84 



BIRDS OF A MARYLAND FAKM. 



chipping sparrows hopped about, springing a foot or two into the air 

 every few minutes to obtain a mouthful. Two strayed off by them- 

 selves and made good subjects for observation. In twenty minutes 

 they had eaten 21 ants. Song sparrows and English sparrows were 

 feeding in a similar manner. A kingbird now and then left his station 

 on an apple tree to snap up the prey, and bank swallows and barn swal- 

 lows skimmed over the fields, gathering in large numbers. Undoubt- 

 edly other species were also doing good service. 



The total number of native species engaged in the destruction of 

 ants was 39 and included the following list: 



Lkt of birds examined whose stomachs contained ants. 



Spotted sandpiper. 



Downy woodpecker. 



Flicker. 



Kingbird. 



Great crested flycatcher. 



Phoebe. 



Wood pewee. 



Orchard oriole. 



White-throated sparrow. 



Chipping sparrow. 



Field sparrow. 



Junco. 



Song sparrow. 



Towhee. 



Chat. 



Canadian warbler. 



Mockingbird. 



Catbird. 



House wren. 



Long-billed marsh wren. 



Cardinal. 



Barn swallow. 



Bank swallow. 



Rough-winged swallow. 



Red-eyed vireo. 



White-eyed vireo. 



Worm-eating warbler. 

 Yellow warbler. 

 Magnolia warbler. 

 Black-poll warbler. 

 Prairie warbler. 

 Oven-bird. 

 Water-thrush. 

 Maryland yellow-throat. 

 Brown creeper. 

 Carolina chickadee. 

 Blue-gray gnatcatcher. 

 Gray-cheeked thrush. 

 Olive-backed thrush. 



On August 3 there was a large flight of termites (Termesjlavipes), 

 commonly known as white ants, pests that tunnel into woodwork. 

 At the lower end of lot 3 fully 200 swallows, mainly bank swallows, 

 with a few barn swallows and white-bellied swallows, were very busy 

 among them. Two birds of each of the first two species and three of 

 the third were found to have eaten together 320. 



Weevils. — Sparrows, blackbirds, orioles, and meadowlarks appeared 

 to be the worst enemies of weevils. The orchard oriole had a useful 

 habit of feeding in plum orchards of the Hun- 

 gerford farm on the plum curculio, which usu- 

 ally ruins seven-eighths of the crop at Marshall 

 Hall. A score of bobolinks feeding (May 17 and 

 18, 1899) in a wheat field that was just coming 

 into milk were suspected of injuring the grain, 

 and six were shot. None of them had eaten 

 wheat, but all had fed chiefly on a very injurious 

 weevil— the imbricated snout-beetle {Epicaerus 

 imbricatus). A dozen bobolinks were observed 

 •(May 15, 1900) in plants of red clover securing 

 the clover-leaf weevil {Phytonomus punctatus). 

 These two weevils are also relished by blackbirds, 

 meadowlarks, crows, catbirds, and other species. Bill bugs {Spheno- 



a 



Fig. 11.— Weevil (after Chit- 

 tenden; loaned by Divis- 

 ion of Entomology). 



