. Useful birds and their protection. Containing brief descriptions of the more common and useful species of Massachusetts, with accounts of their food habits, and a chapter on the means of attracting and protecting birds . diflferent species, and that he hadcome to the conclusion, from observation of their feedinghabits, that other Thrushes and Warblers in general reject thelarger indigesti])le portions of their food in this way. Mr. Proctor has since then published in The Auk theresults of his observations on this subject. The seeds ofberries are often expelled or excreted with their vitality
. Useful birds and their protection. Containing brief descriptions of the more common and useful species of Massachusetts, with accounts of their food habits, and a chapter on the means of attracting and protecting birds . diflferent species, and that he hadcome to the conclusion, from observation of their feedinghabits, that other Thrushes and Warblers in general reject thelarger indigesti])le portions of their food in this way. Mr. Proctor has since then published in The Auk theresults of his observations on this subject. The seeds ofberries are often expelled or excreted with their vitalityunimpaired. Thus l)irds are instrumental in extending thegrowth of the woodlands and thickets in which they dwell. 94 USEFUL BIRDS. One day I noticed a young pine growing some ten feetfrom the ground in tlie fork of a maple by the were no other pines near. Wliat planted it there?This was merely an illustration of the fact that tree seedsare furnished with transportation l)y the wings or legs ofanimals that feed upon them. The Jays alight in the tree top ; each Jay l)reaks off anacorn with his feet, hammers it open with his beak, and eatsthe kernel on the spot, or carries it off to some hiding place,. Fig. 31. — A forest planter. The Blue Jay lends wings to the acorn. sometimes dropping it from the tree or while flying, appar-ently by accident or for no purpose except perhaps to hear itstrike the earth. A sudden fright will cause a bird to dropwhatever food it may be carrying. Such acorns are usuallyleft whore they happen to fall. AVe cannot stud} the relations of birds to the forest with-out noting also the important part that squirrels take in treeplanting. In the autumn of 1897 the mast crop was light insome sections of eastern Massachusetts, but here and therean oak tree was found which bore a good crop. Such treeswere soon discovered by the Jays and squirrels, several ofwhich might be seen gathering the acorns from each ground squirrels work in pai
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