Shiner Gazette. (Shiner, Tex.), Vol. 15, No. 29, Ed. 1, Thursday, February 13, 1908 Page: 2 of 8
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If
THE WEEVILEATING
BIRDS
By H W Henshaw
The main purpose of this cir-
cular is to direct the attention
of the cotton growers and oth-
ers in the cottongrowing states
to the importance of birds in the
boll weevil war to emphasize
the need of protection for them
and to suggest means to increase
the numbers and extend the
range of certain the more im
portant kinds
Investigations by the Biologi
cal Survey show that 38 species
of birds eat boll weevils While
some eat them only sparingly
others cat them freely and no
fewer that 47 adult weevils have
beeh found in the stomach of a
single cliff swallow Of the
birds known at the present time
to feed on the weevil among
the most important are the ori-
oles nighthawk and foremost
of all the swallows including
the purple martin
ORIOLES
Six kinds of orioles live in
Texas though but two inhabit
the Southern States generally
Orioles are among the few
birds that evince a decided pref-
erence for weevils and as they
persistently nunt for the in-
sects on the bolls they fill a place
occupied by no other birds They
are protected by laws in nearly
every state in the Union but
their bright plumage renders
them among the most salable of
birds for millinery purposes
and despite protective laws con-
siderable numbers are still
killed for the hat trade It is
hardly necessary to point out
that their importance as insect
eaters everywhere demands their
protection but ore especially in
the cotton belt
NIGHTHAWK
The nighthawk or bullbat also
renders importance service in
the destruction of weevils and
catches them on the wing in con-
siderable numbers especially
during its migration Unfortu-
nately the nighthawk is eaten
for food in some sections of the
South and considerable num
bers are shot for this purpose
The birds value for food how-
ever is infinitesimal as com-
pared with the service it renders
the cotton grower and other ag-
riculturalists and every effort
should be made to spread broad-
cast a knowledge of its useful-
ness as a weevil destroyer with
a view to its complete protec-
tion
SWALLOWS
Of all the birds now known to
destroy weevils swallows are the
most important Six species oc-
cur in Texas and the Southern
States The martin the barn
swallow the bank swallow the
roughwing and the cliff swal-
low breed locally in Texas and
all of them except the cliff swal-
low breed in the other cotton
states The whitebellied or tree
swallow nests only in the north
and by far the greater number
of cliff swallows nest in the
North and West
Bam swalloiv The barn
swallow is not as common in the
South as in the North appar
ently owing tothe absence in the
South of large barns in the in
terior of which it can find a con-
genial home Whenever the
barn swallow occurs its pres-
ence should be encouraged in ev-
ery possible way
The barn and cliff swallow
and for that matter all other
birds during liesting time are
subject to parasites Some of
these look like bedbugs and are
indeed rather closely related to
that very objectionable insect
Man however is safe from the
attacks of these particular in-
sects since they live only on
birds or in their nests and will
soon perish apart from their
normal hosts Hence no one
pearancecmfwypo Srd hrdluld
need to fear to encourage the
presence of swallows under the
eves of houses or about barns
Roughwing This swallow is
common in the South nesting in
the crevices of rocky cliffs in
sand banks hole3 in masonry
and in abutments under bridges
a 4 in similar places Protec-
tion is all tills swallow needs to
enable it to thrive and increase
Bank sioallow sand swallow
WiftM
This bird in appearance and
habits is so similar to the
roughwing as often to bo taken
for it It is common wherever
it finds sand banks in which to
dig holes for its nests Unlike
the roughwing it usually builds
in good sized colonies which if
protected from mischievous
boys and destructive cats will
flourish It is desirable to in-
crease the number of colonies to
the utmost extent and in a re
gion where sand and gravel
banks abound this is easily done
by cutting down the banks to
make smooth faces good for
nests and devoting them exclu-
sively to the use of the swallows
Cliff sivallow mud dauber
Seventyfive or one hundred
years ago this fine swallow was
rare east of the Mississippi be-
ing abundant only in the West
where abound suitable cliffs to
which the bird attaches its mud
nests Within recent times how-
ever it has become numerous
throughout the North having
discovered that the eaves of
barns and outbuildings are sat-
isfactory substitutes for cliffs
The species is already present in
Western and Southern Texas
and if protected and its pres-
ence encouraged there would
seem to be no reason why in time
it should not extend its range
over the entire cotton growing
area but no practical method of
hastening its occupancy of new
territory has so far been sug-
gested In Germany the pres-
ence of a related species about
dwellings is so much desired that
artificial nests are made of clay
or other suitable material and
sold by dealers to be put up for
the accommodation of swallows
Probably the same method would
be found effective in this coun-
try
Martin This the largest and
prehaps the most domestic of
our swallows occurs in summer
here and there throughout the
cotton states from Florida to
Texas Its large size powerful
flight and the great numbers of
insects boll weevils among oth-
ers it requires for its own sus-
tenance and that of its young
make the martin the most valu-
able of its tribe to the southern
planter moreover its habit of
nesting in boxes provided for it
renders its semidomestication
comparatively easy as its socia-
ble disposition enables the size
of a colony to be increased by the
addition of new quarters to prac
tically the limit of the local food
supply
Where martins occur sparing
ly it is not difficult substantially
to increase the number of colo-
nies simply by putting up ad
ditional boxes As the settle
ment becomes populous other
boxes may be put up a mile or
two away and thus gradually
the birds range may be extend
ed It should not be forgotten
that the nearer to the cotton
fields the birds are the more
weevils they will destroy
In districts not visited at all
by the martins further steps
must be taken to induce their
presence The practicability of
of transporting martin houses
containing parent birds and
their young from one locality to
another has often been sug
gested and in at least one in-
stance has been tried with suc
cess
The best time for the experi
ment is when the young martins
are about twothirds grown To
trap the birds in their house
doors are so arranged as to close
the openings when a cord is
pulled which is done after the
occupants are in for the night
If close to a railroad the captives
may be transported many miles
by train before daylight the next
morning However transported
the house containing a colony of
say six or eight pairs of old
birds with their young should
be moved as quickly as possible
to the selected locality andfixed
to a pole already set up The
doors may be opened the follow-
ing morning before daylight
Should the old birds when re-
leased refuse to feed their young
and desert them to return to
return to their old home a re
suit especially to be apprehend
ed if the parent colony be only
a few miles distant the only re
course is to bring up the young
by hand feeding them worms
grasshoppers cockroaches crjck
< <
els mealworms or other availa-
ble insect f oodff
But should the old birds con-
sent to remain In thenew neigh-
borhood and to rearHhe young
the probability the return of
both old and young the follow-
ing spring is great Even if de-
serted by their parents and af-
ter being handreared there is at
least a fair degree of probabili-
ty that the young will find their
way back the following year to
the place where raised and build
in the houses provided for them
The practicability of this method
of extending the range of the
martin has yet to be tested by
actual experiments on a large
scale but the value of the bird as
an insect hunter especially in
the Southy is so great as to jus-
tify the trouble and expense nec-
essary to test the plan thor-
oughly
The English sparrow is a for
midable enemy of the martin as
it is of all Swallows and if a
martin colony is to thrive de-
termined efforts must be made
to prevent this pest from oust-
ing the formidable enemyemfw
ing the rightful owners and ap-
propriating their boxes The
smaller swallows are quite help
less to resist the attacks of the
foreign invaders and soon aban-
don their homes for more peace-
ful regions But the martin is
a good fighter and would be able
to hold its own against the spar-
row hosts but for the fact that
its temporary absence the
sparrows kill its young and
throw out the eggs so that
sooner or later the martin has
to give up the contest and aban-
don the neighborhood
Martins are not at al fasti
Martins are not at all fastidi
ous about the outward appear-
ance of their dwellings and a
large gourd suspended from the
top of a dead tree or pole or
any kind of a weathertight box
or barrel however rude when
divided into compartments an
swers their needs as well as the
most costly and ornamental
house The rooma should be
about 4 12 inchesjBWde 7 in-
ches high and 9 Mches deep
with entrances Jfcj t three
inches in 8 will
not build close t < the ground
having a wholesome fear ofcats
and other invaders hence the
houses should be elevated from
the ground not less thannl5 feet
Drinking water is essential for
martins and all other swallows
and the presence of a small
pond lake or river greatly in-
creases the chances for a colozi
nation
From the standpoint of a far
mer and the cotton grower swal-
lows are among the most useful
birds Especially designed by
natue to capture insects in mid-
air their powers of flight and
endurance are unexcelled and in
their own field they have no
competitors Their peculiar
value to the cotton grower con
sists in the fact that like the
night hawk they capture boll
weevils when flying over the
fields which no other birds do
Flycatchers snap up the weevil
near trees and shrubbery Wrens
hunt them out when concealed
under bark or rubbish Black-
birds catch them on the ground
as do the kildeer titlark mead-
ow lark and others while ori-
oles hunt for them onthe bolls
But it is the peculiar function
of swallows to catch the weevils
as they are making Ipng flights
leaving the cotton fields in
search of hiding places an which
to winter or entering them to
continue their work of devasta
tation
Means have been taken to in-
form residents of Northern
States of the value of the swal-
low tribe to agriculturalists gen-
erally and particularly to cot-
ton planters in the belief that
the numbeis of swallows bleed-
ing in the North can be substan-
tially increased The jioopera
tion of the Northerp States 4s
important since birds bred in
the North migrate directly
through the Southern States in
the fall on their way to the dis-
tant tropics and also in the
spring on their return
Important as it is to increase
the numbers of breeding swal-
lows it is still more important
to increase the number nesting
in the South and to induce the
birds to extend their range over
perfect Yon
gaged in the pursuit of insects
It is not 01 course claimed
that birds alone can stay the
ravages of the cotton boll wee
vil in Texas but they materially
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as much of the cotton area as
possible Nesting birds spend
much more time in the South
and during the weeks when the
old birds are teeding the young
they are almost incessantly en
Information
Wamo
Address A
Thos Goggan Bros
SAN ANTONIO TEXAS
aid in checking the advance of
the pest into other cotton states
Important auxiliaries in destroy-
ing these insects birds aid in
reducing their numbers 40 safe
limits and once in safe limits
in keeping them there Hence
it is for tne interests of the cot
be made to protect and care for
the weevileating species and to
increase their numbers in every
possible way
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Habermacher, J. C. Shiner Gazette. (Shiner, Tex.), Vol. 15, No. 29, Ed. 1, Thursday, February 13, 1908, newspaper, February 13, 1908; Shiner, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth111742/m1/2/?q=%22Places+-+United+States+-+Texas+-+Lavaca+County+-+Shiner%22: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .