BIRDS IN RELATION TO THE ALFALFA WEEVIL. 37 



at least 8, which comprised about an eighth of the stomach con- 

 tents. Other food items highly in the bird's favor were seeds of 

 brome grass, ragweed, and filaree ; also the remains of click beetles, 

 the parents of wireworms, were present in both stomachs. 



As other investigations 1 have shown that the various subspecific 

 forms of this towhee are, in other localities, of benefit to man, and 

 since in Utah it was found to feed on the weevil, there is every reason 

 for its conservation. Its greatest service as a weevil destroyer is 

 rendered in the colder months. 



GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE. 



{Oreospiza chlorura.) 



The older name of canyon finch is one that fittingly describes the 

 habitat of the green-tailed towhee. Among the oak chaparral of 

 the lower altitudes of the Wasatch this bird is often met, and as it 

 frequently follows down the course of a mountain stream it may be 

 found about the borders of alfalfa fields. This was observed many 

 times in the valley of the Weber, but at no point in the irrigated 

 areas of the Salt Lake Valley can the bird be called abundant. Six 

 of the eight examined had fed on the weevil. One taken in May 

 had eaten four or five adults (35 per cent) as well as a ground 

 beetle, three darkling beetles, a hymenopteran, and a stinkbug. An- 

 other taken in June had the contents of its stomach too finely di- 

 gested for accurately estimating percentages, but fragments of alfalfa 

 weevils were recognized. Each of the other four towhees collected 

 in June had fed on the insect, which formed an average of 57.5 per 

 cent of the monthly food. One had destroyed 27 larva? and 3 

 adults. Ground beetles, darkling beetles, Hymenoptera, and bugs 

 were the more important of the other animal food items, while of 

 the vegetable food weed seeds predominated.* 



This towhee's warfare on the weevil is conducted only in com- 

 paratively few fields located at favorable points in higher altitudes. 

 Little though this may be, this bird should be carefully protected, 

 especially since in other directions it is working for the best inter- 

 ests of the farmer. 



BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK. 



(Zamelodia melanocephala.) 



The black-headed grosbeak is a fairly common and rather evenly 

 distributed species in the Salt Lake Valley, and is most frequently 

 seen about the upper branches of shady cottonwoods. 



iBe^l, F. E. L., Birds of California. Bull. 34, Part II. Biol. Survey, U. S. Dept. 

 of Agr., 1910. 



