52 



POOD OF WOODPECKEKS OP rXITED STATES. 



item. It is eaten throughout the year except during the tliree sum- 

 mer months. It was found in 17S stomachs, and the greatest con- 

 sumption appears to be in November, when it reached 67.05 per cent 

 of the month's food, and it does not fall much below this figure until 

 spring. This record for mast eating is the largest of that of any bird 

 of this family except the California woodpecker. In most cases where 

 birds eat much mast they hal^itually store up nuts and seeds for 

 future use. The writer has been able to find but one reference to such 

 a habit in this bird. W. L. Dawson, in Bu'ds of Ohio, page 357, 1903, 

 saj^s it "laj^s up frugal stores of mast and corn." This seems quite 

 probable, in ^^ew of what is found in the stomachs. Poison ivy 

 seeds amount to 2.15 per cent and are eaten in every month from 

 August to February, inclusive. 



The following fruits and seeds were found m the stomachs: 



Short-leaved pine (Pinus mitis). 

 Other pine seeds (Pinus sp.). 

 Saw palmetto {Serenoa senulata). 

 Date palm {Serenoa sp.). 

 Greenbrier {Smihx glaum). 

 Bristly greenbrier (Sinilax bona-nox). 

 Other greenbrier (Smilax sp.). 

 Bayberry [ilyrica curolineiisis). 

 Hackbeny (Celiis ocddentalis) . 

 Ked mulbeiTy {Morus rubra). 

 Smartweed {Polygonum sp.). 

 Pokeberry {Phytolacca decandra). 

 Sassafras {Sassafras sassafras) . 

 BlackbeiTy or raspberry {Rubus sp.). 

 Wild black cheiTy {Prunus serotina). 

 Sumac {Rhus glabra). 



Poison ivy {Rhus radicans). 



American holly {Ilex opaca). 



Swamp holly {Ilex decidua). 



Frost grape ( Vitis cordifolia). 



Fox grape ( Vitis vulpina). 



Woodbine {Parthenodssus quinquefolia) . 



Prickly pear {Opuntia sp.). 



Wild sarsaparilla {Aralia nudicaulis) . 



Flowering dogwood {Cornus fiorida) . 



Pvough-leaved dogwood {Cornus asperi- 



folia). 

 Panicled dogwood {Cornus candidissima). 

 Sour gum ( Xyssa sylvaiica). 

 Huckleberry ( Vaccinium sp.). 

 Elderberry {Sambucus canadensis). 

 Ragweed {Ambrosia sp.). 



Summary. — Only one element in the food of the red-bellied wood- 

 pecker has much economic significance. The bird evinces a decided 

 taste for fruit, and sometimes injures orchards, as in Florida orange 

 groves. The contents of the stomachs, however, show that vild 

 fruits are the favorites, and probably only when these have been 

 replaced by cultivated ones is any mischief done. Orange pulp was 

 not positively identified in any stomach, though quite a number were 

 collected in Florida during the orange season. Only a little of the 

 grain eaten is taken when it is a loss to the farmer. In its animal 

 food the bird is almost entirely beneficial, as the insects eaten are 



largely noxious. 



FLICKER. 



{Colaptes auralv^ subspp.) 



The flicker (PL VI), kno\\^l also as the golden-winged woodpecker, 

 yellow-shafted woodjiccker, high-holder, yellow-hammer, pigeon 

 woodpecker, and hairy-wicket, is one of the most widely distributed 

 and best known species m the United States. This is one of the few 



