SUMMARY OF RESULTS. 9 



Orchard oriole. Pyrrhuloxia. 



Baltimore oriole. Painted bunting. 



Bullock oriole. Dickcisscl. 



Brewer blackbird. White-rumped shrike. 



Great-tailed grackle. American pipit. 



Savanna sparrow. Mockingbird. 



Lark sparrow. Brown thrasher. 



White-throated sparrow. Carolina wren. 



Cardinal. Black-crested titmouse. 



Thirteen of the above species fed on the weevil during the summer 

 months, and 17 during the winter months, 2 species feeding upon the 

 insect both in summer and winter. About 18 percent of the stomachs 

 of these birds contained boll weevil remains, and the total number of 

 weevils eaten by them amounted to 40 percent of the number of birds 

 examined. 



The orioles prove to be the greatest destroyers of weevils in summer, 

 and their near relatives, the blackbirds and meadow larks, in winter. 

 Orioles, because of their bright plumage, have until recently been 

 extensively used for millinery purposes, and thus their numbers have 

 l:)een much reduced. Thousands were slaughtered, not alone in the 

 United States, but in Central America, where they pass the winter. 

 In view of their great value as weevil destroyers every effort should be 

 made to prevent their destruction for any purpose whatever. The 

 same suggestion applies with almost equal force to the nighthawk, 

 which is strictly insectivorous and is shown to be an enemy of the 

 boll weevil. During the migrations the nighthawk occurs in certain 

 sections of the South in great numbers and is frequently shot wantonly 

 or for food. The bird should everywhere and at all times be protected. 



In the case of an insect so destructive as the boll weevil, which has 

 thus far defied all attempts at restraint and is steadily extending its 

 ravages into new territory, every natural check to its increase should 

 be encouraged. Though the extent of the services rendered by the 

 avian enemies of the insect may sometimes seem small or even insig- 

 nificant, in reality their cumulative effect is very important. 



Birds are not the least important of the boll weevil's natural ene- 

 mies, and every species ascertained to feed on it should be protected 

 at all times and places, not only in the cotton-producing area, but 

 along their migration routes. Of the birds known to eat the weevil the 

 following are at present not protected in Texas: Killdeer j)lover, cow- 

 bird, red-winged blackbird, Brewer blackbird, and great-tailed grackle, 

 or 'jackdaw.' Others, including some of the most valuable species, 

 though protected by statute, are often wantonly destroyed through 

 ignorance of the important work they perform. 



There can be no c^uestion as to the usefulness of the killdeer, and 

 it should be included among the species protected at all seasons. 

 The economic position of the various species of blackbirds is not so 

 31019— No. 25—0(5 2 



