PICID.E— ''HE WOODrECKERS. ',71 



rats, and t'roin those acorn-eating birds wliose bills are not stronjf or sliarp 

 ennugli to cnt tln'ongli tlieir tougli enclosures ? 



M. Suniicln-iist, wlio ai'terwauls enjoyed unusual opportunities for observ- 

 ing tlu' lial)it8 of tliese Woodpeckers in the State of Vera Cruz, states tliat 

 they dwell exclusively in oak woods, and tiiat near I'otrero, as well as in 

 the alpine regions, trunks of oak-trees are found pierced with small holes in 

 circular lines around their circumference. Into each of these Iioles tiiese 

 birds drive the acorns by rejieated blows of tlieir beaks, so as to fix them 

 firmly. At other times they make tlieir collection of acorns in opening.j be- 

 tween the raised bark of dry trees and the trunks. This writer states that 

 he has sought in vain to explain such jierformances satisfactorily. Tiie 

 localities in which these birds I'eside, in Mexico, teem at all seasons witli 

 insects ; and it seems absurd, therefore, to suppose that they can lie in (piest 

 of the small, almost microscopic, larva; contained in the acorns. 



Dr. C. T. Jackson sought to account tor these interesting performances on 

 the ingenious hypothesis that the acorns thus stored aif always infested with 

 larva.', and never sound ones ; that they are driven into the tree cup-end fore- 

 most, so as to securely imprison the maggot and prevent its escape, and thus 

 enable the AVoodpecker to devour it at its leisure. This would argue a won- 

 derful degree of intelligence and forethought, on the part of the Woodjjecker, 

 and more than it is entitled to ; for the facts do not sustain tliis hy- 

 pothesis. The acorns .are not put into the tree with the cup-end in, but in- 

 variably the reverse, so far as we have noticed; and the acorns, so far from 

 being wormy, are, in nine cases out of ten, sound ones. Besitles, this theory 

 aflbrds no explanation of the large collections of loose jxcorns made by these 

 birds in IkjUow trees, or in the stalks of the maguay plants. Xor can we 

 understand why, if so intelligent, they make so little use of these acorns, as 

 seems to be the almost universal testimony of California naturalists. And, 

 as still further demonstrating tlie incorrectness of this hypothesis, we lia\e 

 recently been informed by Dr. Canfield of Monterey, Cal., that occasionally 

 the.se Woodpeckers, following an instinct .so lilind that they do not (iistiu- 

 guish between an acorn and a pebble, are known to fill up tlie holes tliey 

 have drilled with so nuich labor, not only with acorns, but occasionally with 

 stones, in time the bark and the wood grow over these, and after a few 

 years they are left a long way from the surfiice. These trees are usually tlic 

 sugar-pine of California, a wood much used for luinl)er. t)ccasionally one 

 of these trees is cut, the log taken to mill without its being known that it is 

 thus charged with rounded pieces of flint or agate, and the saws that come 

 in contact with them are broken. 



Without venturing to present an expl.anation of facts that have ai»i)eared 

 so contrirdictory and unsatisfactory to other naturalists, such as we can claim 

 to be either comprehensive or entirely satisfactory, we cannot discredit the 

 positive averments of such observers as Saussure and Salvin. We b(']ic\e 

 tliat these Woodpeckers do eat the acorns, when they can do no better. 



