. The conservation of the wild life of Canada . per cent consisted of wild fruits, and 4per cent of cultivated fruits.* About two-thirds of thefood of the bluebird consists of insects, such as caterpillars,grasshoppers, and beetles. The nuthatches, tits, and tree-creepers are among the mostdiligent of hunters after insects in all their stages, partic-ularly in the egg stage, and figures have already been givento indicate the enormous destruction of insect life theyefifect. The warblers constitute a family of almost purelyinsectivorous birds that is well represented in insects
. The conservation of the wild life of Canada . per cent consisted of wild fruits, and 4per cent of cultivated fruits.* About two-thirds of thefood of the bluebird consists of insects, such as caterpillars,grasshoppers, and beetles. The nuthatches, tits, and tree-creepers are among the mostdiligent of hunters after insects in all their stages, partic-ularly in the egg stage, and figures have already been givento indicate the enormous destruction of insect life theyefifect. The warblers constitute a family of almost purelyinsectivorous birds that is well represented in insects may be found some species of warblerwill also occur. Shyly they pursue their work of search-ing every leaf and twig of shrub or tree for eggs, larvae, oradults of destructive insects. We have found them to benot unimportant factors in the control of certain pests of * Except where it is otherwise stated, these analyses of stomach contentsare taken from the publications of the Biological Survey of the U. S. De-partment of Agriculture. PLATE XV. DIAGRAMMATIC REPRESENTATION OP THE ECONOMIC STATUS OPSOME OF OUR COMMONER BIRDS Protection of trees and foliage: 1. Plioebe. 2. Vireo. 3. Warbler. 4. Chickadee. 5. Nuthatch. 6. Downy woodpecker. 7. FlickerAerial insect-destroyers: 8. Whippoorwill. 9. Swallows. 10. Kingbird. 11. Crows and GullsDestroyers of noxious rodents: 12. Owl. 13. HawkDestroyer of soil-inlfsting insects: 14. RobinDestroyers of weed seeils: 15. Chipping Sparrow and Juncos. IG. Goldfinch BIRDS IN RELATION TO AGRICULTURE 169 our forest and shade-trees. The vireos also are unrivalledas destroyers of insects which feed on the fohage of trees. The swallows and martins scour the air in the search ofadult insects of all forms, which make up their entire diet. Our native sparrows, in which group we do not includethe undesirable aUen house-sparrow, are among the greatestweed-destroying agencies, owing to their appetite for weedseeds. The song-sparrow is one of our most welcome
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