INSECT FOOD. 



35 



I 



jpliorus parvidiis) also are often taken, but the small clover weevil 

 {Sitones hispiduhis) is destro3^ed most frequently of all. The spar- 

 rows and other terrestrial-feeding species and all the aerial feeders 

 consume this little pest in great numbers. The rice weevil ( Calandra 

 oryzci) was found in the stomachs of two marsh wrens collected in 

 the wild rice of the swamp September 7, 1896, and the injurious cab- 

 bage curculio {Ceittorhynchus rapde) had been eaten b}^ three rough- 

 winged swallows taken July 9, 1898. Among other weevils destroyed 

 by Marshall Hall birds ma}^ be mentioned Aj)io)i, Bark^ Centriniis^ 

 Macrops^ Tanymeciis^ and Tyloderma. 



The weevil-eating birds numbered 166 of the 645 collected, and were 

 divided among the subjoined 11 species: 



List of birds examined whose stomachs contained weevils. 



Downy woodpecker. 



Chimney swift. 



Great crested flycatcher. 



Wood pewee. 



Blue jay. 



Common crow. 



BoboUnk. 



Cowbird. 



Red-winged blackbird. 



jNIeadowlark. 



Orchard oriole. 



Rusty blackbird. 



Crow blackbird. 



Savanna sparrow. 



Grasshopper sparrow. 



Henslow sparrow. 



White-throated sparrow. 



Chipping sparrow. 



Field sparrow. 



Jmico. 



Song sparrow. 



Towhee. 



Cardinal. 



Barn swallow. 



White-bellied swallow. 



Bank swallow. 



Rough-winged swallow. 



Red-eyed vireo. 



Warbling vireo. 



White-eyed vireo. 



Yellow warbler. 

 ]Magnolia warbler. 

 Black-poll warbler. 

 Oven-bird. 

 Water-thrush. 

 Maryland yellow-throat. 

 Chat. 

 Catbird. 

 House wren. 

 Long-billed marsh wren. 

 Brown creeper. 

 Carolina chickadee. 

 Gray-cheeked thrush. 

 Robin. 



It seems strange that so many birds should have eaten weevils, for 

 the insects were never sufficiently abundant to be conspicuous, seldom, 

 indeed, affording the collector a dozen specimens without diligent use 

 of the sweep net. Moreover, they harmonize so admirably with their 

 surroundings that birds do well to find them at all. Many aerial 

 feeders, it is true, capture them on the wing, but a large number of 

 ground-feeding species take them from the ground despite their pro- 

 tective coloration. The inference is that birds find them dainty mor- 

 sels, which pay for close seeking. Such a relish is not easily explained, 

 for weevils appear scarcely more edible than little stones; but it is a 

 fortunate circumstance, for they are dangerous pests, not easily con- 

 trolled by insecticides. 



Oak scale. — An unexpected and somewhat suggestive habit dis- 

 covered at Marshall Hall was the feeding of certain species on scale 

 insects. Of the 22 vireos and arboreal warblers collected during the 

 pine saw-fly invasion previously referred to, 10 had preyed on an oak 

 scale {Kermes). This insect does not occur on fruit trees, but its 

 destruction suggested desirable possibilities in cases where scales of 



