128 Bird - Lore 



striking, but no less remarkable, than the quickness with which they detect 

 the sounds, or vibrations, made by insects boring under the bark of trees; or, 

 more mysterious yet, the way in which they discover colonies of dormant 

 wood-gnawing ants. It is possible that the sense of touch as well as of hearing 

 may aid in their search for grubs, but no observer seems as yet to have deter- 

 mined the truth of this suggestion. 



Much has been written and pictured about the tools which the 



Tools Woodpeckers use in their beneficial routine of food-getting. Few 



other families of birds indeed have so many specialized structures. 



In the first place, the feet of Woodpeckers are different from those of most 

 of our birds, in that the toes, which are four in number, are placed two in 

 front and two behind, with the exception of the small group of three-toed 

 Woodpeckers. Such feet serve to clamp the bird to the tree. 



Additional support is furnished by the stifT, sharply pointed tail-feathers, 

 that act as a hrace when the bird delivers heavy blows with its beak. Effective 

 as this tool is for the work of hammer, wedge, drill and pick-axe, it could not 

 obtain the deeply hidden grubs known as "borers," from their tortuous, tun- 

 neled grooves, without the aid of the long, slender, extensile tongue. In the 

 case of the Hairy and Downy, as well as some others of the family, this re- 

 markable tool is provided with barbs, converting it into a spear, which may be 

 hurled one inch, two inches or even more, beyond the tip of the beak. The 

 correlation between food and tongue in all Woodpeckers is most striking. 



While searching for food, both the Hairy and the Downy sound the bark by 

 tapping lightly. The instant a grub is detected, however, they stop in their 

 tracks and begin hammering in earnest. If the grub is directly under the spot 

 chosen for drilling, and the bark is not too tough, a perforation straight in 

 suffices to reach the prey. The operation of making the circular hole is rapid 

 and strenuous, and the grub seldom has time to make its escape, especially 

 in live trees, where it is often not far under the surface of the bark. 



There are trees, however, the bark of which is too hard and unyielding for 

 this simple method of drilling, and in such instances the Hairy Woodpecker 

 has been observed to attack the fortifications of the grub with surprising per- 

 servance and, one might almost add, ingenuity, if such a term could be applied 

 to a bird. Drilling first from one side and then from the other, in all directions, 

 ripping off the bark in considerable pieces meanwhile, it soon reaches the tunnel 

 of its prey. Should the tunnel be deep and crooked, the Woodpecker cannot 

 catch the grub with its beak, but must run out the spearlike tongue and "har- 

 poon" the "borer," adroitly drawing it in when the strongly nipping mandibles 

 close upon it. 



In the genus Dryobates, a sticky secretion about the tongue aids in the 

 capture of smaller insects, while clumps of stiff hairs that cover the nostrils 

 prevent dust or tiny chips from entering the air-passages. Some Woodpeckers 

 drill more than others, and among these are the Hairy and Downy. 



