for and
picking up little seeds of grass, grain and weeds, of shrubs and
trees, and appropriating the same to their use, chirping merrily as
they work away. The European House Sparrow, or the English Sparrow as
it is more commonly called, has the worst reputation of the entire
family. But even this bird has some redeeming traits.

The Tanagers are insect destroyers, feeding for the most part on such
forms as attack the foliage of trees.

All of our Swallows are insect destroyers, capturing such forms as
gnats, flies, etc., which they seize while on the wing. The large
colonies of different species of these birds that breed within the
state, as well as those that pass through during their migrations,
destroy great numbers of these insects. They should be protected.

The Waxwings, both the Cedar Bird and Bohemian Waxwing, feed
principally upon berries, etc., which they find throughout the year.
Still, in his studies of the food contents of the stomachs of a
variety of birds taken in a certain orchard that was overrun with
canker worms, Professor Forbes found that the seven specimens of the
Ceder Waxwing had eaten nothing but canker-worms and a few dung
beetles, the latter in such small numbers as to scarcely count. The
number of caterpillars eaten by each bird ranged from 70 to 101.

The Shrikes or "Butcher Birds" are known as veritable "brigands" or
"pirates" when it comes to the destruction of other forms of life.
They are true to their name, and "butcher" for pastime large numbers
of insects, mice, lizards, small snakes, and even a few birds. They
then fly to some thorn bush or barbed-wire fence and impale the
luckless victim and leave it for future use, or to dry up and finally
blow away. The good they do will outweigh the harm.

The food of the various Greenlets or Vireos is made up almost entirely
of insects, of which a large per cent are caterpillars, such as
infest shade trees and the larger shrubs. They should be protected and
encouraged, about the orchard in particular.

In the words of that pleasing writer, Dr. Elliott Coues,[5] "The
Warblers have we always with us, all in their own good time; they come
out of the south, pass on, return, and are away again, their
appearance and withdrawal scarcely less than a mystery; many stay with
us all summer long, and some brave the winters in our midst. Some of
these slight creatures, guided by unerring instinct, travel true to
the meridian in the hours of darknes