﻿44 
  BOBWHITE 
  AND 
  OTHEK 
  QUAILS 
  OF 
  UNITED 
  STATES* 
  

  

  green 
  thing 
  before 
  it, 
  and 
  often 
  driving 
  the 
  farmer 
  from 
  home 
  and 
  

   threatening 
  him 
  with 
  starvation. 
  During 
  a 
  single 
  season 
  it 
  has 
  

   caused 
  a 
  loss 
  of 
  $100,000,000. 
  

  

  In 
  1874-75 
  Samuel 
  Aughey 
  made 
  a 
  special 
  study 
  of 
  a 
  Nebraska 
  

   invasion 
  and 
  found 
  that 
  the 
  bobwhites 
  were 
  an 
  active 
  enemy 
  of 
  the 
  

   locusts. 
  Of 
  21 
  birds 
  shot 
  between 
  May 
  and 
  October, 
  inclusive, 
  all 
  

   but 
  five 
  had 
  fed 
  on 
  locusts. 
  The 
  smallest 
  number 
  taken 
  by 
  any 
  bird 
  

   was 
  20 
  and 
  the 
  largest 
  39 
  ; 
  in 
  all, 
  539 
  — 
  an 
  average 
  of 
  25 
  apiece. 
  C. 
  V. 
  

   Riley 
  ascertained 
  that 
  the 
  bird. 
  feeds 
  also 
  on 
  the 
  eggs 
  of 
  the 
  locust, 
  

   particularly 
  in 
  winter, 
  when 
  they 
  are 
  exposed 
  by 
  the 
  freezing 
  and 
  

   thawing 
  of 
  the 
  ground. 
  If 
  every 
  covey 
  destroyed 
  as 
  many 
  locusts 
  

   in 
  a 
  day 
  as 
  the 
  one 
  just 
  referred 
  to, 
  it 
  is 
  hard 
  to 
  overestimate 
  the 
  

   usefulness 
  of 
  the 
  bobwhite 
  where 
  abundant 
  in 
  infested 
  regions. 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  are 
  a 
  few 
  of 
  the 
  many 
  species 
  of 
  orthopterous 
  

   insects 
  identified 
  from 
  the 
  crops 
  and 
  stomachs 
  of 
  bobwhites 
  : 
  

  

  Cricket 
  (Gryllus 
  sp.). 
  Red-legged 
  grasshopper 
  (Melanoplus 
  

  

  Meadow 
  grasshoppers 
  (Xiphidium, 
  Or- 
  femur-rubrum) 
  . 
  

  

  chelinum, 
  Scudderia). 
  Grasshopper 
  (Melanoplus 
  blvittatus, 
  

  

  Katydid 
  (Microcentrwm 
  sp.). 
  M. 
  scudderi, 
  M. 
  atlanis). 
  

  

  Walking 
  sticks 
  (Phasmidce). 
  Bird 
  grasshopper 
  (Schistocerca 
  ameri- 
  

  

  G 
  rouse 
  locust 
  ( 
  Tettix 
  sp. 
  ) 
  . 
  cana). 
  

   Mountain 
  locust 
  {Melanoplus 
  spretus). 
  

  

  CATERPILLARS 
  EATEN. 
  

  

  The 
  bobwhite 
  seems 
  to 
  eat 
  fewer 
  caterpillars 
  than 
  would 
  be 
  ex- 
  

   pected 
  from 
  its 
  terrestrial 
  habits. 
  The 
  yearly 
  proportion 
  only 
  

   formed 
  0.95 
  per 
  cent 
  and 
  the 
  maximum 
  quantity 
  eaten 
  in 
  a 
  month 
  

   was 
  4: 
  per 
  cent 
  in 
  May. 
  This 
  apparent 
  neglect 
  of 
  caterpillars 
  as 
  food 
  

   is 
  perhaps 
  due 
  to 
  their 
  scarcity 
  where 
  the 
  birds 
  for 
  the 
  present 
  study 
  

   were 
  shot. 
  Pupae 
  and 
  adult 
  moths 
  occasionally 
  serve 
  as 
  food. 
  

   Whatever 
  the 
  list 
  of 
  species 
  of 
  caterpillars 
  eaten 
  by 
  bobwhite 
  lacks 
  

   in 
  length 
  it 
  makes 
  up 
  in 
  importance, 
  for 
  so 
  great 
  a 
  proportion 
  of 
  

   serious 
  lepidopterous 
  pests 
  is 
  seldom 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  fare 
  of 
  any 
  bird. 
  

   As 
  is 
  true 
  of 
  some 
  other 
  birds, 
  the 
  bobwhite 
  includes 
  the 
  army 
  worm 
  

   in 
  its 
  bill 
  of 
  fare. 
  This 
  pest 
  sometimes 
  exists 
  in 
  legions 
  and 
  moves 
  

   steadily 
  forward 
  from 
  field 
  to 
  field, 
  devouring 
  corn, 
  oats, 
  forage, 
  and 
  

   other 
  crops. 
  Fortunately 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  often 
  active, 
  and 
  the 
  years 
  of 
  its 
  

   occurrence 
  are 
  frequently 
  separated 
  by 
  long 
  intervals. 
  Every 
  year, 
  

   however, 
  the 
  different 
  species 
  of 
  cutworms 
  do 
  serious 
  damage. 
  They 
  

   cut 
  down 
  germinating 
  grain, 
  often 
  before 
  the 
  plants 
  have 
  fairly 
  

   sprung 
  above 
  ground. 
  Owing 
  to 
  their 
  mode 
  of 
  feeding, 
  a 
  few 
  worms 
  

   may 
  lop 
  off 
  many 
  plants 
  in 
  a 
  night. 
  It 
  seems 
  strange 
  that 
  the 
  bob- 
  

   whites 
  find 
  as 
  many 
  of 
  these 
  nocturnal 
  larva? 
  as 
  they 
  do. 
  The 
  cotton 
  

   worm, 
  a 
  pest 
  so 
  destructive 
  that 
  in 
  one 
  year 
  it 
  has 
  caused 
  a 
  loss 
  of 
  

   $30,000,000 
  to 
  the 
  cotton 
  fields, 
  is 
  preyed 
  upon 
  by 
  the 
  bobwhite. 
  To- 
  

   bacco 
  worms 
  were 
  sparingly 
  eaten 
  by 
  bobwhites 
  at 
  Marshall 
  Hall, 
  

  

  