QUAIL, NIGHTHAWK, ETC. 21 



specimens taken in February and March have been examined, and of 

 these 1 had eaten 2 boll weevils, another 3. In the summer and fall 

 they rarely feed in the fields. 



QUAIL. 



Quail stomachs to the number of nearly 200, taken in every month 

 excepting January, May, and June, have been examined, and thus 

 far only 1 boll weevil has been found. Quails are very largely seed 

 eaters, insects forming only about 15 per cent of their food for the 

 entire year. Under favorable conditions they are likely to pick up 

 some boll weevils, but in view of the results of stomach examinations 

 already made, they can not be expected to destroy large numbers of 

 weevils, and statements of quails' crops found " filled with weevils," 

 which appear from time to time in the newspapers, must be taken 

 with many grains of allowance. 



nighthawk; "bull bat." 



Nighthawks breed locally throughout Texas and Louisiana, par- 

 ticularly in plains and prairie regions, but usually are not abundant 

 in farming districts, except during migrations. Only 10 specimens, 

 taken in August and September, have been examined, and of these 

 1 contained a total of 15 boll weevils. Two of these birds had each 

 eaten 6 weevils. Nighthawks are thus seen to be important enemies 

 of the boll weevil, and wherever they occur they should be carefully 

 protected. 



AVARBLERS. 



The warbler family is represented in Texas by a large number of 

 species, most of which are inhabitants of woodland. A few species 

 have been observed in cotton fields, and two of them have been found 

 to eat boll weevils. 



Yellow warbler. — Yellow warblers are common in Texas in sum- 

 mer, and during August and September they frequent the cotton 

 fields in some numbers. Twenty-five specimens have been examined, 

 1 of which had eaten a boll weevil. 



Yellow-breasted chat. — Chats occur sparingly in the timbered por- 

 tions of Texas. They are lovers of thickets and usually are so shy 

 that they are not often seen. Five specimens were taken in Septem- 

 ber in a cotton field bordered by thickets, and 1 was found to have 

 eaten a boll weevil. 



TITMICE AND WRENS. 



Two species of titmice and the Carolina wren have been found 

 to destroy boll weevils. They are forest -loving birds and their work 

 is done chiefly during the winter, when the weevils are in hiding. 



« Judd, Bui. 21, Biological Survey, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1905, p. 37. 



