113 
The toads examined were from 1^ to 2 inches in length, and no douht 
larger specimens would have had even larger caYJacities for bollworras. 
Another lot of toads, collected at Calvert, Tex., on the night of 
August 13, 1903, gave the following large number of bollworms, besides 
some other caterpillars and a few beetles: 
Table XLIV. — Stomach contents of toads from cotton field 
at Calvert, Tex., August 13, 1903. 
Toad. 
No.l.. 
No. 2.. 
No. 3.. 
Bollworms in stomach. 
23, mostly large, 
21, all rather large. 
3, all large. 
On another occasion a large toad was brought into the laboratory 
and fed on bollworms. It devoured six large bollworms within half 
an hour, two moths within the next ten minutes, and was apparently 
not yet satisfied when the supply was exhausted. 
A feeding experiment was tried on the common Texas horned toad 
{Phrynosoma coniutum)^ or horned frog, as it is sometimes called. 
The specimen in question was in a cornfield badl}^ infested by the 
boUworm, and seemingly on the alert in search for food. A large 
boUworm was thrown upon the ground a foot or two away from him, 
and it had scarcely un(;urled itself to crawl away before he perceived 
and quickly devoured it. The same action was repeated in rapid suc- 
cession until seven had been eaten and the animal was gorged with 
food. The worms were just of the size which the toad might encoun- 
ter in nature wandering about in search of a suitable place to pupate. 
From this it would seem quite likely that when the more conventional 
diet of the animal (consisting almost entirely of the large red "agri- 
cultural ant") is scarce, it may turn its attention to the bollworm. 
It is very generally believed that birds exert an important influence 
in insect control". During their nesting period particularly, large 
numbers of insects are fed to the young, and in normal food habit 
many species of our commoner birds are largely insectivorous. 
It is commonly stated that various birds frequenting cot on and 
corn fields destroy a greater or less number of bollworms along with 
other insects. The number of species which have been actually 
observed feeding on bollworms, however, or in which the insect has 
been found in stomachs, is very limited. During the present investi- 
gation but one wild bird was observed to actually catch a bollworm. 
This was a red-bellied woodpecker {Centuries carolinus)^ which Mr. 
Jones observed extracting a bollworm larva from an ear of field corn. 
The red-headed woodpecker {Melanerpes erythrocephalus) may often 
be seen working at the ends of roasting ears in a way to suggest that 
