51 



for the protection of our trees should commend them to every lumberman, fruit 

 grower and nurseryman, and though we cannot do very much to protect them from 

 their natural enemies, we can cease destroying them ourselves and discountenance it 



in others. 



The Downy Woodpecker may be readily attracted to an orchard in the Avinter 

 season by baiting the trees with pieces of fat, in the same manner as is recom- 

 mended for Nuthatches and Chickadees further on. The work done by this bird 

 in extracting borers from the trees, and destroying the larvse of the Codling moth, 

 will amply repay a fruit grower for the small amount of attention necessary. 



Red-headed Woodpecker. This is the most beautiful bird of the whole Wood- 

 pecker family, the strong contrast of the glossy black and the white of its body, 

 and the brilliant crimson of the head of the adult birds, render them very con- 

 spicuous objects of the country; their value from an economic point of view, how- 

 ever, is debatable. From the time of their arrival here in May until the first 

 strawberry ripens, these birds feed on insects entirely, and in pursuit of their 

 food they often adopt the tactics of the fly-catchers, by mounting to the top of a 

 telegraph pole or bare limb of a tree, thence darting out at any passing 

 insect large enough to attract their attention. If the location selected is a favor- 

 able one and food abundant, they will remain at the same spot for some time; 

 but after the small fruits ripen their tastes change, and they then visit the straw- 

 berry patches, both wild and cultivated, and cherries and raspberries are also eaten 

 by them and carried to their young, ^^en the season for small fruit is over, 

 they again resort to their insect eating habit, and, so far as I have been able to 

 observe, are not in this Province ever addicted to pilfering grain. I have occasion- 

 ally seen an odd one make a raid on a vineyard and take a few grapes, and once 

 or twice have seen them pick holes in apples, but the habit does not seem general. 



There is no doubt that in the spring they do much good by destroying numbers 

 of mature insects, which, if allowed, would deposit eggs to produce vast numbers 

 of injurious caterpillars. It is true also that in districts where small fruit is 

 cultivated for profit they do much harm, if they become sufficiently numerous. 

 As the case now stands, they are too scarce to do much injury, and, except when 

 they are too persistent in their visits to a garden or orchard, they may well be 

 left alone. Although these birds are regular migrants, arriving here about the 

 middle of May and leaving in September, I have once or twice met with them in 

 sheltered woods in south-western Ontario in the winter, where their bright plum- 

 age showed to great advantage against the evergreens. 



The habits of the Eed-bellied Woodpecker are very similar to those of the 

 above species, and its economic value about the same, but as it only occurs in the 

 south-western counties of the Province, and then in very small ^numbers, it need 

 not be further considered. 



Golden-winged Woodpecker. Flicker, High Holder, Yellow Hammer, Pigeon 

 Woodpecker, and half a dozen other aliases, testify that this is a well-known, if 

 not always a popular, character. Like the last species, the value of this bird from 

 the fruit-growers' standpoint is debatable, but it is not quite so much given to 

 fruit eating as the Eedhead, though, when it has seven or eight hungry young 

 ones to feed, and it finds a cherry orchard handy, it will help itself to a good many 

 cherries, for which it has a decided predilection. Apart from this unlucky habit, 

 the bird has many good qualities. In some of its ways, it much resembles the 

 Meadowlarks; like them, it may often be seen on the ground searching for ants, 

 of which it destroys vast quantities. I have often found their stomachs filled with 



