Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 166, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 July 1916 — Common American Birds [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Common American Birds

Interesting Information about them supplied by the Bureau of Biological t Survey of the 1 United States of

Bluebird Slalia stalls Length, about six and one-half Inches. Range: Breeds in the United States (west to Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana), southern Canada, Mexico, and Guatemala; winters In the southern half of the eastern United States and south to Guatemala. Habits and economic status: The bluebird is one of the most familiar tenants of the farm and dooryard. Everywhere it is hailed as the harbinger of spring, and wherever it chooses to reside it is sure of a warm welcome. This bird, like the robin, phoebe, house wren, and some swallows, is very domestic in its habits. Its favorite nesting sites are crannies in the farm buildings or boxes made for its use or natural cavities In old apple trees. For rent thb bird pays amply by destroying insects, and it takes no toll from the farm crop. The bluebird’s diet consists of 68 per cent of insects to 32 per cent of vegetable matter. The largest items of Insect food are grasshoppers first and beetles next, while caterpillars stand third. All of these are harmful except a few of the beetles. The vegetable food consists chiefly of fruit pulp, only an

insignificant portion of which is of cultivated varieties. Among wild fruits elderberries are the favorite. From the above it will be seen that the bluebird does no essential harm, but on the contrary eats many harmful and annoying insects.

English Sparrow Passer domesticus Length, about six and one-fourth inches. Its incessant chattering, quarrelsome disposition, and abundance and familiarity about human habitations distinguish it from our native sparrows. Range: Resident throughout the United States and southern Canada. Habits and economic status: Almost universally condemned since its Introduction into the United States* the English sparrow has not only held its own, but has ever Increased in numbers and extended its range in spite of all opposition. Its habit of driving out or even killing more beneficial species and the defiling of buildings by its droppings and by its own unsightly structures, are serious objections to this sparrow. Moreover, in rural districts, it is destructive to grain, peas, beans, and other vegetables. On the other hand, the bird feeds to some extent on a large num-

ber of insect pests, and this fact points to the need of a new investigation of the present economic status of the species, especially as it promises to be of service in holding in check the newly Introduced alfalfa weevil, which threatens the alfalfa industry in Utah and neighboring states. In cities most of the food of the English sparrow is waste material secured from, the streets.

Downy Woodpecker Dryobates pubescent Length, six inches. Our smallest woodpecker; spotted with black and white. Dark bars on the outer tail feathers distinguish it from the similarly colored but larger hairy woodpoCk6F. Range: Resident in the United States and the forested parts of Canada and Alaska. Habits and economic status: This woodpecker is commbnly distributed, living in woodland tracts, orchards, and gardens. The bird has several characteristic hotes, and» like the hairy woodpecker, is fond of beating on a dry resonant tree branch a tattae which to appreciative oars has the 0

quality of woodland music. In a hole . excavated In a dead branch the downy woodpecker lays four to six eggs. Thia and the hairy woodpecker are among our most valuable allies, their food consisting of some of the worst foes of orchard and woodland, which the woodpeckers are especially equipped to dig out of dead and living wood. In the examination

of 723 stomachs of this bird, animal food, mostly insects, was found to constitute 76 per cent of the diet and vegetable matter 24 per cent. The animal food consists largely of beetles that bore into timber or burrow under the bark. Caterpillars amount to 16 per cent of the food and include many especially harmful species. Grasshopper eggs are freely eaten. The vegetable food of the downy woodpecker consists of small fruit and seeds, mostly of wild species. It distributes seeds of poison ivy, or poison oak, which is about the only fault of this very useful bird.

Chipping Sparrow Splzella passarina , Length, about five and one-fourth inches. Distinguished by the chestnut crown, black line through eye, and black bill. Range: Breeds throughout the United States, south to Nicaragua, and north to southern Canada; winters in the southern United States and southward. Habits and economic status: « The chipping sparrow is very friendly and domestic, and often builds its nest in gardens and orchards or in the shrubbery close to dwellings. Its gentle and confiding ways endear it to all bird lovers. It is one of the most insectivor-

ous of all the sparrows. Its diet consists of about 42 per cent of insects and spiders and 58 per cent of vegetable matter. The animal food consists largely of caterpillars, of which it feeds a great many to Its young. Besides these, It eats beetles, including many weevils, of which one stomach contained 36. It also eats ants, wasps, and bugs. Among the latter are plant lice and black olive scales. The vegetable food Is practically all weed seed; A nest with four young of this species was watched at different hours on four days. In the seven hours of observation 119 feedings were noted, or an average of 17 feedings per hour, or four and one-fourth feedings per hour to each nestling. This would give for a day of 14 hours at least 238 insects eaten by the brood.