BUREAU OP BIOLOGICAL SURVEY. 667 



birds. One of these deals with some common game, aquatic, and 

 rapacious birds in relation to man, and the other treats of the common 

 birds :>i the forest, field, and garden. 



FOOD OF FLYCATCHERS, THRUSHES, AND MEADOWLARKS. 



A bulletin on the food of flycatchers, which has been in prepara- 

 tion during the past year, has been published. Stomach examinations 

 for a bulletin on the thrushes, robins, and bluebirds have been com- 

 pleted, and preparation of a manuscript upon these birds is in prog- 

 ress. A very complete study of the food habits of meadowlarks also 

 has been written and is ready for publication. 



EUROPEAN STARLING. 



Introduced into this country perhaps 20 years ago, the starling has 

 made a j)lace for itself among our native birds, partly b}' usurping 

 their nesting sites and driving the smaller species away ; and it is now 

 rapidly spreading, radiating out from the original localities where 

 introduced. From the experience of other countries into which the 

 starling has been imported, there is reason to fear that the bird may 

 do much damage to food crops, particularly as in, fall it has the habit 

 of assembling in flocks numbering thousands of individuals. As its 

 food habits in this country are not well understood, special effoil is 

 being made to obtain as many stomachs as possible for examination, 

 so as to insure early issuance of a report on the subject. 



BIRDS OF ALABAIVIA. 



As the boll weevil in its advance eastward has reached the State 

 of Alabama and as no list of the birds of this State has ever been 

 published, it seemed important as a preliminary step to further in- 

 vestigations into the relations of birds to the boll weevil in Alabama 

 to ascertain the number of species resident in and visiting the State, 

 either as migrants or as winter residents, and their relative abun- 

 dance. Accordingly two assistants of the Biological Survey spent 

 several months in the preliminary field investigations necessary to 

 the preparation of a list of the birds of the State and in ascertaining 

 their general economic value and relations. Satisfactory progress 

 has been made in the work, and the list is now being prepared for 

 publication and will be issued with illustrations of certain species 

 important from the economic point of view, especially in relation to 

 the boll weevil. 



BIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS. 



Field work was continued during the year in Alabama, California, 

 Idaho, Louisiana, and Wyoming, and was begun in North Dakota 

 and Wisconsin. 



The practical value of a biological survey of individual States as 

 an important aid in the development of scientific agriculture is 

 becoming more and more appreciated. Keports covering two States — 

 Texas and Colorado — have already been i)ul)lished. with maps show- 

 ing the life /.ones, and these are in great demand. .tVs evidence of 



