﻿FIELD 
  NOTES. 
  9 
  

  

  viduals 
  shot 
  contained 
  remains 
  of 
  five 
  boll 
  weevils. 
  Allowing 
  the 
  

   birds 
  only 
  two 
  meals 
  a 
  day, 
  at 
  this 
  rate 
  they 
  would 
  consume 
  125 
  

   per 
  cent 
  of 
  their 
  own 
  numbers 
  in 
  boll 
  weevils 
  daily. 
  Considering 
  

   the 
  abundance 
  of 
  these 
  birds, 
  none 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  species 
  collected 
  

   equal 
  them 
  as 
  weevil 
  destroyers, 
  at 
  least 
  at 
  this 
  particular 
  season. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  perhaps 
  of 
  interest 
  to 
  add 
  that 
  the 
  titlarks 
  breed 
  in 
  great 
  

   numbers 
  above 
  timber 
  line 
  in 
  the 
  high 
  mountains 
  of 
  New 
  Mexico, 
  

   Colorado, 
  and 
  northward, 
  and 
  winter 
  in 
  still 
  greater 
  numbers 
  in 
  

   southern 
  Texas. 
  

  

  Black-crested 
  titmouse, 
  Tomtit 
  (Bwolophus 
  atricristatus) 
  . 
  — 
  Tomtits 
  

   were 
  fairly 
  common 
  at 
  Seguin 
  and 
  Navasota, 
  in 
  their 
  usual 
  resident 
  

   numbers. 
  They 
  hunt 
  mainly 
  over 
  the 
  branches 
  and 
  trunks 
  of 
  the 
  

   trees, 
  where 
  they 
  pry 
  into 
  all 
  the 
  cracks 
  and 
  crevices 
  of 
  bark 
  and 
  

   broken 
  wood. 
  Only 
  2 
  were 
  shot, 
  1 
  of 
  which 
  had 
  eaten 
  a 
  boll 
  weevil. 
  

  

  Western 
  meadow 
  lark 
  (Stumella 
  magna 
  neglecta). 
  — 
  The 
  western 
  

   meadow 
  larks 
  were 
  seen 
  from 
  the 
  train 
  between 
  Austin 
  and 
  San 
  

   Antonio, 
  October 
  28, 
  rising 
  in 
  flocks 
  of 
  10 
  to 
  100 
  from 
  almost 
  every 
  

   cotton 
  field 
  along 
  the 
  railroad. 
  In 
  one 
  field 
  of 
  not 
  more 
  than 
  20 
  

   acres 
  108 
  birds 
  were 
  counted. 
  At 
  Seguin 
  they 
  were 
  abundant 
  from 
  

   October 
  31 
  to 
  November 
  12, 
  and 
  at 
  Eagle 
  Lake 
  they 
  were 
  common 
  

   to 
  November 
  19 
  over 
  the 
  open 
  country, 
  or, 
  sometimes, 
  in 
  company 
  

   with 
  the 
  more 
  common 
  Florida 
  form, 
  argutula, 
  in 
  the 
  fields. 
  At 
  

   Navasota 
  they 
  were 
  still 
  abundant 
  on 
  the 
  open 
  prairie 
  and 
  in 
  fields 
  

   up 
  to 
  December 
  16, 
  but 
  less 
  common 
  in 
  the 
  fields 
  and 
  wooded 
  country 
  

   than 
  argutula. 
  These 
  dates 
  merely 
  indicate 
  that 
  the 
  meadow 
  larks 
  

   had 
  arrived 
  in 
  full 
  force 
  from 
  the 
  north 
  before 
  my 
  arrival 
  in 
  the 
  

   field 
  and 
  remained 
  in 
  undiminished 
  numbers 
  to 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  my 
  

   departure 
  after 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  December. 
  The 
  greater 
  number 
  of 
  

   those 
  sent 
  in 
  for 
  examination 
  were 
  shot 
  from 
  November 
  1 
  to 
  12 
  at 
  

   Seguin, 
  where 
  only 
  neglecta 
  was 
  found. 
  Here 
  it 
  was 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  

   abundant 
  birds 
  in 
  the 
  fields. 
  In 
  walking 
  across 
  a 
  40-acre 
  cotton 
  

   field 
  I 
  usually 
  flushed 
  200 
  or 
  300 
  western 
  meadow 
  larks. 
  In 
  corn 
  and 
  

   sorghum 
  fields 
  the 
  birds 
  were 
  just 
  as 
  common, 
  but 
  as 
  fully 
  three- 
  

   fourths 
  of 
  the 
  fields 
  in 
  this 
  region 
  are 
  devoted 
  to 
  cotton 
  the 
  greater 
  

   numbers 
  of 
  birds 
  were 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  cotton 
  fields. 
  The 
  open 
  nature 
  

   of 
  these 
  fields, 
  with 
  the 
  partial 
  concealment 
  and 
  protection 
  offered 
  

   by 
  the 
  rows 
  of 
  cotton 
  stalks, 
  makes 
  them 
  favorite 
  feeding 
  ground 
  

   for 
  the 
  larks. 
  

  

  The 
  18 
  boll 
  weevils 
  eaten 
  by 
  the 
  64 
  birds 
  probably 
  represent 
  a 
  fair 
  

   average 
  of 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  weevils 
  eaten 
  at 
  one 
  meal 
  at 
  this 
  season. 
  

   Allowing 
  the 
  birds 
  at 
  least 
  two 
  meals 
  a 
  day, 
  the 
  birds 
  safely 
  may 
  be 
  

   assumed 
  to 
  destroy 
  over 
  50 
  percent 
  of 
  their 
  own. 
  number 
  in 
  weevils 
  

   daily. 
  This 
  good 
  work 
  carried 
  on 
  throughout 
  the 
  fall 
  and 
  winter 
  

   months 
  can 
  not 
  fail 
  to 
  have 
  an 
  important 
  effect 
  on 
  the 
  next 
  year's 
  

   crop 
  of 
  weevils. 
  

  

  