OTHER WOODPECKERS. 



63 



The vegetable food consisted of fruit of Magnolia fcdida, in one 

 stomach, and of pecan nuts in the other. The average for the two 

 was 61.5 per cent. This analysis of food indicates that the species, 

 except for its small numbers, might be of considerable economic 

 value, as the insects forming the animal portion of the food are 

 mostly of an injurious character. These powerful birds are able 

 to reach the wood-boring grubs in places where smaller species fail, 

 and their large bodies require a great quantity of such food. The 

 vegetable portion of the food does not indicate that the bird is likely 

 to attack any products of agriculture, an inference which is strength- 

 ened by its shy, retiring habits. It is preeminently a wilderness 

 lover and avoids cleared and cultivated districts. 



When we see how much good this woodpecker is capable of doing 

 as a guardian of the forest, it seems deplorable that it should be 

 allowed to be exterminated. Wise legislation, backed by intelligent 

 public opinion, may retard, if not absolutely prevent, the present 

 destruction and allow the bird to regain something of its former 

 abundance. There is plenty of room for this splendid species and 

 much need of its services in the great southern forests. 



OTHER WOODPECKERS. 



Besides the species of woodpeckers whose food has been discussed 

 in the preceding pages, a few stomachs of 5 other species have been 

 received, and, while there are too few to warrant a general discussion 

 of their food, some mention of its most prominent characteristics 

 may be made. The following table gives the number of stomachs of 

 each species and the percentage of animal and vegetable food for each: 



Name of species. 



Number of 

 stomachs. 



Animal 

 food. 



Vegetable 

 food. 



The Texan woodpecker (Dryobates s. bairdi) shows the ruling char- 

 acteristic of the genus in its food, for the largest item is wood-boring 

 beetle larvae. Caterpillars are second in importance, and include a 

 number of cotton worms (Alabama argillacea), which were found in 

 some stomachs collected in Texas. Ants are next in rank, and these 

 three items make up the bulk of the food. 



I lalf of the animal food of the white-headed woodpecker (Xenopicus 

 albolarvatus) is ants, but the most pronounced characteristic of this 

 bird is its fondness for the seeds of pines, which constitute more than 

 half of the food. 



