MiN-xicH] OBSERVATIOXS OX BIRD FAMILIES 27 



although there may have been more. Both parents assisted in 

 feeding the young. 



Table shozving Number and Frequency of Feedings of Young of 

 Red-Headed Woodpecker. 



TOTAL 82 



The first feeding in the morning occurred at 4:09 and the 

 last in the evening at 6 :49. During the 14 hours and 40 minutes 

 the young Woodpeckers were fed 82 times, or on an 

 average of every 10.7 minutes. The longest interval between 

 visits was 1 hour and 10 minutes, this occurring just at noon, 

 from 11:29 until 12:39. Several times, however, the visits were 

 only \ minute apart. The period of greatest activity was from 

 8-12, when the young were fed every 10 minutes. However, it 

 is readily noticed that this is a little below the average for the 

 entire day. which was lO.T minutes. This means, that at no 

 period was the number of visits to the nest markedly greater than 

 at any other period, a thing which was not true in the observa- 

 tions on the Downy Woodpecker. Twenty times during the day, 

 were the parents observed carrying waste material from the nest, 

 this occurring at least once every hour, except from 5 to 6 in 

 the morning and 3 to 4 in the afternoon. In a closed nest of 

 this type, great care must be exercised by the parent birds to keep 

 it in a sanitary condition. Although most of the food taken to 

 the nest was obtained in the vicinity of the nest, which contains 

 numerous trees, the parents w^ere seldom under observation while 

 procuring it. The food, as far as could be determined, consisted 

 of insects, a few cherries from neighboring trees, and some bread 

 and suet taken from a bird's lunch counter, at the house nearby. 



