The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1917-04-20
EAT INSECT PESTS
BIRDS ARE REAL FRIENDS OF
THE AGRIcULTURIsT.
investigations Have Proved Beyond All
Doubt That Feathered Creatures
Take High Place In Ranks OF
Farmers Helpers.

There seems never to have been a
time when Americans as people were
giving so much thought to birds as
now. The sentimental virtues Of birds
and their economic uses are being writ
ten of frequently and extensively by
professional and amateur biologists
and ornithologists, and even a vast
number of bird observers of perhaps
limited professional or technical at
tainments in this department of SCI
ence are writing and talking at length
in behalf Of the birds.
The discussion Of the economic val
ues of birds is one of the questions Of
serious importance to the whole coun-
try. It has been pointed out by students
of this subject that tree swallows
stomach recently examined contained
40 chinchbugs and fragments of many
others, besides ten other species of in
sects. The stomach of bank swallow
showed that it contained 68 cotton boil
weevils, one of the very dangerous and
destructive insect pests of the United
States. Thirty-five cliff swallows had
eaten an average of 10 boil weevils
each. Two stomachs of. pine siskins
from California contained 10 black
olive scales and 300 plant lice. The
stomach of a kildeer taken in Texas
contained more than 300 larvae. A
flicker's stomach held % big grubs. A
night hawks stomach contained "a
May beetles, the adult form of the
white grub. A New York night hawk
had eaten "a clover-leaf weevils and
357 ants, and another night hawk, $40
grasshoppers, 81 bugs, three beetles,
two wasps and a spider. A big-tailed
grackle taken in Texas had eaten in
one meal about 100 cotton boil weevils,
besides other insects. A ring-neck
pheasant, a bird which the state of
New York is taking great interest in
propagating, showed upon examination
of the crop that it contained 5000
seeds of chickenweed and dandelion
head. More than $4,000 seeds have been
found in a single ducks stomach taken
in Louisiana.
The investigations by the United
States biological survey and the bio.
logical and agricultural bureaus of the
various states leave no room for doubt
that birds play an important relation
to agricultural interests, though there
often seems tendency to dwell on the
harm that even a much-despised Eng
lish sparrow has its apart to perform
in protecting the agricultural interests
of the United States, and the bureau
of the biological survey has given 9
great deal of attention to this much
abused bird. 1t has collected them
from all parts of the United States
and made an examination of 4,OOC
stomachs, the results showing that
during the colder half Of the year the
food of these birds consists almost en-
tirely Of seeds of weeds.
It has been estimated by entomolO
gists that the annual loss caused ir
the United States by insects is $500,
100000 and that were it not for birds
the loss would be much greater Care
full students have said that without the
aid of our feathered friends successful
agriculture would be impossible. The
amount of weed seed disposed Of by
birds, in their depleted numbers, is Inn
pressive, and everybody knows thai
the problem of weed destruction Ii
very important to agricultural inter
ests.-Washingto Star.