﻿12 
  BIRDS 
  THAT 
  EAT 
  THE 
  COTTON 
  BOLL 
  WEEVIL. 
  

  

  must 
  be 
  considered 
  among 
  the 
  most 
  useful 
  of 
  the 
  winter 
  visitants 
  to 
  

   Texas. 
  

  

  The 
  big 
  ' 
  jackdaw/ 
  or 
  great-tailed 
  grackle 
  (Megaquiscalus 
  major 
  

   macrourus), 
  was 
  found 
  to 
  capture 
  boll 
  weevils 
  in 
  February, 
  two 
  of 
  the 
  

   eight 
  birds 
  taken 
  in 
  that 
  month 
  having 
  eaten 
  one 
  weevil 
  each. 
  Six 
  

   stomachs 
  of 
  the 
  bird 
  taken 
  in 
  summer 
  contained 
  no 
  weevil 
  remains. 
  

  

  The 
  red-winged 
  blackbird 
  (Agelaius 
  fhozniceus) 
  shows 
  a 
  smaller 
  

   percentage 
  of 
  weevils 
  taken 
  than 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  species 
  of 
  this 
  

   family, 
  but 
  the 
  enormous 
  numbers 
  of 
  these 
  birds 
  which 
  visit 
  the 
  cotton 
  

   fields 
  during 
  the 
  migrations 
  give 
  to 
  their 
  work 
  a 
  place 
  of 
  some 
  

   importance. 
  Sixty-three 
  stomachs, 
  nearly 
  all 
  taken 
  in 
  the 
  fall 
  and 
  

   winter, 
  have 
  been 
  examined, 
  and 
  two 
  of 
  them 
  contained 
  boll 
  weevils. 
  

  

  The 
  cowbird 
  {Moloihrus 
  ater) 
  is 
  the 
  only 
  blackbird 
  known 
  to 
  eat 
  

   weevils 
  both 
  in 
  summer 
  and 
  winter, 
  but 
  the 
  number 
  consumed 
  in 
  each 
  

   case 
  is 
  small. 
  Forty 
  stomachs 
  of 
  this 
  bird 
  collected 
  in 
  winter 
  showed 
  

   only 
  1 
  weevil 
  in 
  the 
  contents, 
  and 
  54 
  stomachs 
  taken 
  in 
  summer 
  

   showed 
  three 
  containing 
  1 
  weevil 
  each. 
  

  

  SPARROWS, 
  GROSBEAKS, 
  ETC. 
  

  

  (Fringillidse.) 
  

  

  The 
  members 
  of 
  this 
  family 
  are 
  among 
  the 
  most 
  abundant 
  and 
  gen- 
  

   erally 
  distributed 
  of 
  Texas 
  birds. 
  Five 
  species 
  have 
  been 
  collected 
  

   during 
  the 
  summer 
  months 
  and 
  nine 
  during 
  the 
  winter 
  months. 
  All 
  

   five 
  species 
  taken 
  in 
  summer 
  were 
  found 
  to 
  have 
  eaten 
  the 
  boll 
  weevil, 
  

   but 
  in 
  nearly 
  every 
  case 
  the 
  consumption 
  of 
  weevils 
  was 
  small. 
  The 
  

   only 
  species 
  which 
  seems 
  to 
  feed 
  upon 
  them 
  regularly 
  at 
  this 
  season 
  is 
  

   the 
  painted 
  bunting, 
  and 
  considering 
  the 
  abundance 
  of 
  these 
  birds 
  

   and 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  they 
  feed 
  extensively 
  in 
  the 
  cotton 
  fields, 
  they 
  must 
  

   be 
  considered 
  an 
  important 
  factor 
  in 
  reducing 
  the 
  numbers 
  of 
  weevils. 
  

   Eighteen 
  birds, 
  or 
  nearly 
  17 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  number 
  examined, 
  had 
  

   eaten 
  boll 
  weevils, 
  but 
  in 
  only 
  one 
  instance 
  was 
  more 
  than 
  one 
  weevil 
  

   taken 
  by 
  a 
  single 
  bird. 
  

  

  The 
  other 
  species 
  of 
  this 
  family 
  which 
  feed 
  upon 
  the 
  weevil 
  in 
  sum- 
  

   mer 
  are 
  the 
  western 
  lark 
  sparrow, 
  the 
  dickcissel, 
  the 
  cardinal, 
  and 
  the 
  

   pyrrhuloxia; 
  in 
  winter, 
  the 
  white-throated 
  sparrow 
  and 
  the 
  western 
  

   lark 
  sparrow. 
  The 
  number 
  of 
  weevils 
  eaten 
  by" 
  all 
  of 
  these 
  is 
  insig- 
  

   nificant. 
  

  

  FLYCATCHERS. 
  

  

  (Tyrannidse.) 
  

  

  About 
  ten 
  species 
  of 
  flycatchers 
  occur 
  commonly 
  in 
  Texas, 
  but 
  only 
  

   six 
  of 
  them 
  are 
  summer 
  residents. 
  Since 
  these 
  birds 
  habitually 
  cap- 
  

   ture 
  their 
  prey 
  on 
  the 
  wing, 
  they 
  would 
  not 
  be 
  expected 
  to 
  destroy 
  

   -large 
  numbers 
  of 
  boll 
  weevils, 
  which, 
  except 
  during 
  their 
  annual 
  

  

  