The Holly chieftain., 1921-12-01

house rats, together with a sufficient u
number of other small mammals to
make an average Of almost three to
the pellet, and probably to the meal. In 592 pei
lets collected in California there were found skulls
and other traces Of 281 pocket gophers, IA field
mice, 1874 pocket mice, IA deer mice, so harvest
mice, $50 kangaroo rats and 215 house mice. These
items make 1t clear that the barn owl is constantly
doing work Of great value to agriculture Its serv-
ices typical Of those Of hawks and owls in gen
eral Owls us group have long been prosecuted
by man, but never has persecution been more un.
just The hawks and owls are not the only suffer-
ers, however, for when their numbers are greatly
reduced in any community, farmers will be forcfby
reminded of the fact by great increase In the
number of destructive rodents.
Among the most praiseworthy birds are the
cuckoos. The most widely distributed species, the
yellow-billed and black-billed cuckOOs usually keep
out of sight. but are well known by their strange
notes, which have earned them the name "rain
crow" The cuckoos feed very largely on caterpil-
lars, and subsist to larger extent than most of
our birds on the hairy and spiny kinds. One stom-
ach contained $50 tent caterpillars and another
PIT fall web-worms The cuckoos are fond also
of grasshoppers, sawfy larvae, plant bugs, and
other injurious insects.
The large and important woodpecker family in
cludes "a species in the United States, most of
them highly beneficial. They are the chief de-
tenders of trees against insect attack, most Of
them being specialized to feed upon wood-boring
larvae, pests preyed upon by few other birds. From
10 to 80 per cent Of the annual diet of various
species Is made up of ants, which almost uni
formiy injurious. The fiickers or syellow-ha
iners" especially assiduous destroyers of ants
one of these birds being known to have taken more
than 1900 at a single meal.
group of birds, which. though diverse In ap-
pearance are related In essential characters, in
cludes the chuck-wiil ils-widows, whippoor1yills,
poor-wis, nighthawks. swifts and hummIng birds
All are almost strictly insect eaters and conse-
quenty beneficial The larger ones feed extensive
ly upon leaf-chafers. the larvae of which Including
the well-known whitesgrubs. are. very destructive
The nighthawks take considerable of the same sort
Of food but in common with the swifts, capture
great variety of small Insects. more than so diff
ferent kinds having been found in single stomachs
represented In some cases by thousands of indvid-
uals.
One of our families Of birds gets its popular
name "fycatcher" from the insect-eating nature
of its Species 81 Of which live In the United States
including such birds the spectacular scissor-tail,
the bold dashing kingbird, and the more quiet and
domestic phoebe. On the average 05 per cent of
the food of these birds has been found to consist
of insects The rOse-chafer, a species not only de-
structive to vegetation but known to be poisonous
to chickens and pheasants is freely eaten by the
kingbrd. Several fiycatchers have the reputation
has been shown that they take mostly drones, and
Furthermore. that they eat enough enemies OF bees
as robberles, to pay for all the domestic bees they
take.
The jays, crows and ravens have always been
severely criticized, and 1t must be admitted that
on the whole the criticism is justified. About the
best that can be said for birds Of this family is
that on the average they do about as much good
as harm. 1t would seem good policy to accord
them the same treatment long given the common
crow-the crow is not especially prosecuted,
neither is 1t protected Thus while the birds are
allowed to exist In reasonable numbers for the sake
of the good they do, the way Is left open for ag-
gressive measures against them when necessary.
In the case Of this family, as of all destructive
birds, damage is the result Of Overabun dance.
The damage done by the blackbrds is conspic-
uousy the result Of over-population. The damage
sometimes is serious, and protection Of these spe
cies Is not recommended. In the same family with
the blackbirds however, are such birds as orioles
and meadowlarks, and these do much more good
than HARM
The great sparrow family, comprising almost