212 STORIES OF BIRD LIFE 



In summer the bird lives largely on fruit. He will light 

 in your cherry tree, seize the ripest fruit within reach, and 

 in another moment be off for some frequented limb at the 

 edge of the grove, where he likes to carry his food before 

 eating. Here on his high dining table, he holds the cherry 

 down with his foot and eats it at his convenience. Then 

 he wipes his bill on the limb, using the bark for a napkin, 

 and soon comes back for another piece of fruit. Besides 

 plums and cherries he likes to eat grapes and berries. 

 Many kinds of insects also go to supply his mouth with 

 good things. 



In Florida I have known the redhead to peck holes in 

 oranges and drink the sweet juice. An orange grower 

 once showed me a device he employed for killing them as 

 well as the red-bellied woodpeckers which in like manner 

 pecked his fruit. He had placed a long slender pole up 

 through the tree in such a way that one end rested on the 

 ground and the other protruded above the boughs. Often 

 a bird coming for a draught of juice would first alight on 

 this natural perch. A man hidden beneath would then 

 strike the pole a sharp blow with an axe or heavy club. 



