14 



THE FOOD OF WOODPECKKES. 



1878, Dr. Merriam " shot 4 Downy Woodpeckers all of whose gizzards 

 were full of beechnuts and contained nothing else. The birds were 

 often seen on moss-covered logs, and even on the ground, searching for 

 the nuts exposed by the melting snow." Dr. Merriam states also that 

 he has seen this woodpecker in the fall eat the red berries of the moun- 

 tain ash. 



HAIRY WOODPECKER. 



(Dryobates villosus.) 



This woodpecker is as common as the Downy in most parts of the 

 United States, and to the ordinary eye can only be distinguished by 

 its greater size, its color and markings being almost exactly the same. 



riG. 1. — Hairy Woodpecker. 



The Hairy is a noiser bird, however, often making his presence known 

 by loud calls and obtrusive behavior and by rapid flights from tree 

 to tree. Like the Downy, he has been accused of depredations on fruit, 

 but the stomachs examined do not show that cultivated varieties form 



