4 
FARMERS* BULLETIN 755 . 
nigh.th.awk, crow, red-headed woodpecker, and the yellow-headed 
and crow blackbirds. Forty-three kinds of birds feed upon the army 
worms, pests destructive to corn and all small grains. Eighty-eight 
southeastern species devour cutworms, which are often the despair 
of grain growers and gardeners. Largest numbers of cutworms have 
been found in stomachs of the prairie chicken, bob-white, wood 
duck, woodcock, sparrow hawk, yellow-billed cuckoo, nighthawk, 
red-headed woodpecker, crow blackbird, meadowlark, English spar¬ 
row, cardinal, and robin. 
No insect enemy of corn and wheat is more destructive than the 
chinch bug; when it is numerous, fields are blasted as if by fire. It 
is often said that the chinch bug has few natural enemies, but the 
work of birds, 24 species of which feed upon chinch bugs, should not 
be overlooked. Over 100 of these pests have been found in single 
stomachs of the bob-white and meadowlark, and over 200 in one 
of a brown thrasher. Other birds consuming chinch bugs in con¬ 
siderable numbers are the flicker, the crow, the barn, tree, and cliff 
swallows, and the house wren. The southern corn leaf beetle, a pest 
that has come to be of considerable importance in the past few years, 
is devoured by 22 kinds of birds. Those taking the largest numbers 
are the mockingbird, the Bewick wren, and the house wren. 
Among other corn insects may be mentioned the southern corn 
rootworm (or spotted cucumber beetle), eaten by 26 species of south¬ 
eastern birds; beetles of a group including the cane root borer and 
the carrot beetle, devoured by 18 species; and the brown fruit-chafer, 
by 21. The last-named beetle feeds also on apples, pears, and 
peaches, as does a related insect known as the southern fig eater. 
Fourteen species of birds prey upon the fig eater, the crow most 
extensively. 
The insect pests of clover and other forage crops in the South¬ 
eastern vStates also are sought by many birds. Perhaps more dam¬ 
age is done in the aggregate by leafhoppers than by other enemies 
of these crops. Exactly 100 species of southeastern birds are now 
known to feed on these small but exceedingly numerous insect pests. 
Largest numbers of leafhoppers have been found in stomachs of the 
nighthawk, chimney swift, barn swallow, and yellow-headed black¬ 
bird. Clover is attacked by a number of insect pests, including the 
imbricated-snout beetle and the various clover weevils. The first 
named is eaten by 20 kinds of birds, of which the crow, crow black¬ 
bird, and catbird seem most voracious. The common or large clover 
leaf weevil is the prey of 25 species of birds. The nighthawk, crow, 
red-headed woodpecker, purple martin, and crow blackbird have the 
best records for destruction of adults, and the Savannah and vesper 
sparrows of the larvae. The smaller clover weevils are eaten by 74 
species of southeastern birds. Largest numbers of these weevils 
