﻿10 
  BIRDS 
  KNOWN 
  TO 
  EAT 
  THE 
  BOLL 
  WEEVIL. 
  

  

  Florida 
  meadow 
  lark 
  (Sturnella 
  magna 
  argutula). 
  — 
  The 
  Florida 
  

   meadow 
  larks 
  were 
  first 
  found 
  at 
  Eagle 
  Lake, 
  November 
  18, 
  where 
  

   they 
  were 
  more 
  numerous 
  than 
  neglecta, 
  with 
  which 
  they 
  were 
  asso- 
  

   ciated 
  in 
  the 
  cotton 
  fields. 
  At 
  Wharton 
  they 
  were 
  common 
  and 
  the 
  

   only 
  form 
  found. 
  By 
  the 
  nature 
  of 
  the 
  country 
  they 
  were 
  restricted 
  

   to 
  the 
  large 
  cotton 
  and 
  cane 
  fields 
  which 
  occupy 
  the 
  only 
  clearings 
  in 
  

   the 
  heavy 
  forest; 
  and 
  until 
  the 
  sugar 
  cane 
  is 
  cut, 
  usually 
  late 
  in 
  

   November, 
  the 
  larks 
  were 
  practically 
  restricted 
  to 
  the 
  cotton 
  fields. 
  

   At 
  Navasota 
  they 
  were 
  common 
  up 
  to 
  my 
  departure, 
  December 
  16, 
  

   and 
  their 
  favorite 
  resorts 
  were 
  the 
  cotton 
  and 
  corn 
  fields 
  of 
  the 
  tim- 
  

   bered 
  river 
  bottoms. 
  Here 
  the 
  western 
  meadow 
  lark 
  was 
  associated 
  

   with 
  them 
  to 
  some 
  extent, 
  but 
  seemed 
  to 
  prefer 
  the 
  open 
  prairie 
  

   strips 
  of 
  this 
  half-forested 
  region. 
  In 
  abundance 
  and 
  habits 
  the 
  

   Florida 
  form 
  does 
  not 
  differ 
  greatly 
  from 
  the 
  western 
  meadow 
  lark, 
  

   and 
  the 
  conclusions 
  in 
  regard 
  to 
  one 
  would 
  apply 
  in 
  a 
  general 
  way 
  to 
  

   both. 
  The 
  slightly 
  smaller 
  proportion 
  of 
  boll 
  weevils 
  eaten 
  by 
  

   argutula 
  is 
  probably 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  specimens 
  were 
  collected 
  

   later 
  in 
  the 
  season. 
  

  

  Common 
  phcebe 
  {Sayornis 
  phe&be). 
  — 
  The 
  common 
  phcebe 
  was 
  the 
  

   only 
  member 
  of 
  the 
  flycatcher 
  group 
  seen, 
  and 
  it 
  was 
  common 
  at 
  

   every 
  locality 
  visited 
  from 
  November 
  1 
  to 
  December 
  16. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  winter 
  

   resident 
  only 
  in 
  this 
  part 
  of 
  Texas, 
  arriving 
  usually 
  in 
  October 
  

   and 
  remaining 
  till 
  April. 
  As 
  it 
  did 
  not 
  diminish 
  in 
  numbers 
  up 
  to 
  

   the 
  middle 
  of 
  December, 
  it 
  evidently 
  remains 
  in 
  full 
  force 
  throughout 
  

   the 
  winter. 
  It 
  frequents 
  brushy 
  and 
  open 
  country 
  and 
  is 
  often 
  found 
  

   during 
  feeding 
  hours 
  sitting 
  on 
  top 
  of 
  a 
  cotton 
  plant 
  or 
  cornstalk 
  

   out 
  in 
  a 
  field. 
  In 
  walking 
  across 
  a 
  cotton 
  field 
  half 
  a 
  dozen 
  birds 
  

   were 
  sometimes 
  seen. 
  Most 
  of 
  their 
  food 
  was 
  taken 
  on 
  the 
  wing, 
  but 
  

   they 
  often 
  dived 
  to 
  the 
  ground 
  in 
  pursuit 
  of 
  insects. 
  The 
  fact 
  that 
  

   2 
  out 
  of 
  10 
  birds 
  had 
  eaten 
  boll 
  weevils 
  suggests 
  that 
  the 
  several 
  

   other 
  species 
  of 
  flycatchers 
  which 
  spend 
  the 
  summer 
  in 
  the 
  boll- 
  

   weevil 
  region 
  may 
  do 
  important 
  service 
  in 
  snapping 
  up 
  weevils 
  on 
  

   the 
  wing 
  during 
  the 
  period 
  of 
  greatest 
  activity 
  of 
  the 
  insect. 
  

  

  Redwing 
  blackbird 
  (Agelaius 
  phceniceus). 
  — 
  A 
  few 
  redwing 
  black- 
  

   birds 
  were 
  found 
  at 
  Seguin 
  November 
  7 
  ; 
  two 
  days 
  later 
  several 
  small 
  

   flocks 
  were 
  seen; 
  and 
  by 
  the 
  12th 
  they 
  were 
  fairly 
  common 
  in 
  flocks 
  

   of 
  20 
  to 
  50. 
  At 
  Columbus 
  a 
  few 
  were 
  shot 
  from 
  a 
  flock 
  of 
  100 
  or 
  more 
  

   in 
  a 
  cotton 
  field 
  November 
  15, 
  and 
  other 
  large 
  flocks 
  were 
  seen. 
  At 
  

   Eagle 
  Lake, 
  on 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  prairie, 
  November 
  16 
  to 
  19, 
  the 
  red- 
  

   wings 
  in 
  flocks 
  were 
  innumerable, 
  and 
  I 
  could 
  only 
  estimate 
  them 
  

   at 
  hundreds 
  of 
  thousands 
  of 
  individuals. 
  Numbers 
  of 
  cowbirds 
  were 
  

   in 
  these 
  flocks, 
  but 
  most 
  of 
  them 
  were 
  redwings. 
  At 
  a 
  distance 
  the 
  

   flocks 
  looked 
  like 
  clouds 
  of 
  smoke, 
  but 
  hearer, 
  as 
  they 
  rose 
  and 
  

   wheeled 
  and 
  circled 
  over 
  the 
  fields, 
  they 
  suggested 
  rapidly 
  moving 
  

   clouds 
  or 
  dust 
  in 
  the 
  desert. 
  As 
  they 
  settled 
  down, 
  they 
  blackened 
  

  

  