406 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 211 



every month. The spiders attained a maximum of more than 7 per- 

 cent in May, not only the spiders but their cocoons full of eggs appear 

 to be taken whenever found. 



In the South, A. H. Howell (1907) has revealed that the large flocks 

 of grackles in February and March feed on the destructive boll weevil. 



W. J. Howard (1937) gives an account of the grackles among other 

 birds that were feeding on the 17-year locusts at a time of an outbreak 

 of these insects at Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Ind. 



It is at the times of major insect infestations that birds become 

 important factors in controlling destructive insects, and at such 

 times their work becomes obvious even to the casual observer. 



A few insects eaten by the bronzed grackle beneficial to man's 

 interests and among these are a considerable number of predaceous 

 beetles belonging mainly to the family Carabidae. These valuable 

 destroyers of noxious insects are eaten, according to Beal (1900), in 

 every month of the year in quantities varying from more than 7 per- 

 cent of the food in January to 13 percent in June. 



The comparatively few other forms of animal food eaten are of little 

 economic importance, yet they serve to emphasize the grackle's 

 omnivorous nature and also some of its characteristic feeding behavior. 



There are numerous reports of the bronzed grackle feeding on cray- 

 fish especially from the Middle Western States. Thomas S. Roberts 

 (1932) has written an account of the habits of this bird in capturing 

 and eating these crustaceans: 



It patrols the water's edge, often wading body-deep, and is quick to seize any 

 moving creature, be it insect, small fish, or crawfish. It does not hesitate to 

 plunge from a low, overhanging bush or tree-trunk, though it lacks the power and 

 dexterity of a Kingfisher. Of crawfish it is especially fond. Dragging them, 

 squirming and struggling, from under the stones and roots, it carries them ashore 

 and onto a convenient, hard surface, where they are pounded and mauled until 

 they cease struggling. The next move is to open a large hole in the back just 

 behind the carapace, through which the meat is extracted until nothing but the 

 empty shell remains. The writer has watched both males and females thus 

 engaged along the shore of one of the park lakes of Minneapolis. The dead craw- 

 fish was held firmly on the ground with one foot while the white meat was picked 

 out bit by bit and piled in a heap near by until there was a good, sizable billful, 

 when it was gathered up and conveyed to the waiting nestlings. The ground for 

 a quarter of a mile was strewn with discarded and fresh remains of many crawfish, 

 showing that for days the Grackles had been supplying their young with this 

 delectable viand. 



Lorus J. Milne (1928) saw 20 bronzed grackles capturing specimens 

 of the amphipod Gammarus jasciatus on the shallow sandy bank of a 

 small stream flowing into Grenadier Pond, High Park, Toronto, 

 Canada. Each bird would gather several amphipods together into 

 a pile on the sand before eating them. 



Many reports have been made of the bronzed grackle catching 



