Flycatchers are most useful birds. The food of the Kingbird, for example, a species which is erroneously believed to destroy honey bees, has been found to consist of 90 per cent. insects, mostly injurious species, while only fourteen out of two hundred and eighty-one stomachs contained the remains of honey bees; forty of the fifty bees found being drones.
The true Larks, (Family Alaudidæ) are chiefly Old World birds, the Skylark being the best known member of the Family. In America we have only the Horned or Shore Larks, one species of which shows so much climatic variation in color throughout its wide range, that no less than thirteen subspecies or geographical races of it are recognized in the United States.
The Horned Lark is a bird of the plains and prairies and is less common in the Atlantic States than westward. Like the Skylark it sings in the air, but its vocal powers are limited and not to be compared with those of its famous relative.
The Crows and Jays, (Family Corvidæ) number about two hundred species of which some twenty-five inhabit the western hemisphere. To this family belong the Raven, Rook, Magpie and Jackdaw, all birds of marked intelligence; and our Crows and Jays are fully worthy of being classed with these widely known and distinguished members of their family.
The Crows and Jays, by varying their food with the season, are rarely at loss for supplies of one kind or another and most species are represented throughout their ranges at all times of the year. In the more northern parts of their homes, however, some of these birds are migratory, and Crows, as is well known, gather in great flocks during the winter, returning each night to a roost frequented, in some instances, by two or three hundred thousand Crows.
While the Crows and Jays are technically 'Song Birds' their voices are far from musical. Nevertheless they possess much range of expression and several species learn to enunciate words with more or less ease.
The Starlings, (Family Sturnidæ) are Old World birds represented in America only by the European Starling which was introduced into Central Park, New York City, in 1890 and is now common in the surrounding country.
The Blackbirds, Orioles, and Meadowlarks, (Family Icteridæ) number about one hundred and fifty species and are found only in the New World. The Blackbirds are most numerous in North America, where, migrating in vast armies and often living in large colonies, they become among the most characteristic and conspicuous of our birds.
The Orioles are most numerous in the tropics, where some thirty species are known. Apparently all of them are remarkable as nest builders, the large Cassiques, nearly related, great yellow and black birds, weaving pouches three and four feet long, several dozen of which, all occupied, may be seen swinging from the branches of a single tree.
The Finches, Sparrows, Grosbeaks, etc., (Family Fringillidæ) number nearly six hundred species, a greater number than is contained in any other family of birds. They are distributed throughout the world, except in the Australian region, some ninety odd species inhabiting North America.