AKKANSAS KINGBIRD. 19 



June berry (Amelanchier canadensis): . 5 



Chokeberry (Pyrus arbutifolia) 1 



Currant (Ribessp.) 1 



Spicebush (Benzoin sestivale) 8 



Sassafras (Sassafras variifolium) 18 



Pokeberry (Phytolacca decandra) 10 



Amaranth (Amaranthus sp . ) 1 



Fig (Ficus sp.) 1 



Mulberry ( J/oras sp.) 14 



Bayberry ( Myrica carolinensis) 3 



Foxtail grass (Setariawp.) 1 



Red cedar ( Juniperus virginianus) . . 2 



Sedge (Rhynchospora ep.) 1 



Grass seed not further identified 2 



Fruit pulp not further identified 42 



Seeds not further identified 7 



Dogwood (Cornus sp.) 5 



Fox grape ( Vitis vulpina) 1 



Frost grape ( Vitis cordifolia) 6 



Northern fox grape ( Vitis labrusca) ... 1 

 Virginia creeper (Psedera quinque- 



folia) 5 



Bluewood ( Condalia obovata) 1 



Buckthorn (Rhamnus lanceolatus) 4 



Sumac (Rhus sp.) 1 



Domestic cherry (Prunus sp.) 11 



Bird cherry (Prunus pennsylvanica) . . 4 



Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) .... 10 



Wild black cherry (Prunus serotina) . . 8 

 Blackberry and raspberry (Rubus 



sp.) 74 



Strawberry (Fragaria vesca) 2 



Summary. — From the above discussion of the vegetable food of the 

 kingbird it is evident that the bird's economic status is to be deter- 

 mined entirely by its animal food, as the vegetable portion is practi- 

 cally neutral. Of the animal part the largest item, Hymenoptera, is 

 composed largely of insects indirectly beneficial to the interests of 

 man. A portion of them are parasitic upon caterpillars and other 

 injurious species and probably are largely instrumental in holding 

 these in check. On the other hand, they parasitize useful insects, 

 and even the parasites themselves are destroyed by other parasite 

 (hyperparasites) . Other members of the order, such as wasps and 

 bees, perform a useful function in pollenizing flowers. For these 

 reasons the destruction of Hymenoptera in general can not be con- 

 sidered altogether desirable. 



In the destruction of other kinds of insects the kingbird is con- 

 ferring an almost unmixed blessing. A few of the beetles arc 

 theoretically useful, but bugs, grasshoppers, flies, and caterpillars 

 embrace some of the worst pests to agriculture, and these, with the 

 harmful beetles and a few miscellaneous insects, constitute 50 per 

 cent of the kingbird's food. The internal relations of the other 50 

 per cent of the food are such as to render it neutral as a whole, thus 

 leaving a balance of 50 per cent to the kingbird's credit. 



ARKANSAS KINGBIRD. 



(Tyrannus verticalis.) 



The Arkansas kingbird (PI. II) occupies during the breeding 

 season the western portion of the United States from the Pacific 

 Ocean eastward as far as Minnesota, Kansas, and Texas, though 

 stragglers have been taken east of this line. It extends northward 

 into British America, where it breeds, but in winter it retires entirely 

 beyond the southern boundary of the United States. It is a bird 



