. Bird lore . exico. As a rule, he builds a loosely constructed nest of twigs,Nest and Eggs lined with fine roots. In the northern states, the nests are built in dogwoods, vine-maples and alders; while, in the South, thebird often nests in chaparral, willows and other trees. The eggs are three andfour in number, and are pale blue thickly spotted with brown. (.63) 164 Bird- Lore The Black-headed Grosbeak is sometimes complained of What He Eats by the fruit-growers on the Pacific coast. It is a bird fond of figs, cherries and berries. But fruit is not the major part of its diet. It destroys many
. Bird lore . exico. As a rule, he builds a loosely constructed nest of twigs,Nest and Eggs lined with fine roots. In the northern states, the nests are built in dogwoods, vine-maples and alders; while, in the South, thebird often nests in chaparral, willows and other trees. The eggs are three andfour in number, and are pale blue thickly spotted with brown. (.63) 164 Bird- Lore The Black-headed Grosbeak is sometimes complained of What He Eats by the fruit-growers on the Pacific coast. It is a bird fond of figs, cherries and berries. But fruit is not the major part of its diet. It destroys many insects that are harmful to the fruit-grower, such as the codling moth, canker-worm, flower beetles and scale insects. According to Bulletin No. 32 of the Bureau of Biological Survey, entitledFood Habits of the Grosbeaks, by W. L. McAtee, the Black-headed Gros-beak is a bird of economic value to the fruit-grower, notwithstanding the factthat it eats some fruit. An examination of 226 stomachs of this bird, the. MALE BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK FEEDING YOUNGPhotographed by H. T. Bohlman majority of which were collected in California, shows that, during his sixmonths stay in his summer home, the bird consumes an average of percent of vegetable and per cent of animal food. This bird shows a distinctpreference for black-olive scale, one of the most abundant and destructiveinsects on the coast. This insect constitutes per cent of the Grosbeaksentire food. Of the stomachs examined, this insect was found to have beeneaten by 123 birds. This service alone more than pays fruit-growers for thefruit it eats. To give a clearer estimate of the value of this bird to man, scien-tific observations show that, for every quart of fruit eaten, the Black-headedGrosbeak eats more than three pints of black-olive scales, more than a quartof flower beetles, besides a generous supply of canker-worms and the pupaeof the codling-moth. The Black-headed Grosbeak has a rollicking song, likeSong t
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