YELLOW-BELLIED "WOODPECKER. 



31 



eaten in larger numbers than by any of the others. Among them were 

 several long-legged crane flies ( Tipulids). Spiders were eaten to a small 

 extent only, and most of these were phalangers or ' daddy-longlegs,' 

 which, taken with the crane flies, would indicate a slight preference for 

 long-legged prey. Bugs, wasps, caterpillars, crickets, and mayflies 

 collectively amount to about 6 percent, no one of them reaching any 

 very important figure. Prof. Samuel Aughey examined 6 stomachs of 

 the Yellow-bellied Woodpecker in Nebraska, all of which contained 

 grasshoppers. The number in each stomach varied from 15 to 33, 



Mr. William Brewster states that at Umbagog Lake, Maine, " After 

 the young have hatched, the habits of the yellow-bellied Woodpecker 

 change. From an humble delver after worms and larvae, it rises to the 

 proud independence of a flycatcher, taking its prey on wing as uner- 

 ringly as the best marksman of them all. From its perch on the spire 

 of some tall stub it makes a succession of rapid sorties after its abun- 

 dant victims, and then flies off' to its nest with bill and mouth crammed 

 full of insects, principally large Diptera." ^ 



The vegetable food of the Sapsucker is varied. The following fruits 

 and berries were found in the stomachs: 



Fruit: 



Dogwood berries {Cornus flonda). 

 Black alder berries {Ilex vertlciUata). 

 Virginia creeper berries (Parthenocis- 



sus quinquefoUa). 

 "Wild black cherries {Prunus serotina). 

 Blackberries or raspberries (liubus). 

 Unidentified. 



Miscellaneous : 



Poison ivy seeds (Bhus radicans). 



Mullein seeda (Veriascum tliapeus). 



JnnipeTheiiiea (Juniperusvirginiana). 



Buds. 



Seeds unidentified. 



Cambium. 



Eubbish. 



The quantity of fruit found in the stomachs formed 26 percent of the 

 entire food, but the only kinds identified that might possibly be culti- 

 vated were blackberries and raspberries, and these were in only 2 

 stomachs. Unidentifiable fruit pulp was found in 12 stomachs. Mis- 

 cellaneous seeds to the amount of 5 percent complete the list of sub- 

 stances eaten by this species. Poison ivy seeds were found in only 1 

 stomach, and most of the other things were distributed in about the 

 same proportion. 



Dr. Merriam informs me that in the fall in northern New York the 

 Sapsuckers feed on ripening beechnuts, the small branches bending 

 low with the weight of the birds while picking the tender nuts. 



'Bull. Nuttall Ornith. Club, Vol. 1, 1876, No. 3, p. 69. 



