12 BIRDS THAT EAT THE COTTON" BOLL WEEVIL. 



must be considered among the most useful of the winter visitants to 

 Texas. 



The big 'jackdaw/ or great-tailed grackle {Megaquiscolus major 

 macrourus), was found to capture boll weevils in February, two of the 

 eight birds taken in that month having eaten one w^eevil each. Six 

 stomachs of the bird taken in summer contained no weevil remains. 



The red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phceniceus) shows a smaller 

 percentage of vveevils taken than most of the other species of this 

 family, but the enormous numbers of these birds Avliich visit the cotton 

 fields during the migrations give to their work a place of some 

 importance. Sixty-three stomachs, nearly all taken in the fall and 

 winter, have been examined, and two of them contained boll weevils. 



The cowbird (Molothrus ater) is the only blackbird known to eat 

 weevils both in summer and winter, but the mmiber consumed in each 

 case is small. Forty stomachs of this bird collected in winter showed 

 onlv 1 weevil in the contents, and 54 stomachs taken in summer 

 showed three containing 1 weevil each. 



SPARROWS, GROSBEAKS, ETC. 



(Fringillidx.) 



The members of this family are among the most abundant and gen- 

 erally distributed of Texas birds. Five species have been collected 

 during the summer months and nine during the winter months. All 

 five species taken in summer were found to have eaten the boll weevil, 

 but in nearly every case the consumption of weevils was small. The 

 only species which seems to feed upon them regularly at this season is 

 the painted bunting, and considering the abundance of these birds 

 and the fact that they feed extensively in the cotton fields, they must 

 be considered an important factor in reducing the numbers of weevils. 

 Eighteen birds, or nearly 17 percent of the number examined, had 

 eaten boll weevils, but in only one instance was more than one weevil 

 taken by a single bird. 



The other species of this family which feed upon the weevil in sum- 

 mer are the western lark sparrow, the dickcissel, the cardinal, and the 

 pyrrhuloxia; in winter, the white-throated sparrow and the western 

 lark sparrow. The number of weevils eaten by all of these is insig- 

 nificant. 



FLYCATCHERS. 



{Tyrannidse.) 



About ten species of flycatchers occur commonly in Texas, but only 

 six of them are summer residents. Since these birds habitually cap- 

 ture their prey on the wing, they would not be expected to destroy 

 large numbers of boll weevils, which, except during their annual 



