414 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1920. 



a good crop, but without the work of the blackbirds this would have been im- 

 possible." — Jacob Heikes, Dakota City, Nebraska, October 3, 1877. 



" My Deae Sib : In reply to your inquiry relative to the value of our birds as 

 insect destroyers, I will mention one instance that came under my personal ob- 

 servation last spring. Adjoining my residence in West Point in this State there 

 was a wheat field. About the time the wheat was 2 inches high young grass- 

 hoppers made their appearance in great numbers, and in a short time they had 

 eaten the wheat so that the field in many places was as bare as a street. About 

 that time I noticed that large flocks of birds — mostly the common blackbirds — 

 were frequenting this field daily. I soon discovered that they were after the 

 hated 'hopper. I went out frequently to make observations, and I am satisfied 

 that each bird destroyed at least 300 locusts daily. In about 10 days the birds 

 ceased their visits, and upon inspection I found that the 'hoppers had disap- 

 peared also. The wheat sprung up again, and made a good crop. 



" There are many other similar instances where birds save wheat fields from 

 being destroyed by the grasshoppers in my county, to which my attention has 

 been called by farmers * * *." — Senator Crawford, West Point, Nebraska, 

 November 7, 1877. 



" Dear Sik : I had one field of wheat on which the locusts were at work dur- 

 ing the last spring in such numbers that it looked as if nothing would be left. 

 The blackbirds, however, and also the plover, found it out, and came in such 

 numbers that they cleaned out every 'hopper, and I got a good field of wheat." — 

 Elias Brumer, Grand Island, Hall County, Nebraska, September 28. 1877. 



" Deab Sib : In answer to your question about the birds and the locusts, I 

 must say this : Every farmer that shoots birds must be a fool. I had wheat 

 this last spring on new breaking. The grasshoppers came out apparently as 

 thick as the wheat itself, and, indeed, much thicker. I gave up that field for 

 lost. Just then great numbers of plover came, and flocks of blackbirds, and 

 some quail, and commenced feeding on this field. They cleaned out the locusts 

 so well that I had at least three-fourths of a crop, and I know that without the 

 birds I would not have had any. I know other farmers whose wheat was saved 

 in the same way." — S. E. Goodmore, Fremont, Nebraska, October 5, 1877. 2 



We may quote also the testimony 3 of Mr. E. S. Abbott, of Pleas- 

 ant Hill, Sabine County, Nebraska, who says : 



All wild birds prey upon them, especially the prairie-chickens and quails. It 

 is believed that a prairie chicken eats one pint per day ; quails about one-half 

 that quantity. The bird which has done us the best service is the [yellow- 

 headed] blackbird * * *. They came in great quantities, probably a thou- 

 sand in a flock ; they marched over the field like a band of soldiers, cleaning the 

 ground * * * where it was actually black with 'hoppers. 



W. J. McLaughlin of Centralia, Kansas, pays tribute to the same 

 birds, which, he says, 4 " made themselves valuable to the farmers last 

 spring in devouring the swarms of young grasshoppers. I had a lot 

 of land on which the grasshoppers deposited their eggs by the mil- 

 lion ; as they began to hatch the yellowheads found them out, and a 

 flock of about 200 attended about 2 acres daily, roving over the entire 

 lot as wild pigeons feed, the rear ones flying to the front as the in- 



2 1st Rept. (for 1877), U. S. Ent. Comm., pp. 339-342, 1878. 



3 2d Rept. U. S. Ent. Comm. (1878-1879), 1880, appendix [p. 6], 

 * Am. Nat. II, pp. 493-494, 1868. 



