TWELVE WINTER BIRDS. 



263 



more often than that species the depths of the woods ; 

 though hunger often drives him in mid-winter to the 

 outskirts of the city, where, in the tops of the many 

 decaying shade tree, he finds the struggle for existence 

 between himself and his kin less deadly than in his 

 native wood. A careful examination of 82 stomachs 



Fig. 74 Hairy Woodpecker. (After Beal.) 



of this species made by the Bureau of Ornithology at 

 Washington, showed that 68 per cent, of the food was 

 animal matter, largely the remains of injurious insects ; 

 while 31 per cent, was of vegetable origin, consisting 

 mainly of wild cherries, grapes and the berries of the 

 dogwood and Virginia creeper. 



