24 THE FOOD OF WOODPECKERS. 



One hundred and one stomachs of the Eedhead were examined from 

 specimens collected throughout the year, although the bird is not gen- 

 erally abundant in the Northern States during the winter months. 

 The specimens were taken in 20 States, the District of Columbia and 

 Canada, and are fairly well distributed over the whole region east of 

 the Eocky Mountains. The contents of the stomachs consisted of: 

 Animal matter, 50 percent; vegetable matter, 47 percent; mineral 

 matter, 3 percent. The animal and vegetable elements are nearly 

 balanced, and the mineral element is larger than in any except the 

 Flicker. The insects consist of ants, wasps, beetles, bugs, grasshop- 

 pers, crickets, moths, and caterpillars. Spiders and myriapods also 

 were found. Ants amounted to about 1 1 percent of the whole food, which 

 is the smallest showing of any of the 7 species under consideration, 

 and is in harmony with the habits of the bird, which collects its food 

 upon exposed surfaces where ants do not often occur. Beetle remains 

 formed nearly one-third of all food, the highest record of any one of 

 the 7 woodpeckers. The families represented were those of the com- 

 mon May beetle {Lachnosterna), which was found in several stomachs, 

 the predaceous ground beetles, tiger beetles, weevils, and a few others. 

 Among the May beetle family is a rather large, brilliant green beetle, 

 known to entomologists as Allorliina nitida, but commonly oalled by 

 the less dignified name of 'June bug.' It is very common during the 

 early summer in the Middle and Southern States, but less so at the 

 North. This insect was found in 11 stomachs, and 5 individuals were 

 identified in a single stomach, which would seem an enormous meal for 

 a bird of this size. Another large beetle eaten by this woodpecker is 

 the fire-ground beetle (Calosoma calidum), a predaceous beetle of large 

 size and vile odor. Passalus cornutus, one of the staghorns, a large 

 insect, was also found, as well as a pair of mandibles belonging to 

 Prionus brevicornus, one of the largest beetles in the United States. A 

 preference for large beetles is one of the pronounced characteristics of 

 this woodpecker. Weevils were found in 15 stomachs, and in several 

 cases as many as 10 were present. Eemains of Carabid beetles were 

 found in 44 stomachs to an average amount of 24 percent of the con- 

 tents of those that contained them, or 10 percent of all. The fact that 

 43 iiercent of all the birds taken had eaten these beetles, some of them 

 to the extent of 16 individuals, shows a decided fondness for these 

 insects, and taken with the fact that 5 stomachs contained Cicindelids 

 or tiger beetles forms a rather strong indictment against the bird. 



Grasshoppers and crickets formed 6 percent of the whole food, a 

 larger percentage than in any of the other 7 species. The aggregate 

 for all other insects is 4 percent, and the most important kinds are 

 wasps and their allies. As this bird has often been seen capturing 

 insects on the wing' it is probable that the wasps Mere taken in that 

 way. 



■See Merriam, Bull. Nuttall Ornitb. Club, Vol. Ill, July, 1878, p. 126; also Forest 

 and Stream, Vol. IX, .January 17, 1878, p. 451. 



