gtom from JFielt ant ^tutij 



Feeding Habits of the Downy 



I first learned of the nature of the 

 swellings on the goldenrod stalks in 

 zoology class, during the latter part of 

 October, 1915. I had noticed them many 

 times when walking through fields and 

 swamps, but never had investigated them, 

 taking them merely as a matter of course. 



November 27, 1915, I found a patch of 

 goldenrod stalks containing these galls. 

 I gathered a few of the larger ones, think- 

 ing that I would wait for the adult insects 

 to emerge in the following spring. When I 

 came to examine them more closely, later 

 on, I found that some of the galls had 

 irregular holes in them, very much 

 resembling holes cut with a thin-bladed 

 knife. These holes ranged from a sixteenth 

 to a quarter of an inch in diameter on the 

 outside, and got smaller, like a cone, as the 

 hole went toward the middle of the gall. 

 Being puzzled as to the cause of these 

 holes, I took them to my zoology teacher, 

 to get an explanation. She said that it was 

 probably caused by a bird of some kind, 

 but was not aware of its identity. 



December 4, I again came across a 

 large patch of goldenrod stalks, many of 

 which bore galls. This time, upon finding 

 more galls containing these holes, I 

 decided to find out if possible what caused 

 them. Almost immediately I discovered 

 a bird perched upon the stem of a golden- 

 rod plant, drilling into the gall very 

 industriously. Upon closer examination, 

 it proved to be a Downy Woodpecker. I 

 saw a number of these little birds at work 

 and watched them for many minutes. 

 Finally I picked several of the galls that 

 the birds had attacked and cut them open. 

 They were all empty. 



I walked around this field and counted 

 about ten of these birds. The patch cov- 

 ered nearly an acre of ground, and most of 

 the stalks had one or more galls. Nearly 

 half of the galls had been robbed of their 

 inhabitants, so I drew the conclusion that 



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the Downy Woodpecker must eat many 

 grubs each day. If this is the case, it is 

 of benefit to mankind and should not be 

 destroyed. — R. Eldred Boschert, Syra- 

 cuse, N. Y. 



Observations on Some Winter Birds at 

 Sigourney, Iowa 



The winter season being the bleakest of 

 the year, especially in the northern half of 

 the United States, it is quite important 

 during that time of year to cultivate the 

 friendship of the birds, the ever sprightly 

 and cheerful harbingers of a better time 

 to come. 



As the struggle for the necessities of sub- 

 sistence is the great moving power of the 

 entire living world, this of course includes 

 the birds and it is especially true in the 

 wintertime. Therefore, a birds' lunch- 

 counter offers the best means of gaining 

 their confidence, friendship and cheering 

 presence, as well as their aid in ridding 

 orchards, gardens and shade trees of the 

 larvae and eggs of numerous harmful 

 insects, hidden in crevices and under the 

 bark of trees, awaiting the springtime to 

 begin their destructive work. 



For several winters I have maintained 

 such a lunch-counter upon a shelf five feet 

 above the ground against a large shade 

 tree directly in front of, and some ten feet 

 from, the kitchen window. This shelf is 

 16 x 20 inches in size, with a border an 

 inch high, and hinged so it can be dropped 

 to facilitate cleaning. 



Upon this shelf I keep a supply of black 

 walnuts thoroughly cracked, so there are 

 no large pieces either of shell or kernel. 

 If this precaution is not taken, the Jays 

 and Nuthatches will carry all the larger 

 pieces away and hide them. Birds like 

 walnuts or butternuts better than bread 

 crumbs or any other kind of nuts. Wal- 

 nuts are usually cheap and easily obtain- 

 able in the regions where deciduous 

 trees flourish. Directly above this ^shelf , 



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