36 BULLETIN" 107, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Two song sparrows collected in May had been doing good work 
on the weevil. In one, 5 larvae and 1 adult formed 24 per cent of 
the food, while in the other 22 larvae and 2 adults comprised about 
three-fourths of the stomach contents. Besides this the former had 
eaten a cricket and a large cutworm, and the latter two click beetles 
and a spider. 
A single bird taken in June had destroyed 29 larvae, which made 
up nearly two- thirds of the food; the rest of the contents included 
three click beetles, a caterpillar, three plant lice, two ants, a snail, 
seeds of three weeds, and a little grain. 
As the song sparrow spends much of its time in early spring in 
localities selected by the weevil as places of hibernation, it must be 
looked upon as a valuable agent in the control of the pest. It also 
aids in the reduction of the number of larvae later in the season. 
This bird, along with several other native sparrows, is frequently 
confused with the English sparrow, especially by the small boy 
engaged in killing the latter for bounty. This not only is one of the 
most potent arguments against a bounty system, but also reveals 
the need on the part of people generally of a more intimate knowl- 
edge of the appearance and economic value of insectivorous birds. 
LINCOLN'S SPARROW. 
(Melospiza lincolni lincolni.) 
Lincoln's sparrow is a fairly common migrant in Utah, and was 
found in considerable numbers during April, often in company with 
its relative the song sparrow. Being almost entirely terrestrial in 
its feeding, it is seldom seen by the casual observer. 
This bird renders its best service as an enemy of the weevil in 
destroying hibernating adults hidden in the localities it frequents in 
early spring. Each of three birds examined had fed on the insect, 
and it composed 8| per cent of the food. Adult insects were taken in 
every case and were eaten at an average of about two per bird. 
Among the remaining food were found the clover-root curculio 
(Sitones sp.) , crane flies, aquatic beetles, and weed seeds. 
SPURRED TOWHEE. 
(Pipilo maculatus montanus.) 
The spurred towhee is most common over the oak-covered foothills 
of the Wasatch, and wherever this growth extends to the close prox- 
imity of alfalfa fields it may be considered an enemy of the weevil. 
As it is a resident species and terrestrial in habits it comes in touch 
with hibernating adults. Only two of these birds were collected, both 
in April, and each had fed on the insect. One had eaten but a single 
adult, amounting to 1 per cent of its food, and the other had taken 
