THE OOLOGIST 



199 



BIRD LIFE IN PORTO RICO. 

 Needed Protection Suggested by Study 

 of Department of Agriculture Spec- 

 ialists — Value of Birds as Des- 

 troyers of Injurious Insects Not 

 Fully Appreciated. 

 Washington, D. C. — Because of the 

 damage done to the crops of Porto 

 Rico by insect pests, a study of the 

 birds of that Island has been com- 

 pleted by the U. S. Department of Ag- 

 riculture, in co-operation with the 

 Porto Rican Government. This study, 

 the results of which are now published 

 as Department Bulletin 326, "Birds of 

 Porto Rico," was undertaken for the 

 purpose of determining the relations 

 of the birds to the insect fauna of the 

 island, in order that suitable measures 

 might be suggested for the protection 

 and increase of insectivorous species. 

 The investigators recorded 162 

 species and subspecies in Porto Rico 

 and its dependent islands, while 16 

 others are included as hypothetical. 

 Of the bona-fide forms, 94 breed on 

 the island, 63 are visitants during mi- 

 gration, and 5 species, perhaps resi- 

 dent at one time, may be called ac- 

 cidental. On the average, about 30 

 species are found in reasonable num- 

 bers during summer in almost any in- 

 land locality on Porto Rico, and a 

 few more North American migrants 

 are added in winter. Near the coast 

 these numbers are augmented some- 

 what by water birds. Certain areas 

 are seemingly destitute of bird life, 

 say the investigators, but to show that 

 birds are more numerous in Porto 

 Rico than is commonly supposed, two 

 censuses were taken during the breed- 

 ing season, in which accurate count 

 was made of the numbers of species 

 and individuals seen. At Yauco 391 

 birds belonging to 35 species were 

 listed in four hours in traversing a 

 distance of 5 miles. Near Lares 335 

 individuals of 27 species were seen on 



an area approximately the same size. 

 As a result of examining the stom- 

 achs of more than 2,200 birds, the in- 

 vestigators found many varieties 

 which feed upon the "changa," the 

 sugar-cane root borer, the May beetle, 

 and other destructive insect pests. 

 The "changa," or mole cricket, with- 

 out doubt one of the most injurious 

 insects in Porto Rico, was found to 

 be eaten by 21 species of birds. The 

 sugar-cane root borer, known also as 

 the orange leaf-weevil, was included 

 in the dietary of 17 species. 



Among the common birds found in 

 Porto Rico, the investigators found 

 none which may be called wholly per- 

 nicious. The small bird-eating Accipi- 

 ter is certainly injurious, and its larger 

 relative, the red-tailed hawk, is 

 troublesome when it acquires a taste 

 for poultry. Certain other species, 

 while to some extent destructive, make 

 up for their damage in other ways. 

 It is asserted that birds do some dam- 

 age to ripening coffee berries by eat- 

 ing the sweet pulp surrounding the 

 inner berry, but as yet this charge is 

 unsubstantiated. The damage, says 

 bulletin, is apparently done by rats 

 which, being unseen, are not suspect- 

 ed, the birds getting the blame for the 

 misdeeds of the rodents. Many species 

 of birds, such as woodpeckers, fly- 

 catchers, cuckoos, and others, are of 

 great benefit in the coffee plantations. 

 A few birds, the oriole and spindalis, 

 for instance, were seen eating oranges, 

 but in every case they attacked only 

 wild fruit that was dead ripe ana be- 

 ginning to soften. The honey creeper 

 came to sip the juice when the oranges 

 were once broken open. Quail-doves 

 pecked open the rotting sweet oranges 

 for the seeds as they lay on the 

 ground, but no birds were found at- 

 tacking sound cultivated fruit in the 

 citrus groves. Insectivorous species 

 in feeding about the trees destroy in- 



