20 BIRDS THAT EAT THE COTTON BOLL WEEVIL. 



of the food of many species, notably the cuckoos, orioles, and mock- 

 ingbirds, which were the commonest birds in the fields. The con- 

 sumption of weevils by the birds therefore was probably less than 

 it would have been had there been no cotton worms. 



Nine species of birds were found feeding on weevils in this locality, 

 52 individuals, or more than 12 percent of those examined, having 

 eaten a total of 88 weevils. As in other locahties visited, orioles were 

 the greatest consumers of weevils, although the proportion of weevils 

 to birds killed was larger in the records of the nighthawk and of the 

 least flycatcher. 



The nighthawk (Ohordeiles virginianus henryi) was quite numerous, 

 but unfortunately it was not suspected of eating weevils, so that only 

 four specimens were taken. Of these, 2 had eaten weevils; one col- 

 lected on August 25 had eaten 6, and one on September 15, one wee- 

 vil. The first of these was shot while flying over a cotton field, the 

 other while resting on a tree, both at about 10 a. m. In the first 

 instance 2 of the 6 weevils were almost entire, showing that they had 

 been captured only a short time before. Since these birds invariably 

 feed on the' wing, the weevils must have been flying at the time they 

 were captured. 



The least flycatcher was present in small numbers, and 4 individuals 

 were taken, 2 of which had eaten weevils — one eating 4, the other, one. 

 The scissor-tailed flycatcher, a much more abundant species, cap- 

 tured only a small number of weevils. Of the 30 individuals collected, 

 2 had eaten a total of 3 weevils. 



Three species of orioles were present at this locality — the orchard 

 oriole, the Baltimore oriole, and the Bullock oriole, the last being the 

 most abundant and also the greatest destroyer of weevils. Of 30 

 orchard orioles examined, 7 had eaten a total of 8 weevils. In this 

 portion of Texas the Baltimore oriole is a migrant only. The first 

 arrivals from the North were seen on September 13, and diu-ing the 

 next ten days they were common. Five of those examined had eaten a 

 total of 9 weevils. The Bullock oriole is a common breeder here and 

 they were still numerous at the time of the writer's departure. 

 Although partial to mesquite trees, they were occasionally seen in cot- 

 ton fields, and the stomach examinations show that about one-fourth 

 of those killed had eaten weevils. , In all, 27 stomachs of this bird were 

 found to contain a total of 51 weevils, the largest number eaten by a 

 single bird being 5. The small percentage of weevils taken, in com- 

 parison with the number taken by the same species at Beeville is 

 explained by the greater abundance of cotton worms at Ruiige. 

 Practically all the orioles of the three species taken at the latter place 

 had eaten either the caterpillars or the chrysahds of the cotton worm 

 and these insects formed more than 80 percent of their food. ' 



Both the cardinal and the painted bunting were found to be eating 

 the weevils, but neither species was abundant. Four cardinals were 



