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THESIS

 

SUPPLEMENTARY
MATERIAL

IN BACK OF BOOK

 
-- T-H-E-S-I-Si:-

on

-: O-U-R B-I-R-D P-O0-P-U-L-A-T-I-0O-Ns:-

Summer 1896,
4ESIS

 

SUPPLEMENTARY
MATERIAL

IN BACK OF BOOK

 
  

 
 

 

 

 

 

  
--T-H-E-S-I1I-S:-
on

-: 0-U-R B-I-R-D P-0-P-U-L-A-T-I-0-Ne:-

L. D. Sees.

Summer 1896,
on

-:; O-U-R B-I-R-D P-0O-P-U-L-A-T-I-O-Nsz:-

L. D. Sees.

Summer 1896.
THESIs
OUR pIRD POPULATION,
there is one branch of the natural sciences whose

economic value in relation to apriculture is often sadly
overlooked; viz: ornithology. It is strange that even today
there is a syrprising lack of knowledre as to the extreme
value of our birds to agriculture and horticulture and that
One must enter upon a long course of arguments to convince
many that the birds have any economic importance whatever.
And what is more surprising is that at a college like ours,
devoted to apriculture and kindred sciences there has previous-
ly been 50 little time devoted to this important subject. A
movement in the rirht direction wasmade this vear by devoting
a considerable portion of the terms work in zoolory to the
study of birds, instead of spending so much time as formerly
upon the lower forms of animal life; but still, this is just
a beginning. Farmers should know more about their feather-
ed ‘friends, should become better acquainted with these indcs-
pensible denizens of the field and forest. A term's work
could profitably be spent in the study of our more common
species of birds in becoming familiar with their many pecul-
larities, forms of food, habits of nesting, how to preserve
them from their enemies, etc. Not only would such a course
witn plenty of field work be of great value, but it would

prove an unending source of pleasure to tne student and serve

103769
as another power:ul tie to bind the boy to the country.

Few there are, indeed, of our ordinary farmer boys who can
name at sieht more than “ifteen or twenty species of our
corr:on wild birds, while there may he at almost any season
From seventy-five to one hundred species almost within ear-
shot, if he but knew where ard how to find then.

Birds are vithout question the arriculturists and horti-
culturests best friends. Macnify 2s much as we will the
value of spraying as a means of overcoming our insect pests,
the fact still remains that the birds are our chief instru-
ments for the destruction of insects. It is confidently
thought by some that were all the species of birds destroyed
man could not exist on the earth for any preat length of time
because of the meriads of insects which would at once infest
the land if their eneimies should all disapear . Tt nas
‘oho «4 sa a8 an Lilustration of this fact, that the locust

pests which disvasted ce:tain portions of our westorn
states a few years aso followed closely upon theruthless
wholesale distructio n in those states of tte quail,

grouse, and other birds wiich are the natural enejmes of the
locust and kindred insects. Anyone who will take the
trouble to watch the almost ceaseless activity of our birds
during feeding hours will not lon.: question the foreroing
prediction. Our atmosphere would soon become unfit for

respiration from tne presence of clouds of pnats and such.
small insects were the swa’low family distroyed; caterpillars,
curculias, and other orchard pests would drive the horticul-
turist mad, if the sparrow familly was annihilated; and so
on through the list of injurious insects each has its pec-
uliar enemy in some particular family of hirds.

One tring that makes the birds of greater value as insect
distroyers is that their labors are not confined to any one
place but tney move back and forth over the country soverend
to a great extent in their movements by the abundance ofy
scarcity of their favorite food.

Were man not so short sirhted our birds would probably
increase rapidly enough to hold perfectly in check all forms
of insect life; but constructed as tne majority of our far-
mers are as someone has said, with no foresight at all and
with a remarkable poor hind sight; considerking also their
present meager knowledge of birds, if they chance to see a
bird alirnt in their corn or wheat field or perch upon a
fruit tree they at once cenclude that the before mentioned
bird is engaged in a ruthless destruction of their crops and
nothing will satisfy their misdirected thrift other than the
destruction of their benefactor, The following anecdote
will illustrate the point in question.

Mr Roberts, a farmer of Coleville, Ohio, was invited by
a nelphbor’ to assist him in killing some yellow-birds which

as he thought were destroying his wheat. Mr Roberts not
inclined to believe the birds guilty of any such mischief was
inclined to protect thnem. To satisfy his curiosity, however,
he killed one of the yellow-birds and found upon examination
of its crop, that instead of whet, Ama’ the bird had devour
ed the weevil, our greatest destroyer of wheat. He found in
tne birds crop as many as 200 weevils, and but four srains of
wheat; and ench of these contained a weevil. The jealousy of
the Ohio farmer had prompted him in this case to destroy a
family of birds at the very time when they were performing an
incalcuable amount of benefit to apriculture.

It is to the credit of the managers of our college that
our hird friends are to a pfreat extent unmolested. Even the
Purple Grackle with his harsh discordant notes is. allowed
to rear its young in peace. We are doubtless indebted for
the presence of these birds to the larre number of evergreens
on our. campus and to their nen-disturbance by the air-fun
of the small boy and the farmer's shot gun. No less thm
thirty pairs have been counted on the campus all of which
doubtless nested, thourh only thirteen nests were discovered,
as many of them nest high up in the tops of our tallest
evergreens. I SAY y indebted for their presence, and, indeed,
we may say so, for #f£ttall affirms that up to the time of
harvest he has invariably found upon dissection, thatthe food
of the Crow Blackbird consists of larvae, caterpillars, moths,

5
and beetles in large quantities. I wonder how many farmers
 
have any such idea of the food hahits of this noisy friend.

The ahundance and boginess of the Blue Jays on our campus
is a feature that at once at racts the attention of an observ-
er. As we are accustomed to the Blue Jay in the country he
is a shy, wary bird, mischevious in the extreme, whose sole
occupation according to popular idea is the consumption of
cherties and distruction of fruit generally. Here, however,
we come to lok upon the Jay as one of our friends. His sreat
variety of notes, not always ummusical; his confident air
which seems to prove his right to freedom from molestation,
acquired doubtless through many generations of illustrious ar
cestors; his seeming omnipresence; all these combine in pro-
ducing one of the minor yet pleasing recollections of our
college life.

About twenty-five pairs of Blue Jays have been observed
on the campus and ahout one-half of these werefonnd nesting,
though there is little doubt that the most of them nested
on the campus in various obscure pl aces.

It has been conjectured upon careful observation that a.
young Jay consumes daily about fifteen full sized grubs of
the May-beetle besides as many more 6 a smaller kind, or an
average of about twenty, counting large and small. For a

family of five, which is their usual size , atleast one hun-

dred grubs would be needed; fifty grubs each for the adult
parents would raise the average daily consumption to about
two hundred grubs of various kinds. A little mathematics
shows at once the economic importance of our Blue Javs.
Suppose as a modest estimate we have twenty families of Jays
each consuming upwards of two hundred grubs daily; in three
months time they will have consumed at the least calculation
360000 grubs of insedts that are more or less injurious.

Even thourh they do carry off a cherry now and again the pro-
tection of our noisy blue-coated friends is a paying invest-
ment.

Farmers have come pretty generally to recognize the ecor-
omic value of the Robin, though it has taken many years of ag
itation by ornithologists and even legislative enactments to
educate the people up to the present general knowledge. The
Robin as the other birds previously mentioned, is a whole-
sale destroyer of grubs and worms,and his form and piping
note is familiar to everyone. The college is particularly
fortunate in ‘the fact that the campus and surroundings seem
a favorite feeding ground and ngstin; place. Thirty-six
distinct nests were found, and probably ten pairs more mated
On the campus; and as each pair brings out from two to three
broods in a season it means that our campus furnished, at the
least calculation, a home for upwards of three hundred Robins

during the summer season. Consider for a moment what havoc
such an army creates among the grubs and worms of If. A. C.
and vicinity.

With the Robin our evergreens again come into use, and
doubtless have mugh to do with attracting our large population
as nearly all the early nests were found in the evergreens,
which were probably selected for their greater protection and
seclusion and were ahandoned for the deciduous trees only as
the warm weather came on.

Excellent as are the nesting facilities o'fered the
Purple Grackle, Blue Jay, Robin and such large birds by our
campus there are one or two classes which have been sadly ner-
lected; namely, those which nest principally in miscellaneous
undergrowth and border shrubbery, such as the Cat-bird, Wren,
and smaller Thrushes, and those that nestle upon the ground,
as the Song Sparrow and other birds. This neglect comes at
once apparent to one who is searching for the birds homes.

In about two monts of daily tramping over our nearly 80

acres of campus I discovered only seven nests of the Song
Sparrow and all these were in the most out-of-the-way places.
Our smooth shaven lawns are always beautiful and a source of
joy; but they are a luxury preserved at the expense of many
of our beautiful singing friends. So also with the other
class mentioned, only four Cat-birds nests were found and not
a Wren or Enrush nest, or in fact, any of our smaller valuable

birds; doubtless, as has been stated, from the deficency of
ig
shrubbery, especially such as bear fruit.

Clipped hedges have been looked upon by many as famous
nurseries for birds, but in all our hedges I found only four
or five nests and these apparently two or three years old.
This but foes to confirm the statement made by one observer,
"that it is only a neglected hedge-row or a spontaneous
growth of bushes and briers that is useful to them.”

Our elms furnish a favorite nesting place for the Balti-
more Oriole, Wh-t lends a greater charm to a lawn than the
presence of two or three pairs of these beautiful warblers
in their typical dress of orange and black? Nor is their
simple presence and companionship their only value, for tney
are undefatigable feeders; the young birds are noted for
their hearty appetites, only ceasing their monotonous and per-
sistant coaxing for food as their mouths are temporarily
stopped by their parents as they carry on their continuous
proeess of stuffing; disposing thus in a day of some hundreds
of noxious insects. A farmer could not do bettet® than
Plant several elms near his orchard and about his lawn and
thus throw out some inducement for their highly valuable
friends to make their homes in his vicinity, lending their
protection to his crops and at ‘the same time brightening and

enlivening all the day with their cheerful song and charming

appearance.
-10-

Among other interesting birds that make their homes with
us are tne Chimney Swifts, those tireless guardians of the
upper air, estimated at about twenty pairs; five or six pairs
of gaudy scarlet Fannigers; two pairs of Kirgfishers; eizht
or ten pairs of Rose-breastcd Grosbeaks, whose note is so
easily mistaken for thant of the Robin; besides scattering
pairs of a few other species, We have also ofe full quota
of that well-known pest, the English or HOuse Sparrow, prob-~
ably close on to fifty nests on the different buildings. In
all up to June 19th, twenty-cight distinct species have heen
discovered nesting on our campus} certainly a record which
speaks well for the protection of our birds. Althourh the
smaller birds especially the Song Sparrow have indirectly a
natural enemy in t':e shape of the Caw-bird, which being too
lazy to construct a nest for itself and rear its own young,
poes sneaking around, and during the absence of the owner
slips its erg into the nest of some other unsuspecting bird.

In every Song Sparrow's nest, except one, discovered
this year, there was found from three to four ergs of the
Cow-bird. From one nest in which the mother bird was attemp-
ting to cover seven ergs, Only three of which were her own,
the Cov-bird's errs were removed; hut the chanre wes too
much for the Sparrow mother and she abandoned her nest. It

is very questionable whether in those nests in which the

Cow-hird's errs were laid fany of the Song Sparrow's own
-|l-

younrs would reach maturity, as it has often heen observed that
almost invariably the Cow-hirds push the weaker nestlini;s
out of tne nest long before thoy are «ble to care for thém-
selves.

In the heginning of this investigntion It was plannd
to make an attempt to determine how many young birds reached
maturity or were turned out in the cold world from the var-
ious nests discovcred, but for two or *hiee reasons this
was found impracticable. Most of tne carly broods reached
a sufficient size to shift for themselves during the spring
vacation when it wns not possinle to watch them; a large
number that did mt were blown out of the nests by tne vio-
lent wind storm which occurred at that time; some cighteen
or twenty young Robins and Blue Jays alone being picked up
after t:ie storm, and doubtless this was only a very small
porportion of those that perished.

It was also thought tnat possibly the period of incub-
ation of some of the different species mignt be determined,
but for various reasons this was not carried out; chief of
which was that an attempt was made to watch too many nests
at once and the birds invariably ;ot tne start of the inves-
tigator. This would be av ry interesting Sinks for future
stidy.

In fact, there are a number of subjects in connection

with the habits of birds which would be both pleasant and
-~]2-

profitable to investigate.

It is high time, indeed that tne study of economic
ornithology received its proper share of attention. It
has been well said that "Civilized man is natures greatest
enemy." He is constantly throwing life out of balance when
he should be laboring to sustain the consttéutiens which
make a true equilebrium. This has been emminently true in
his relations with bird life, as is well exampled in the
case of the English Sparrow pest where the lack of proper
knowledge has worked almost incalcuable injury, and by the
Pennsylvania "Scalp Act®* offering a bounty on hawks, owls,ct
which it was estimated indirectly cost that state nearly
_ $4,000,000, in one and one-half years. A few more costly
experiments lend a decided emphasis to the need before
mentioned.

Both from our regard for their utility to agriculture
and for their pleasant companionship, our birds should be
protected. A few laws have been made but these are seldom
lived up to, though as before stated, we are coming grad-
ually to recognize their importance. I firmly believe
with that "the farmer would promote his own thrift
by extending a watchful care over all families of our birds,"
especially over tie smaller species which are the most useful

and delightful. Our birds may be preserved in two ways;
-13-

we may avold destroyinj; them and help create a sentiment
whicn will not tolerate tnreir useless distruction? we may
promote tne growth of certain trees,shrubs and plants that
afford them shelter and subsistance.

The birds of our campus are, as has been Stated, fairly
well taken care of but still much more might and should be
done to preserve and protect these most interesting and val-

uable members of our population.
[
LIST OF SUMMER BIRDS SEEN
on M. A C. Campus, April - July - 1896.
Not Known to have Nested.

Ardea viriscens.

* Green Heron.
Philohel minor.
ae Woodcock.
Totanus solitarious.
°° Solitary Sandpiper.
Actitis macularia.
* Spotted macularia.
Aegialitis vocifera.
°° Kildeed.
Colinus virginianus.
°° Bob-white.
Zenaidura macroura.
* Mourning Dove.
Accipiter cooleri.
oe Cooper's Hawk.
Batco lineatus.
7° Red Shouldered Hawk.
Palco sparverins.
10,
Sparrow Hawk.
Megascops asio
ll.

Screech Owl.
12.

15.

14.

15.

16.

17..

18.

19.

20.

21.

Lae

25-6

24.

Bubo virginianus.

Great Horned Owl.
Dryobates pubescens.
Downy Woodpecker.
Sphyrapicus varius.
Yellow Billed Sapsucker.
Autrostomus vociferous.
Whip-poor-will.
Chordeiles virginianus.
Nighthawk.

Carvus americanus.
Crow.

Dolichonyx oryzivarus.
Bobolink.

Agelaius phoanicus.
Red-winged Blackbird.
Stumella magna.
Meadowlark.
Scolecophagus carolinus.
Rusty Blackbird.
Carpadacus purpureus,.
Purple Finch.

Spinus tristus.

Gold Finch.

Poocaetes Gramineus.

Vesper Sparrow.
Z2D-6

26.

27.

28-6

296

Zonotrichia leucophrys.

Whi te-crown

Clivicala riparia.

Bank Swallow,

Amphelis cedrorum.
Cedar Bird.

Geothiypis trickas.
Maryland Yellowthroat.

Harporkynchus rufus,

Brown Thrasher.
II

SUMMER BIRDS NESTING
on

M. A. C. Campus.

April - July - 1896.

 

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Num. Name !
‘Molathus ater
le Ll Biss
Cowbird. found in
other.
nests
2,Baltimore Oriole 7

Quiscalus quiscala

Bronzed Grackle.

Spizella socialis.
Chipping Sparrow.

Melospiza fascita.

5. 5 7 on
Song Sparrow. ground.

Papilo erythrophythalmus.

6. l.
Chinnink.
List II Continued.

Habia Indoviciana

Rose breasted Grosbeak.

Passering eyanea

8.

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

Indigo Bird

Piranga erythromelas.

Scarlet Taniger.

Viseo gilvus.

, Warbling Visco.

Dendroica Aestriva.

"Yellow Warbler.

Galeoscoptis carlinensis.
Cat bird.

Sitta carvlinensis.

White billed Nuthatch.

Parno atricapillus.
Chickadee.
Surdus mustelinus.

Wood Thrush.

Mirula migration
Robin.

Passer domesticus.

English Sparrow.

17 18 10

30-35

l on
Library.

1 in
Stub.

20-25
nests.
List II Continued.

Coccyzus erythrophthalmus.

18
Black-billed Cuckoo.
Ceryle alcyon
19
Kingfisher.
Melanerpes erythrocephalmus.
20
Red-headed Woodpecker.
Colaptes auratus.
21
Plieker.
Chaetura pelagica.
22
Chimney Swift.
Drochilus colubris.
23
Humming bird.
Qyrannus tyrannus.
24
Kincbird.
Myrachus crinitus.
25
Great crested Flycatcher.
Sayornis phoebe.
26
Phoebe.
Contopus' virens.
27
| Wood Pewee.
Cyanocuta cristata.
28 Z 7
Blue — ay oe AQ

 

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4
44 107x7

l in
bank.

20 in

Chimney.

2 nests

more.

Prob 10-
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