40 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 211 



Forbush (1927) says of its food in New England: 



The food of the Bobolink on its breeding grounds consists chiefly of insects, 

 which comprise from about 70 per cent to over 90 per cent of its sustenance in 

 May, June and July. Of the vast quantity of insects consumed by the bird less 

 than 3 per cent, on the average, are beneficial species. In May it takes a small 

 and fast dwindling per cent of grain, and in July an increasing amount, which 

 rises in August to about 35 percent, but decreases rapidly until at the end of Sep- 

 tember it is only about 3 percent. Its consumption of weed seeds averages about 

 8 percent in May, June and July, but increases rapidly in August until at the 

 end of September it reaches over 90 percent; by that time most of the Bobolinks 

 have left New England. 



On their southward migration they feed almost exclusively on the 

 seeds of wild rice and other useless plants, together with some grain, 

 until they reach the cultivated rice fields in the south, where they do 

 enormous damage; this will be discussed in a later paragraph. 



E. R. Kalmbach (1914) writes: "The bobolink does exceptionally 

 good work as a weevil destroyer, for wherever it lives near infested 

 alfalfa fields the insect forms its most important animal food. * * * 

 vSeven bobolinks collected in June [in Utah] had taken the weevil at 

 an average of about 8 adults and 42 larvae per bird, to the extent of 

 68 per cent of the stomach contents. 



In the stomach of one, 6 adults and 90 larvae formed the entire food. 



Another had eaten no less than 28 adults and 77 larvae, amounting 

 to 86 per cent of the stomach contents, while a third had eaten 3 

 adults and 61 larvae." 



Arthur H. Howell (1932) says: "Every one of 15 Bobolinks collected 

 in celery fields near Sanford [Florida] had fed on the destructive 

 celery leaf-tyer (Phlyctaenia rubigalis), the remains of this insect 

 forming 67 per cent of the total food in their stomachs." 



Behavior.— Except when on their nesting grounds, bobolinks live 

 largely in open flocks, congregating in favorable feeding grounds. 

 The males are still in small flocks when they first arrive in their sum- 

 mer haunts, perching on trees or fences and indulging in frequent 

 outbursts of glorious song. While migrating they fly high in open 

 formation, appearing much like other small blackbirds. The hovering 

 flight of males over their nesting grounds, or when courting their 

 mates, is very characteristic; they proceed rather slowly on rapidly 

 vibrating wings, a short distance above the tops of the tall grass, 

 singing rapturously; their striking color pattern makes a pretty picture 

 above the buttercups and daisies. On the ground, they seldom walk 

 with the dignified gait of other blackbirds, but usually proceed by 

 hopping or running. 



Frederick C. Lincoln (1925) describes a flight behavior which I 

 have never seen: "There was a small colony nesting near North 

 Napoleon Lake [North Dakota] in a rank growth of milkweed (Ascle- 



