35 



a field infested by array worms makes a feeding ground to which 

 the birds assemble from considerable distances, and there find food 

 for themselves and young. The following list includes the birds I 

 have seen feeding on the army worm the present summer : king- 

 bird, Phoebe, bobolink, cow bird, red-winged blackbird, Baltimore 

 oriole, crow blackbird, English sparrow, chipping sparrow and 

 robin. Hens, turkeys and guinea fowls also devour large quanti- 

 ties of army worms. 



Meadow larks, crows and flickers were seen apparently feeding 

 upon the army worm, but 1 was unable to approach near enough to 

 verify this observation. There was, however, an abundance of 

 army worms on the ground in the places where these birds were 

 feeding. At the Jordan farm several quail were heard in the 

 swamp land adjacent to the infested field and I am informed by 

 Gen. W. W. Blackmar that these birds have been seen feeding 

 upon the army worm at his estate. At Marshfield a flock of quail 

 was seen to feed for several days upon army worms in an infested 

 field. The two species of blackbirds are apparently the greatest 

 destroyers of these insects, but the good work done by the bobolink 

 and English sparrow deserves mention. It is, however, very doubt- 

 ful, if the services of the sparrow would equal those of the native 

 birds it has displaced. 



To verify observations an examination was made of the stomachs 

 of a few birds taken in an infested field. The stomachs were 

 found to contain army worms as follows : cow bird, remains of 

 army worms ; red-winged blackbird, three ; crow blackbird, twenty- 

 seven ; six English sparrows, respectively four, three, five, four, 

 none, three. 



The garden toad ranks high as a destroyer of army worms. 

 These batrachians were present in all the infested fields and seemed 

 to feed nearly continuously. Dissections of three toads revealed 

 nine, eleven, and fifty-five array worms in the respective stomachs.* 

 Certain parasitic flies and ground beetles usually attack the army 

 worm and destroy large numbers, but these insects have been con- 

 spicuous by their absence in all localities visited. A single ground 

 beetle (Platynus sinuatus) was noticed at Hingham feeding upon 

 the small larvae. Mr. A. I. Hayward of Agawam, to whom I am 

 indebted for much valuable information concerning the habits of the 

 army worm, writes me that the greater part of the pupoe of this 

 insect found while ploughing the infested fields were parasitized, 



* It is to be regretted that there is so little accurate knowledge concerning the food 

 of the garden toad, a deficiency that I hope in some measure to supply at a later date. 

 A large number of dissections of toads, made this year, show it to be a prime de- 

 stroyer of cut worms and of nearly all the injurious insects of the garden. 



