. Birds of a Maryland farm : a local study of economic ornithology . again visited. The young were thenfeathered and old enough to eat vegetable food. The most availablesupply was a field of sprouting corn unprotected by tar, that lay within GRAIN. 67 a hundred yards of the dell. It was watched from 1 p. m. till 6 p. m.,but although the birds often new over it and in two eases alighted init, they apparently did it no injury, and a careful search for pulledcorn showed not a plant disturbed. Blackbirds probably did somemischief to corn in the milk, however, and were often seen stealingfrom the s
. Birds of a Maryland farm : a local study of economic ornithology . again visited. The young were thenfeathered and old enough to eat vegetable food. The most availablesupply was a field of sprouting corn unprotected by tar, that lay within GRAIN. 67 a hundred yards of the dell. It was watched from 1 p. m. till 6 p. m.,but although the birds often new over it and in two eases alighted init, they apparently did it no injury, and a careful search for pulledcorn showed not a plant disturbed. Blackbirds probably did somemischief to corn in the milk, however, and were often seen stealingfrom the shock, but these offenses were trivial in comparison withtheir attacks on sprouting winter wheat. During November, 1900, aflock of from 2,000 to 3,000 pulled wheat on the Biyan farm, and onlycontinual use of the shotgun saved the crop. At each report they wouldfly to the oak woods bordering lot 5, where they fed on acorns. Ninebirds collected had eaten acorns and wheat in about equal flock must have taken daily at least half an ounce of food apiece,. ,«.. ^—^ - Fig. 25.—Crow blackbird. and therefore, if the specimens examined were representative, must ina week have made away with 217 pounds of sprouting wheat, a lossthat would entail at harvest time a shortage of at least ten times asmuch. When wheat and oats were harvested no appreciable loss waspossible, as only a few blackbirds remained on the farm, and, in fact,these few appeared to be feeding on fruit or insects, or, when they dideat grain, to be taking chiefly waste kernels. During June of 1898,1899, 1900, and 1901, when wheat was ripening or being harvested,blackbirds came from their nesting dell to the Bryan farm, but only infew instances were they seen in the wheat fields. On June 15 and 16,when oats and wheat were ready to cut on the Hungerforcl farm, thecolony was closely watched. The young were on the wing and the 68 BIRDS OF A MARYLAND FARM. whole flock was expected to resort to the grain fie
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1902
