The Practical Value of Birds (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1913 edition. Excerpt: ...the fractions. When we consider the size of_ these birds and large amount of food they require, the percentage of insects and weed seeds means an enormous number of these pests destroyed. One bobwhite contained 5,000 seeds of the foxtail grass, another contained 10,000 pigweed seeds, and a California quail contained 2,000 dog fennel seeds. As with other birds, the downy young grouse and quail are much more insectivorous than the adults. The browse in the food of the dusky grouse and spruce grouse is mostly coniferous foliage. The sage grouse feeds principally upon leaves, shoots and buds, especially the wild sages. It is the largest North American member of the family except the turkey, and is a good table bird if drawn immediately after killing and properly prepared. In Colorado it is common in the sage brush areas of the northern and northwestern parts of the state, the dusky grouse is common throughout the mountains, 1 form of the sharp-tailed grouse (75) Aughey, First Rept. U. S. Entom. Com., App. II, pp. 56-57. (76) Fisher, Two Vanishing Game Birds: The Woodcock and the Wood Duck, U. S. Dept. Agric., Yearbook for 1901, pp. 447-458. McAtee, Our Vanishing Shorebirds, U. S. Biol. Surv., Circular No. 79. Hornaday, Our Vanishing Wild Life. 1913. (77) McAtee, U. S. Biol. Surv., Circular No. 79, pp. 2, 4, 6. (78) Aughey, First Rept. U. S. Entom. Com., App. II, pp. 49-55. (79)-Howell, U. S. Biol. Surv., Bull. No. 29, p. 20. (80) McAtee and Beal, U. S. Dept. Agric., Farmers Bull. No. 497, pp. 15-16. (81) Bryant, Univ. Cali. Pub. in Zool., Vol. XI, No. 1, p. 9. (82) Aughey, First Rept. U. S. Entom. Comm., App. II. p. 49. 432 Judd, Food of Nestling Birds, U. S. Dept. Agric., Yearbook for 1900, pp. (84) Judd. U. S. Biol. Surv., Bull. No....