RECENT LITERATURE.
‘The Game Birds of California.’—One of the most notable of recent American bird books is the handsome work on ‘The Game Birds of California’[36]by Grinnell, Bryant and Storer issued by the University of California, as one of its Semicentennial publications. The life histories of game birds have never been so well studied and written up as those of certain other species, because those who have had the best opportunities have been more interested in killing the birds than in studying them. We may search the columns of the sporting journals and while we find an abundance of information on how to shoot game birds, how they act in reference to the gunner, and what fine times the gunner had when shooting them, there is a lamentable lack of careful observation on the life and habits of the birds. State Game Commissions are usually made up of hunters rather than of trained ornithologists and consequently their activities are directed along the same lines and their publications are mainly of the same nature though there are notable exceptions. The supervision of the enforcement of the Migratory Bird Law and the succeeding Treaty with Canada, by a committee of the Biological Survey at Washington, has opened the eyes of the public to the importance of entrusting this sort of work to trained experts and the present volume is an example of a state game publication prepared by just such experts. We have had some similar publications by state or local authorities, notably Mr. E. H. Forbush’s admirable ‘History of the Game Birds, Wild Fowl and Shore Birds of Massachusetts and Adjacent States,’ issued by the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, but they are few, and some State Boards unfortunately adopt an attitude of hostility to the Biological Survey and to scientific research, which is unfortunate and deplorable.
The attitude of the University of California, through its Museum of Vertebrate Zoölogy, in turning to practical advantage the information accumulated through the researches of its trained experts is most commendable. We go to the universities for expert information on all sorts of subjects and why not go to their zoölogical departments or to the great museums for information on wild life and its preservation?
Dr. Grinnell and his associates have had the advantage of Mr. Forbush inasmuch as they have been engaged in the personal study of game birds along with their other field work for many years, and consequently have accumulated a vast store of original information, while he was forced to compile a large part of his data in a very short period of time.Their report is therefore an advance over his and is undoubtedly the best work on game birds that has yet appeared in America.
The preliminary chapters treat of the decrease of game, natural enemies of game, gun clubs, introduction of non-native game, game propagation and legislation. From these we learn that the serious decrease in game birds, especially the waterfowl, in California, was first noticed about 1880, since which time it has increased at an alarming rate. In the Fresno region in 1912 flocks of geese were still to be seen in certain sections but ten to twenty years earlier the whole San Joaquin Valley literally swarmed with wild geese during midwinter. “From the windows of a moving train myriads of geese were to be observed, reaching as far as the eye could see on either side of the railroad from Fresno to Stockton—certainly a thousand fold more geese than can be seen today along the same route.” The number of ducks sold in the markets of San Francisco according to careful estimates has decreased from 350,000 in 1911-12 to 125,000 in 1915-16. These are but a couple of illustrations from the many facts collected by the authors of this work. Their conclusions are set forth as follows: “The causes of this decrease are many and diverse but all are due in last analysis to the settlement of the state by the white man. Some of these factors, such as excessive hunting and sale of game, are subject to control; but others such as reclamation of land, and overhead wires are inevitable.... The game supply of the future must rely upon correct inductions based upon careful study of the entire problem, and final adoption of those means which it is found feasible to employ.”
What will be the eventual outcome of the game situation it is hard to foretell. Certainly in our Eastern States the outlook is not encouraging. With the constant decrease in wild land and the issuing of innumerable hunters’ licenses, 295,000 in Pennsylvania last year, the native-bred game will surely disappear—indeed even now Quail have to be imported and many states restocked. When the same conditions prevail in the states from which Quail are now obtainable the species will be practically extinct. And so with the game that comes to us from breeding grounds far to the north. When these grounds are all reclaimed the supply will end and in future we shall be dependent upon game propagated especially for liberation on the shooting grounds, as is the case in England.
It is well worth while to have this matter placed before us in all its seriousness as has been done in the present volume, so that the public may realize with what sort of a problem they have to deal and see the necessity of securing expert advice.
In speaking of gun clubs the authors give due credit to the importance of the preserves which they establish and the care that is taken to limit shooting days and stop illegal gunning on the grounds. At the same time they point out that the preserves prove so attractive to the birds that practically all individuals normally scattered over large areas are congregated there, where they are exposed to regular slaughter by the most skilful shots and the ultimate destruction isprobably hastened. As to the introduction of non-native species the author’s verdict is strongly opposed to the practice. They rightly assert that the native species are better adapted to our country and it is our duty to use all our efforts toward their conservation.
The systematic account of the various species naturally occupies most of the text and is admirably done. Under each heading come paragraphs on: other names; description; marks for field identification; voice; nest; eggs; general distribution; and distribution in California. Then follows in larger type a general account of the habits and history of the species and its relative importance as a game bird. The birds included are the Geese, Ducks and Swan; Spoonbill and Ibises; Cranes, Rail, Gallinules and Coots; Shorebirds; Quail and Grouse; Pigeons and Doves, 108 species in all. The technical nomenclature follows the A. O. U. ‘Check-List’ and so do the vernacular names except where they are not in accord with Californian usage. This is perfectly proper in a work of this kind especially as the other names are usually mentioned as well. It is rather amusing however to the eastern ornithologist to read of the Mud-hen “known in booklore as the Coot.” The authors would find that along the Atlantic Coast “Mud-hen” means the Clapper Rail while “Coot” is by no means a book name in the Eastern States. A little further information on this point might save some of their readers no little trouble, especially as they refer in one place to the “Mud Hen in the east, meaning the Coot.” Twelve of the colored plates are by Fuertes and represent that artist at his best while four are by Major Allan Brooks. They form a valuable addition to the published portraits of American birds and add materially to the attractiveness of this well printed volume.
This work will prove of great importance to many different classes of readers: the sportsman will learn more about the game birds of the state than can be found in any other volume and will find the important recognition characters of each species clearly set forth; the bird student, be he amateur or professional, will find it an invaluable work of reference and the conservationist will find in it the facts and suggestions for which he has been seeking. The bibliographies will also prove of the greatest help to those who wish to carry their studies farther and to consult the other works on the subject.
It is encouraging to know that one of the authors of this work, Dr. Bryant, was called, before his task was completed, to fill an important position in the California Fish and Game Commission, and we wish that all the State Game Commissions might be induced to seek men of this type to carry on their activities—surely that is a most important point in game conservation.—W. S.
Mathews’ ‘The Birds of Australia.’—Part IV of Vol. VII of Mr. Mathews’ great work[37]brings us almost to the end of the Cuckoos, only a portion of the text ofthe Coucal remaining to be completed, so that the next part after considering the Lyre Bird will begin the Passeres.
The present number treats of the generaCacomantis,Vidgenia,Owenavis,Chalcites,Lamprococcyx,Eudynamis,ScythropsandPolophilus. The most interesting species among these is the giant “Channel-bill,”Scythrops, which lays its eggs in the nests of Crows and Crow-Shrikes, birds of about its own size. It has a remarkably loud call and is often active at night, resembling in the latter particular our American Black-billed Cuckoo, while curiously enough its appearance is considered to indicate approaching storms and it is known as “Stormbird” and “Rainbird” just as our own Cuckoos are named “Rain Crows.” Further investigation of the origin of this belief would be well worth while for those interested in the “folk-lore” of ornithology. There are eleven plates of the various species and one of the tails of Bronze Cuckoos, all by Grönvold, and among the best that have appeared.
We notice one new genus,Vidgenia(p. 327), typeCuculus castaneiventrisGould, and one new raceCacomantis pyrrhophanus vidgeni(p. 326).—W. S.
De Fenis on Bird Song in its Relation to Music.—This paper[38]is one of the most important and carefully prepared contributions to the study of bird song that has recently appeared. M. de Fenis has considered his subject systematically, under various headings and the results of his investigations are summed up in his conclusion that “The laws of musical development are the same for the music of man as for the song of birds,” which corresponds essentially with Mr. Henry Oldys’ views on the subject.
The topics which are discussed in the paper are: song of birds in its relation to habits and habitat; difficulties encountered in the notation of bird song; birds which repeat their song regularly; birds which vary their melody but preserve the same rhythm; birds which imitate; birds which improvise.
Many musical and syllabic representations of songs are presented showing some original methods of notation, and illustrating the variation in the song of a single species, especially of the Wren and the Nightingale. An interesting table also shows the relative pitch of the songs of various species of birds in comparison with the range of the human voice and other sounds. In this there seems to be a fairly regular correspondence between the weight of the bird and the pitch of the voice; the highest notes belonging to the smallest and lightest birds.
Those interested in this fascinating subject, which demands considerable musical as well as ornithological knowledge, will do well to read M. de Fenis’ valuable paper.—W. S.
Dwight on a New Gull.[39]—In an examination of a series of upwards of fifty specimens of the Western Gull (Larus occidentalis) Dr. Dwight shows that the species is clearly divisible into two races, the typical bird of Audubon ranging south at least to Trinidad, California, and a darker mantled form with less gray on the primaries, ranging along both coasts of Lower California north to the Farallon Islands. This latter race Dr. Dwight describes asLarus occidentalis livens(p. 11).—W. S.
McAtee on the Food Habits of the Mallard Ducks.—The latest ‘Bulletin’ issuing from Biological Survey treats of the food of the Mallard and Black Ducks.[40]A very large amount of data is presented showing what a great variety of animal and vegetable species go to make up the bill of fare of these birds.
Ninety per cent of the Mallard’s food we learn consists of vegetable matter, more than a third of which is made up of the seeds, roots, leaves and tubers of sedges and grasses, and about a fifth, of similar portions of smart-weeds and pond weeds. Of the ten per cent of animal matter mollusks contribute 5.73 and insects 2.67.
The food of the Black Duck differs materially from that of the Mallard, largely owing to its frequenting the salt marshes and bays along the coast. Only about three fourths of its food is vegetable and fully half of this consists of pond weeds and other submerged plants. Half of the animal food is composed of mollusks, the edible mussel being the favorite, while crustacea furnish eight per cent.
The Southern Black Duck (Anas fulvigula) living in a region where the food supply is not affected by cold winters, feeds more largely upon animal matter, forty per cent of its food being of this nature, the greater portion consisting of mollusks. Its vegetable food is largely grasses and smart-weeds.
This report is of especial interest on account of the extensive propagation of these ducks in a semi-domesticated condition and it is another illustration of the thoroughness of Mr. McAtee’s researches along these lines. A half-tone plate of the Mallard and Black Duck from a drawing by Fuertes illustrates the pamphlet. In connection with duck food attention should be called to a recent note by Mr. Alex. Wetmore[41]on lead poisoning among water fowl, in which he states that the shot gathered up by ducks in the neighborhood of shooting stands proves fatal to many individuals. It is ground up in the stomachs by the pebbles therein contained and causes severe diarrhœa followed by slow paralysis. By experiment it was found that six number six shot, when swallowed, were fatal in every case.—W. S.
Stone on Birds of the Canal Zone.—In ‘The Auk’ for 1913, pp. 422-429, there was published a list of North American birds observed in the Panama Canal Zone by Lindsey L. Jewel. Mr. Jewel died before he was able to prepare a report on the main portion of his collection. His birds later became the property of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and have been identified by Dr. Stone, who has reported upon them in the present paper.[42]In order to make the list of more general use he has added the names of all other species which had been reported from the Zone by previous writers. The list therefore includes 432 species of which 236 are represented in Mr. Jewel’s collection.
An introduction calls attention to the collections which had been made in the Zone in previous years, while the list proper contains numerous field notes on the various birds, taken from Mr. Jewel’s manuscript memoranda, including accounts of the nest and eggs of a number of species. The South American SwiftChætura chapmaniHellmayr, is recorded from the isthmus for the first time on the basis of two specimens secured at Gatun, July 9, 1911, while the capture of a specimen ofStelgidopteryx serripennis(Aud.) Gatun, December 18, 1910, would seem to extend its range somewhat to the southward.
Under the note on Reiffer’s Hummingbird, Dr. Stone presents reasons for reverting to the nameAmaziliafor this and other species recently calledAmizilisand designatesOrnismia cinnamomeaLess, as the type of the former genus. Besides containing much original data the paper will be a convenient hand list for future students of Panama bird life.—S. T.
Shufeldt on the Young Hoatzin.—Dr. Shufeldt[43]has studied the skeleton and pterylosis of some young Hoatzins submitted to him by Mr. Robert C. Murphy. While his observations seem simply to confirm those of previous writers he has presented some good photographs of both the external appearance of the young bird and the skeleton and has compiled a useful bibliography of papers relating to this interesting species.—W. S.
Riley on Celebes Birds.—In studying a collection of Celebes birds obtained by Mr. H. C. Raven in the north peninsula and the mountains of the middle part of the Island, and presented to the National Museum by Dr. W. L. Abbott, Mr. Riley[44]found a number of new forms which are described in the present paper in advance of the complete catalogue of the collection.
A Thickhead apparently allied toPachycephalais regarded as representing a new genus is described asCoracornis raveni(p. 157), while a Cuckoo Shrike related toMalindangiaof the Philippines also becomes the type of a new genus and is namedCelebesia abbotti(p. 158). The other new forms are,Caprimulgus affinis propinquus(p. 155);Collocalia vestita aenigma(p. 156);Rhamphococcyx centralis(p. 156);Lophozosterops striaticeps(p. 157);Cataponera abditiva(p. 158); andCryptolopha nesophila(p. 158).—W. S.
Oberholser’s ‘Mutanda Ornithologica V.’—This[45]is the fifth of a series of papers which Dr. Oberholser has been issuing calling attention to necessary changes in the nomenclature of birds in various parts of the world. The species here treated are all Woodpeckers.Iyngipicus pygmæeus(Vig.) he shows must hereafter be known asYungipicus mitchellii(Mahl.), the specific name being preoccupied and the generic name not following the original spelling.I. auritus(Eyton) becomesY. moluccensis(Gmel.), the latter specific name being earlier.Dendropicos minutus(Temm.) is preoccupied and is renamedD. elachus(p. 8) whileCampethera punctata(Valencien.) becomesC. punctuligera(Wagl.), for the same reason.Gecinus striolatus(Blyth) is in like case and becomesPicus xanthopygius(Bonap.),Gecinusgiving way to Picus as explained by Hartert (Vögel Palaarkt. Fauna VII, p. 889).—W. S.
Miller’s ‘Birds of Lewiston-Auburn and Vicinity.’—Well prepared local lists have a very definite value and when they are prepared in a way to help the bird student their value is doubled. Such a list is Miss Miller’s well printed brochure on the birds of Lewiston-Auburn, Maine.[46]It consists of notes on 161 species which have been observed in recent times in the region covered, together with 40 additional species of water birds seen by others in the vicinity. Not only is the nature of the occurrence and relative abundance of each species in the main list given, but there are interesting accounts of their habits from personal observation and appropriate quotations from standard works and popular writings on nature, which make the text attractive and readable. Preliminary pages treat of the bird-life of the four seasons and there are some supplementary suggestions to bird students and a table of migrants in the order of their spring arrival. The dedication is to Prof. J. Y. Stanton at whose suggestion the list was prepared and who “was the author’s inspiration in all her bird study.” His death occurred while the work was in press and the addition of the portraits makes it in a measure a memorial to him. We might call attention to thefact that this excellent list does not contain a scientific name except in a reference to the origin of the domestic pigeon. The A. O. U. numbers are given in parentheses and the A. O. U. vernacular names are used with the addition of others when necessary. Thus is a matter that seems to trouble many bird students, easily disposed of! If the use of scientific names were limited to scientific publications there would be far less criticism of the changes in them. Miss Miller’s little book is an excellent model for a present day local list for the use of the amateur bird student who wishes a reliable and helpful hand book.—W. S.
Recent Papers by Bangs.—In ‘The Auk’ 1918, p. 441, Mr. Arthur T. Wayne states that on two occasions he saw Black-throated Green Warblers, in the maritime region of South Carolina, building a nest and carrying nesting materials during April. Mr. Bangs[47]now describes one of these April birds as a new subspecies and states that Mr. Wayne sent him a series of seven specimens all of which differed from northern birds in the same way—i. e., in duller coloration and smaller bill. The new form is namedD. virens waynei(p. 94). In another paper[48]he discusses the species of the genusPaecilonittaas it is now to be spelled, following the original publication. He recognizesP. bahamensis bahamensis(Linn.), Florida to Brazil;P. b. rubrirostris(Vieill.), from southern South America;P. galapagensisRidgw., Galapagos Isls.;P. spinicauda(Vieill.), southern South America; andP. erythrorhyncha(Gmel.), Madagascar and Africa.
Peles(p. 92) is proposed[49]by Mr. Bangs as a new genus forCaprimulgus binotatusBp.—A review of the South American Short-eared Owls[50]leads him to recognize three neotropical races. These areAsio f. breviauris(Schlegel) from southern South America;A. f. bogotensisChapman, from the Bogota Savanna, andA. f. sanfordi(p. 97) subsp. nov., from the Falkland Islands.
Another paper[51]deals with the races ofDendroica vitellinaCory, and a new form is described from Swan Island which Mr. Bangs namesD. v. nelsoni(p. 494). It is somewhat intermediate between the other forms—the typical race of Grand Cayman andD. v. crawfordiNicoll, from Little Cayman and Cayman Brac.—W. S.
Economic Ornithology in Recent Entomological Publications.—Items pertaining to this subject continue to accumulate slowly. Those on hand pertain to the following insects:
Larch bark-beetles and borers.—In a general account of insects affecting the larch in Erie County, N. Y., is the following interesting information, relating to the work of woodpeckers.[52]
“The work of woodpeckers is much in evidence and seems to be an efficient agency in reducing to some extent the numbers of the brood of several of the more numerous bark-boring insects. The birds seem to work in two ways—first by making small conical holes through the bark into the sapwood to obtain the larvæ of the larger species of beetles which have gone there to hibernate or to pupate, and secondly by removing practically all of the bark on large areas of the trunk to uncover the brood (larvæ, pupæ and young adults) of the bark beetles.
“In some cases this work reached an unusual degree of efficiency. For instance one particular tree forty or fifty feet high and about 14 inches in diameter, had had nearly all of the bark removed from the ground to the very tip. This tree had been heavily infested withDendroctonus simplex,Polygraphus rufipennisand other borers, but only a small per cent of the original infestation had survived the woodpeckers’ thorough search for food. Of course all of the infested trees had not been so thoroughly gone over by the birds and a number of such trees had apparently not been found by them at all. However, it is safe to say that the woodpeckers were an efficient force, working toward the return of the normal balance of nature which had been upset by the breeding of certain species of insects above the danger level, due to the girdling, season after season, of a number of the larches by farmers. It is not believed that the woodpeckers will be able unaided to reduce the numbers below the danger level, as long as more trees are girdled each year, but should this practice cease it is possible that they would be able eventually to obtain the upper hand and that conditions would return to normal.”
Lepidopterous root-borers.—The grape root-borer (Memythrus polistiformis) for which no parasites are known was seen to be eaten in the adult stage by the Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus).[53]Two other Flycatchers, the Kingbird and Phoebe, are recorded as enemies of both the greater and lesser peach-tree borers (Sannenoidea exitiosaandSynanthedon pictipes).[54]All of these insects are not only seriously destructive, but from their secluded habits in the larval stage, have few parasite enemies and are difficult to control by man. They belong to a family of moths all of which in the adult condition more or less closely mimic wasps andother hymenoptera and which have been supposed, probably mistakenly, to derive some advantage from this resemblance, in the way of immunity from predatory enemies.
Cankerworms.—An investigation of the relation of birds to cankerworms near Lawrence, Kansas, has had the same result as those made by several previous students, among whom were Riley, Forbes and Forbush. The following summary of the matter is quoted and abstracted from a report[55]by Mr. Walter H. Wellhouse.
“Next to unfavorable weather, the birds are the most important natural enemies of the cankerworms. Probably no insect is a favorite food of more species of birds than the cankerworm larva. It lives exposed on the outside of twigs and leaves where the birds can easily secure it, and is without distasteful hairs or spines on its integument. The English Sparrow, which is said to have been imported into America to check the ravages of this insect, is no doubt our most efficient cankerworm eater in the cities. We have watched these much-despised birds picking larvæ from the elms at all hours of the day from early morning to twilight, and even during rains. The Robin is also an efficient destroyer of cankerworms, especially of the moths which are found at the base of the tree. The writer has seen flocks of Bronzed Grackles alight in the tall elms in Lawrence, and, moving from branch to branch, noisily devour great numbers of larvæ. Having exhausted the supply on one tree they moved in concert to another tree to continue the feast.
“Many of the more timid birds which are not found in the cities so commonly as the English Sparrow and Robin are just as efficient enemies in the country.
“Mr. C. D. Bunker, curator of mammals in the Dyche Museum, secured a hundred birds from a grove four miles from Lawrence and carefully estimated the percentage of cankerworm larvæ found in their stomachs. They were taken near the edge of the timber where they could easily have returned from the surrounding fields with other food, and the grove is composed of several species of trees, only a small per cent being elms infested with cankerworms.”
The hundred bird stomachs reported upon represent 39 species of birds, all but three of which had eaten cankerworms. Eighteen of the species had at least one individual which had eaten 100% cankerworms. Including birds previously mentioned in the literature as enemies of cankerworms the list now totals 75 species.
White Grubs.—Mr. Norman Criddle has an extremely interesting note on the bird enemies of white grubs (larvæ ofPhyllophaga spp.) in a recent article[56]on these pests in Manitoba. He notes that
“Robins are eager seekers after White Grubs, and have been known to frequent infested fields for weeks. Crows, apart from their habit of following the plough, are also very useful as grub searchers; the same may be said of Flickers.”
The following extract contains a specific recommendation that farm practice be planned chiefly with a view of best utilizing the services of birds in destroying white grubs; a remarkable tribute to the effectiveness of practical economic ornithology:
“Birds are most persistent followers of the plough during their breeding season or while migrating; gulls and terns from May 16th to June 22d, and for a short time late in July; crows and blackbirds, including grackles, from the time grubs appear in May until July 1st.“From the foregoing we reach the conclusion that to attain the best possible results under conditions existing in Manitoba, ploughing should be done between May 14th and July 1st, and at an average depth of five inches. The idea is, of course, to turn up as many grubs, eggs, or pupæ as possible, a majority of which will, in all probability, be picked up by birds. Many eggs will be destroyed by the plough alone, but it is advisable to harrow as soon as possible after ploughing, as by this means numerous egg cells will be broken, causing a large percentage of deaths among the eggs and newly-hatched young, besides exposing them to attack by birds. Exposed pupæ will also be destroyed by this method.“So far as the interests of farming is concerned, it will be observed that the above recommendations do not in any way clash with the best cultural methods. There is good reason for believing, too, that they will prove of value in the destruction of wireworms.“With reference to the large part birds are expected to play in this work, it may be claimed that birds are not always present in sufficient numbers, and that their capacity is, after all, limited. Granting this to be true in certain districts, we must remember that white grubs are only found within comparatively close range of trees, and that their principal habitats coincide with the haunts of Crows, the most persistent of all plough followers. Thus, if there are no Crows present the farmer and sportsman are probably largely to blame, and the question then resolves itself into the economic one as to which does most harm, the Crows or the white grubs. We do not think there can be much doubt on this point in grub-infested localities. The writer has personally seen fully ninety per cent of white grubs exposed picked up by Crows when he was himself the ploughman.“Blackbirds are more dependent upon water than Crows, hence are not so evenly distributed, but when present prove very efficient grub destroyers. Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) are also extremely useful in this respect, and probably largely compensate for their parasitic habits by this means.”—W. L. M.
“Birds are most persistent followers of the plough during their breeding season or while migrating; gulls and terns from May 16th to June 22d, and for a short time late in July; crows and blackbirds, including grackles, from the time grubs appear in May until July 1st.
“From the foregoing we reach the conclusion that to attain the best possible results under conditions existing in Manitoba, ploughing should be done between May 14th and July 1st, and at an average depth of five inches. The idea is, of course, to turn up as many grubs, eggs, or pupæ as possible, a majority of which will, in all probability, be picked up by birds. Many eggs will be destroyed by the plough alone, but it is advisable to harrow as soon as possible after ploughing, as by this means numerous egg cells will be broken, causing a large percentage of deaths among the eggs and newly-hatched young, besides exposing them to attack by birds. Exposed pupæ will also be destroyed by this method.
“So far as the interests of farming is concerned, it will be observed that the above recommendations do not in any way clash with the best cultural methods. There is good reason for believing, too, that they will prove of value in the destruction of wireworms.
“With reference to the large part birds are expected to play in this work, it may be claimed that birds are not always present in sufficient numbers, and that their capacity is, after all, limited. Granting this to be true in certain districts, we must remember that white grubs are only found within comparatively close range of trees, and that their principal habitats coincide with the haunts of Crows, the most persistent of all plough followers. Thus, if there are no Crows present the farmer and sportsman are probably largely to blame, and the question then resolves itself into the economic one as to which does most harm, the Crows or the white grubs. We do not think there can be much doubt on this point in grub-infested localities. The writer has personally seen fully ninety per cent of white grubs exposed picked up by Crows when he was himself the ploughman.
“Blackbirds are more dependent upon water than Crows, hence are not so evenly distributed, but when present prove very efficient grub destroyers. Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) are also extremely useful in this respect, and probably largely compensate for their parasitic habits by this means.”—W. L. M.