22 RELATION OF BIRDS TO COTTON BOLL WEEVIL. 



Tufted titmouse and black- crested titmouse. — One or the other of 

 these closely related species is found over most of the timbered por- 

 tions of Texas, the tufted titmouse being the more eastern and the 

 black crested the more western in distribution. The former only is 

 found in Louisiana. One tufted tit taken in March and 1 black- 

 crested tit taken in December had each eaten 1 boll weevil. More 

 specimens taken in winter would probably furnish additional evidence 

 of their value as weevil destroyers. The absence of boll weevils from 



23 stomachs taken in April and May merely indicates that by this 

 time the weevils had left their winter quarters in the timber and 

 therefore were inaccessible to the titmice. 



Carolina wren. — These sprightly little wrens live in the timbered 

 sections of Texas and Louisiana throughout the year. They frequent 

 dense thickets and are especially fond of clearings choked with 

 fallen timber. In such situations they seek and capture boll weevils 

 during the period of hibernation. Of specimens taken in the fall 

 (November and December), 5 had eaten a total of 6 boll weevils. 

 Their record in spring is not so good, for of 14 specimens examined 

 in March and early April only 1 contained weevils. This one was 

 shot in a tree heavily covered with Spanish " moss " in which the bird 

 had a nest. The 2 weevils which he had eaten were doubtless taken 

 from the moss, where they are known to hibernate. 



MOCKINGBIRD. 



Mockingbirds, taken in every period of the year excepting mid- 

 winter, have been examined, but very few boll weevils have been 

 found in their stomachs. Two birds shot on February 24 each con- 

 tained 1 boll weevil, a but 35 others taken in February, March, and 

 April showed no boll weevils in the stomach contents. In summer, 

 85 specimens have been examined, only 5 of which contained boll 

 weevils, each of these containing 1 weevil. 



WHITE-RUMPED SHRIKE. 



Shrikes, known in the South under the names "loggerhead" and 

 " French mockingbird," are generally distributed over the cotton 

 country, being more common in winter than in summer. 



Fifty-four specimens, taken at all seasons, have been examined, only 

 2 of which contained boll weevils. These 2 were taken in December, 

 1 of them having eaten 4 weevils, the other 1. 



AMERICAN PIPIT. 



Pipits, or titlarks, as they are sometimes called, breed in the -North 

 and winter abundantly in Texas. At that season large flocks visit the 



a Bui. 51, Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1905, p. 153. 



