BLACKBIRDS. 



17 



spring, at a time when it is of the highest importance. Kecent 

 investigations have shown that the greatest number of weevils are 

 destroyed by them at the season when the cotton stalks are being- 

 raked and the ground first broken. 



Brewer hlackhird. — The nesting home of these blackbirds is chiefly 

 north of Texas, but in winter vast flocks spread over the State, 

 remaining from October to April. At that season these shiny black 

 fellows, conspicuous by reason of their white eyes, may often be seen 

 w^alking about the streets of the towns or following the plowman as 

 he turns the furrows. About 15 per cent of the birds examined had 

 eaten boll weevils, the average number of weevils destroyed being 

 nearly 2 to a bird. Most of these individuals were taken in late Feb- 



FiG. 6. — Crow blackbird or bronzed grackle. 



ruary and March, after the spring plowing had been nearly com- 

 pleted. It "is probable that observations made earlier in the Avinter 

 would show a much larger percentage of weevils destroyed. 



Bronzed gracJde.~Y)Vo\\zi^x\ grackles or crow blackbirds breed 

 locally in Texas, and great numbers of them pass through the State 

 in spring and fall. They appear in large flocks in February and 

 March, and join the other blackbirds in the fields Avhich are being 

 ])lowed or cultivated. Of the 34 specimens collected in March, 5 had 

 each eaten a boll weevil. 



Great-tailed cjraclde; '' jackdaw:'— These large blackbirds are 

 abundant in southern Texas, wintering near the coast and moving 

 northward in summer to about the latitude of Austin. Like other 



