1914] Bryant: Economic Status of the Western Meadowlark 471 



had sufficient time to cause damage. Birds in order to keep alive 

 must wage a continual warfare on insect life, no matter what 

 the abundance. They are evidently, therefore, to be relied upon 

 as more dependable regulators than parasites. 



Since, as has been shown, the average adult western meadow- 

 lark destroys nearly three pounds of insects each year and prob- 

 ably almost as many more pounds while feeding its young, its 

 value to the agriculturist is apparent. The ratio of value of one 

 of these birds living to that of one dead is, therefore, as five 

 pounds of insects and one-half pound of weed seeds are to one 

 and three-fourths pounds of grain, a considerable portion of 

 which is made up of wild oats and waste grain. 



The fact that the western meadowlark destroys certain bene- 

 ficial insects cannot be counted a point in its favor. And yet 

 the quantity taken is so small, less than five per cent of the food 

 for the year, and the destruction so caused is such an indirect 

 injury, that the damage possible is very slight and practically 

 negligible. The destruction of one ichneumon-fly compared with 

 the destruction of one hundred grasshoppers, somewhat the pro- 

 portion in which they are taken, leaves no doubt as to the com- 

 parative benefit. 



Since the western meadowlark feeds to a large extent on 

 grass-land insects, many of which are not eaten by other birds, 

 it must be considered a friend of the dairymen and grain growers, 

 and not an enemy. "The laborer is worthy of his hire." The 

 grain taken by western meadowlarks can well be considered the 

 pay for their efficient work in destroying injurious insects and 

 weed seed. 



It must be apparent from these comparisons that the balance 

 is certainly in favor of the meadowlark. Birds are considered 

 a national resource and so belong to the people as a whole. It 

 seems doubtful whether the grain grower should destroy birds 

 destroying his crops when the same birds might be performing 

 a great service in destroying injurious insects in his own or his 

 neighbor's alfalfa field. 



This investigation has shown that the western meadowlark, 

 as a rule, deserves protection and encouragement at the hands 

 of the agriculturist. Only in rare cases can it be said that the 



