BIRDS OF INDIANA. 833 



few Tree Sparrows and a Song Sparrow are with them, chipping on the 

 ground. A pair of Carolina Chickadees and a pair of Tufted Titmice 

 are searching the fence. A few Goldfinches are swinging on the dried 

 Goldenrod stalks, and, last, a pair of Downy Woodpeckers, one of 

 which is vigorously pounding with his bill the trunk of a small willow. 

 All are active; all are happy. Each is talking as earnestly and cheer- 

 fully as it can in its own language. Upon the approach of an in- 

 truder, all leave, the Downy Woodpecker being the last to go. Tufted 

 Titmice and Juncoes lead the way. Such companies are ever found 

 from frost to March. Not always composed of the same kinds of 

 birds, for sometimes one, sometimes another feature will be absent. 

 At other times, Bluebirds, Cardinals, or Nuthatches may be of the 

 company. What a jolly band! Eating weed seeds, destroying insects, 

 and bringing cheer even on the most cheerless days. They roost and 

 pass the most inclement weather in their old nest sites. 



Late in March, or early in April, the bands begin to break up. 

 Mating begins sometimes by April 1. Nesting begins about the mid- 

 dle of the month. They nest in holes in fences, in orchard trees, 

 in dead willows along streams, in dead stubs in the woods, generally 

 not high up. Both sexes incubate, which requires about twelve 

 days. But one brood is raised a year. 



The food habits of this species are essentially the same as the last. It 

 frequents orchards and yards more. Beginning at the base of a tree, 

 it searches every inch of trunk and branch out to the smallest limb, 

 searching for insects. In summer they may often be seen examin- 

 ing the apples, and from the blossoms occasionally extracting a 

 coddling moth. Its food is much similar to the last, but it eats a 

 larger percentage of insects, principally ants, and less vegetable food. 

 I have often found them feeding upon sunflower seeds, of which they 

 are very fond. The following summary from investigation by the 

 United States Department of Agriculture shows that of 140 stomachs 

 examined, 74 per cent, of the contents was animal; 25, vegetable, and 

 1, mineral; 23 per cent, was ants; 24, beetles and their larvae; 16, cater- 

 pillars; 3, grasshoppers; 4, bugs and plant lice; 1, flies; 3, spiders and 

 myriapods (Bull. No. 7, Div. of 0. and M., p. 11). Prof. Beal notes 

 that of the 7 species examined, our most common one, the Downy 

 Woodpecker, is the most beneficial. Three-fourths of its food is in- 

 sects, but few of which are useful. The greatest harm it does is in 

 spreading the seeds of poison ivy. These seeds have a hard shell; the 

 juices of the stomach do not destroy them. They are dropped, ha\ in-- 

 full vitality, and sprout where they fall. 



58 GEOL. 



