BIRDS IN RELATION TO THE ALFALFA WEEVIL. 11 



Six birds taken, in May had fed on the weevil, but the number of 

 insects eaten could not be accurately determined, as much of the 

 food was in an advanced stage of digestion. The adults and larvae 

 occurred in about equal proportions. One bird had fed upon this 

 insect to the extent of 80 per cent of its food, another 70, and a third, 

 which had devoured 13 adults, 48 per cent. An average of over 41 

 per cent of the foocj of the six birds consisted of alfalfa weevils. 



Another noteworthy animal food whs a considerable quantity of 

 caterpillars, forming over 17 per cent of the whole. Ground beetles 

 amounted to over per cent, and grasshoppers 5 per cent. The 

 animal portion of the horned larks' food for May was nearly three- 

 fourths of the stomach contents. The vegetable part (26.5 per cent) 

 was divided between weed seeds and wheat. This latter element 

 formed about two-thirds of the vegetable portion and may have been 

 secured from recently sown fields. 



Each of five larks collected in June also had fed on the weevil, 

 which formed 29 per cent of* the food. One had taken 16 adults and 

 1 larva, and another 10 adults and 25 larvae. In no case did the 

 weevil form less than 10 per cent of the stomach contents, and in 

 one it went as high as 60 per cent. 



Hemiptera, Lepidoptera (caterpillars), and spiders figured promi- 

 nently in the other animal food. Of the vegetable portion, weed 

 seeds composed the bulk. 



More extensive investigations have shown that with the exceptional 

 cases where injury is done to newly-sown grain the farmer has little 

 to fear from this bird. Its best service is in the reduction of the 

 annual crop of weed seeds. The lark also consumes much insect food 

 during summer months, and in Utah the alfalfa weevil has quite 

 naturally entered into its diet. On fair days in early spring these 

 insects are abundant in the stubble of alfalfa fields where horned 

 larks are common, and the destruction of the weevil at this time is 

 a very important factor in the reduction of the numbers of the annual 

 brood. While the consumption of adults (3^ per cent in April) is 

 rather low, it is believed that at this time of year the horned larks do 

 the most good in their fight upon the weevil. 



MAGPIE. 



(Pica pica hudsonia.) 



Though only locally abundant in the Salt Lake Valley, the mag- 

 pie is one of the best known of the birds of Utah. As it is somewhat 

 gregarious in habit, from 15 to 20 nests may be found comparatively 

 close together. Upward of 40 nests were found in one stretch ex- 

 tending half a mile along a creek near Kaysville. As alfalfa fields 



