species OF
mosquitoes including the transmitter OF malaria
are eaten Other well-known pests consumed
by the nighthawk are Colorado potato beetles.
cucumber beetles, rice. clover.eaf and cotton.
boil weevlls. bill bugs bark beetles squash bugs
and moths OF the cotton worm"
The killdeer plover Is one OF the noisy birds
A part OF Its Latin name Is 'voclferus" which
speaks for itself While the kIlldeer ordinarily
ts accounted game bird II Is poor eating. The
good that II does should save II from persecu.
tion: but gunners are not apt to discriminate.
and so the killdeer frequently suffers This bird
lives In the open country. More than 90 per
cent OF its food consists OF animal matter The
record shows Beetles 37,6e per cent; other in.
scots. as grasshoppers caterpillars. ants. bugs.
caddis files. dragon files and two-winged flies.
Se.A per cent. and other invertebrates as cent?.
pedos. spiders ticks, oyster worms. earthworms.
spxils, crabs and other crustacea. 21i2 per cent.
yeretable matter eomposes e2s per cent OF the
totai foQ1. and 10 chiefly made up Of weedseeds.
80 - hp(tcnWeed. smartweed. foxta grass and
1lSi3l ~ aihifA wsevi. new and de-