The Huttig news. (Huttig, Ark.) 1907-1955, 1908-04-25
SOUTHERN
AGRICULTURE
BIRDS AND BOIL WEEVlL.
Some of Our Feathered Weevil En-
mics

Some of Our Feathered Weevil Enc
| mics.
| u. S. Department Of Agriculture
Biological Survey-Bulletin 20: In
| view of the rapid spread of the cotton
boil weevil in the Southern States and
| the enormous damage to the cotton
| crop through it's ravages, a study OF
the pest is of increasing Importance
| Investigation of the problem during
! several seasons has shown that while
birds can not be depended upon to
| stay its progress, much less to exter-
inmate it, yet the service they render
in controlling it is of great import
ance 1t has been discovered that
several species of birds eat great num-
bers of the pest and among the Vice.
vil-eating kinds are a few whose num-
bers it is believed can be greatly aug
mented through careful protection
and by providing them with safe nest
ing places.
The relation of birds to the boil
weevil has been studied by the Bio.
logical Survey during portions of four
seasons, and by the Bureau of Ento-
mology during portions of two sea
sons. Seventeen species of birds were
examined during the seasons of 1903
and 1904 by the Bureau of Entomolo-
gy, with the result that II species
were found to feed on the weevil. In
November and December, 1904, Yer
non Bailey of the Biological Survey
took up the study of the problem, and,
as result of the examination of 354
stomachs collected by him, 9 addition
al species of birds were added to the
list of boil weevil destroyers. The
work was carried on in the summer
and fall of 1905 by the present writer,
62 species of birds being collected
and examined and additional spe-
cies found to feed on the weevil. The
investigation was continued, also by
the writer, in, August and September,
1906, and from February II to May
8, 1907. Fifteen species were added
to the list of weevil-eating birds by
seasons, details of which will be given
later.
AS result of investigations car
ried on internationally during five sea-
sons, 43 species of our native birds
have been found to feed on the weeyil.
as follows: Upland plover, kildees,
quail, nighthawk, scissor-tailed fly
catcher, kingbird, crested fycatcher,
Phoebe, older fycatcher, olove-sided
fycatcher, least fycatcher, cowbird,
red-winged blackbird, meadow lark,
Western meadow lark, orchard oriole,
Baltimore oriole, bullock oriole, brew
er blackbird, bronzed grackle, great
sparrow, white-throated sparrow, field
sparrow, wowhee, cardinal, pyrrhu-
loxia, painted bunting, dtckcissel, pur-
pie martin, cliff swallow, bank swal-
low, barn swallow, uninterrupted
shrike, yellow warbler, yellow-breast-
ed chat, American pipit, mockingbird,
brown thrasher, Carolina wren, tufted
titmouse, black-crested titmouse.
Twenty-three of the foregoing spe-
cies feed on the weevil principally in
summer and twenty species principal
ly in winter. The greatest destruction
of weevile in summer is wrought by
swallows and orioles; in winter, by
blackbirds and meadow larks. It is
not to be supposed that the foregoing
list includes all the birds which feed
upon the boil weevil. Further investi-
cation will doubtless add a number
of species to the list and will show
that birds which ordinarily eat but
few weevile will, under certain condi-
lions, destroy good many The
funds at the command of the Biologi-
cal Survey for this investigation have
been very limited, but it is hoped that
means will be forthcoming not only
for continuing the work, but for wild
ening its scope SO as to include the
regions recently invaded by the boil
H. Howell, Assistant
Biologist, Biological Survey.