﻿BIRDS 
  KNOWN 
  TO 
  EAT 
  THE 
  BOLL 
  WEEVIL, 
  

  

  INTRODUCTION. 
  

  

  For 
  several 
  years 
  past 
  the 
  cotton 
  growers 
  of 
  Texas, 
  as 
  is 
  well 
  

   known, 
  have 
  sustained 
  enormous 
  losses 
  through 
  the 
  ravages 
  of 
  cotton 
  

   boll 
  weevils. 
  Remedial 
  measures 
  of 
  various 
  kinds 
  have 
  been 
  tried, 
  

   but, 
  though 
  some 
  of 
  these 
  undoubtedly 
  have 
  proved 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  

   effective, 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  insects 
  does 
  not 
  seem 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  materially 
  

   reduced, 
  and 
  their 
  progress 
  into 
  other 
  cotton-producing 
  districts 
  has 
  

   been 
  steady, 
  the 
  borders 
  of 
  their 
  range 
  widening 
  yearly. 
  

  

  The 
  extent 
  to 
  which 
  the 
  native 
  birds 
  feed 
  upon 
  this, 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  

   most 
  destructive 
  insect 
  pests 
  that 
  have 
  ever 
  appeared 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  

   States, 
  is 
  yet 
  but 
  imperfectly 
  understood, 
  and 
  investigations 
  are 
  now 
  

   being 
  conducted 
  by 
  the 
  Biological 
  Survey 
  with 
  a 
  view 
  to 
  determin- 
  

   ing 
  just 
  what 
  species 
  feed 
  upon 
  the 
  weevil 
  and 
  the 
  extent 
  to 
  which 
  

   it 
  enters 
  into 
  the 
  fare 
  of 
  each. 
  

  

  The 
  fact 
  that 
  for 
  the 
  past 
  twelve 
  years 
  the 
  weevil 
  has 
  been 
  steadily 
  

   spreading 
  over 
  the 
  cotton-producing 
  area 
  forbids 
  the 
  assumption 
  

   that 
  birds 
  are 
  likely 
  ever 
  to 
  exterminate 
  the 
  insects. 
  Nevertheless, 
  

   as 
  will 
  appear 
  from 
  facts 
  presented 
  below, 
  certain 
  species 
  prey 
  upon 
  

   the 
  weevil 
  to 
  a 
  greater 
  or 
  less 
  extent, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  by 
  care- 
  

   fully 
  protecting 
  such 
  species 
  and 
  by 
  encouraging 
  their 
  increase 
  the 
  

   good 
  work 
  they 
  now 
  do 
  may 
  be 
  greatly 
  augmented 
  in 
  the 
  future. 
  

   Thus, 
  the 
  question 
  of 
  extermination 
  aside, 
  birds 
  are 
  likely 
  to 
  prove 
  

   an 
  effective 
  ally 
  in 
  checking 
  the 
  increase 
  of 
  the 
  pest. 
  The 
  fact 
  that 
  

   other 
  species 
  of 
  weevils 
  are 
  a 
  favorite 
  diet 
  with 
  many 
  of 
  our 
  insec- 
  

   tivorous 
  birds 
  has 
  been 
  proved 
  by 
  previous 
  investigations. 
  More- 
  

   over, 
  it 
  is 
  well 
  known 
  that 
  when 
  a 
  new 
  insect 
  first 
  appears 
  in 
  a 
  

   district 
  birds 
  are 
  somewhat 
  slow 
  in 
  acquiring 
  a 
  taste 
  for 
  it 
  and 
  in 
  

   sufficiently 
  learning 
  its 
  haunts 
  and 
  hiding 
  places 
  to 
  effectively 
  pursue 
  

   and 
  capture 
  it. 
  It 
  is 
  probable, 
  therefore, 
  that 
  some 
  birds 
  which 
  at 
  

   present 
  are 
  not 
  known 
  to 
  attack 
  the 
  weevil 
  at 
  all 
  will 
  later 
  acquire 
  

   a 
  taste 
  for 
  it, 
  and 
  that 
  others 
  which 
  now 
  feed 
  upon 
  it 
  sparingly 
  will 
  

   in 
  future 
  feed 
  upon 
  it 
  to 
  a 
  greater 
  extent. 
  

  

  The 
  present 
  report 
  is 
  in 
  response 
  to 
  urgent 
  appeals 
  from 
  the 
  

  

  « 
  Food 
  of 
  Bobolink, 
  Blackbirds, 
  and 
  Grackles, 
  by 
  F. 
  E. 
  L. 
  Beal, 
  Biological 
  

   Survey 
  Bulletin 
  No. 
  13, 
  pp. 
  22, 
  44, 
  52, 
  69, 
  and 
  189. 
  

  

  7 
  

  

  