FROM a purely practical point of view the most important of the relations
of native birds to man are the economic. The esthetic value of birds is
great--greater, indeed, than that of any other group of animals; and that
this is a real and especially treasured value is not to be denied. But it
is in their relation to insect and other enemies of crops that birds are
most directly associated with the welfare of mankind, and their value in
this particular should be made as widely known as possible.
This bulletin is one of a series designed to assist in doing this. Not
all birds are beneficial, and all facts tending to show in which class
each species belongs will be set forth. The useful kinds far outnumber
the injurious, however, and so great is their value as insect destroyers
in the United States that to them may be given the credit of being one of
the greatest controlling factors in limiting the development of insect
pests and in preventing many disastrous outbreaks.
In the following pages are discussed the habitat, food habits, and
relation to agriculture of more than 50 species of birds common to
farming sections.
Washington, D. C.