Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1911-06-30

among whose enemies are the avocet,
woodcock, pectoral and Baird sand
pipers, upland plover and killdeer.
Two caterpillar enemies of cotton, the
cotton worm and the cotton cutworm,
are eaten by the upland plover and
ldlldeer The latter bird feeds also
on caterpillars Of the genus Phlege-
thontius, which includes the tobacco
and tomato worms.
The principal farm crops have many
destructive beetle enemies also, and
some of these are eagerly eaten by
shorebirds. The boil weevil and clover.
leaf weevil are eaten by the upland
the killdeer, the cowpea weevil by
the upland plover, and the clover
root curculio by several species OF
shorebirds.
Bill bugs, which often do considera-
BILE damage to corn, seem to be favor
te food of some Of the shorebirds.
They are eaten by the Wilson phala-
rope, avocet, black-necked stilt pee.
toral sandpiper, klldeer and upland
plover. They are an important ele-
ment of the latter birds diet, and no
fewer than eight species of them have
been found in its food.
Wireworms and their adult forms,
click beetles, are devoured by the
northern phalarope, woodcock, jack.
snipe, pectoral sandipper, killdeer and
,Nlo No 1oc
also on the southern corn leaf-beetle,
and the last two upon the grapevine
colapsis. Other shorebirds that eat
leaf-beetles are the Wilson phalarope
and dowitcher.
Crayfishes, which are a pest In rice
and corn fields in the south and which
injure levees, are favorite food of the
black-necked stilt, and several other
shorebirds feed upon them, notably
the jacksnipe, robin snipe, spotted
sandpiper, upland plover and killdeer.
Thus it is evident that shorebirds
render important aid by devouring the
enemies of farm crops and In other
ways, and their services are apprecl'
ated by those who have observed the
birds in the field. Thus. w. A. Clark
of Corpus Christi, Tex, reports that
upland plovers are Industrious In fol'
lowing the plow and in eating the
grubs that destroy garden stuff, corn,
and cotton crops H. w. Tinkham OF
Fall River, Mass, says of the spotted
sandpiper: Three pairs nested In
young orchard behind my house and
adjacent to my garden. | did not see
them once go to the shore for food
(shore about 1900 feet away, but l
did see them many times make faith
full search of my garden for cutworms,
spotted squash bugs, and green flies.
Cutworms and cabbage worms were
their especial prey. After the young
could fly, they still kept at work IN my
garden. and showed no inclination to
go to the shore until about August 15.
They and flock OF quails just over
the wall helped me wonderfully
To summarize: Shorebirds have
been hunted until only remnant OF
their once vast numbers Is left Thelr
limited powers of reproduction, coupled
with the natural vicissitudes OF the
breeding period, make their increase
slow, and peculiarly expose them TO
danger of determination.
In the way of protection begin
ming has been made, and continuous
close season until 1915 has been es-
tablished for the following birds:
The killdeer, in Massachusetts, and
louisiana; the upland plover, in Mas
sachusetts and Vermont; and the pi.
ping plover, in Massachusetts. But,
considering the needs and value OF
these birds, this modicum of protec'
tion is small indeed.
The above-named species are not
the only ones that should be exempt
from persecution, for all the shore
birds of the United States are in great
need of better protection. They should
be protected, first, to save them from
the danger Of determination, and, Sec
ond, because of their economic i'm,
portance. So great, indeed, Is their
economic value, that their retention
on the game list and their destruction
by sportsmen is serious loss to agri-
culture.
To find solidity Of Snhera null |