266 Birds of Buzzard's Roost 



mains in that vicinity and may be found throughout the year. 

 Its geographical distribution extends from Florida and the 

 Gulf States north through the United States and the Do- 

 minion of Canada into Southern Labrador, to about latitude 

 55 degrees ; thence in a northerly direction to northern Alaska, 

 to about latitude 66 degrees ; west to Manitoba, North and 

 South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, the Indian Territory, and 

 eastern Texas. Irregularly to Manitoba, Colorado, Idaho, Ore- 

 gon, Washington and California. It breeds throughout most 

 of its range. In the Middle West the nest is begun about the 

 second or third week in May. The holes for the nest are usu- 

 ally excavated in a dead willow, poplar, oak, or linden tree 

 and varies in height from four to thirty feet, usually about fif- 

 teen feet. The entrance is just large enough to admit the bird 

 and varies from one and a half to two inches. As is the rule 

 with the woodpeckers, the hole is dug into the tree at a right 

 angle for some distance and then downward. The lower part 

 of the cavity is enlarged in a gourd-like shape. "Both sexes," 

 says Major Bendire, "assist in this work, and it takes about a 

 week to complete a suitable excavation. After it is finished 

 the male frequently digs out a somewhat shallower one for 

 himself in the same tree, or in another close by. A new site is 

 usually selected each season in the vicinity of the old one, but 

 occasionally this is cleaned out, deepened a little, and used for 

 several years in succession. Each pair of birds lay claim to a 

 certain range, and intruders on this are driven away." Three 

 to six glossy white eggs constitute a clutch. Incubation lasts 

 about twelve days and both sexes take part in it. But one 

 brood is raised in a season. The young are diligently cared for 

 both in and after they have left the nest. Dr. Judd says, "The 

 stomachs of three nestling downy woodpeckers and their pa- 

 rents contained ants, spiders, and beetles. The young had eat- 

 en more spiders and fewer beetles than the adults, but the prin- 

 cipal food in all the stomachs was ants. 



Prof. Beal in his very able report, How Birds Affect the 

 Orchard says, "A study of the contents of the stomachs of 

 many specimens of the downy woodpecker shows that nearly 

 one-fourth of the yearly food consists of ants. A celebrated 

 French writer upon popular natural history has spoken of the 



