SONGLESS BIRDS OF ORCHARD AND WOODLAND. 253 



saving most of the trees. The cut (Fig. 109) shows a por- 

 tion of the top of one of these trees, riddled by the borer. 

 The knife-cut at the bottom exposes their galleries. The 

 small perforations along the stem were made by 

 the Woodpecker in extracting the grubs. 



The untiring industry of this bird and the per- 

 fection of its perceptive powers may be shown 

 by the experience of Mr. Bailey. On March 28, 

 1899, a Downy "Woodpecker that he watched 

 climbed over and inspected one hundred and 

 eighty-one woodland trees between 9.40 a.m. 

 and 12.15 p.m., and made twenty-six excava- 

 tions for food. Most of these holes exposed gal- 

 leries in the trunks or in high branches where 

 wood-boring ants were hiding. The openings 

 that the bird drilled in piercing one of these 

 tunnels in a branch some thirty-five feet from 

 'the ground are shown in Fig. 110. It had un- 

 covered dormant black ants, and in each case had 



pierced their 

 burrow at 

 the exact spot 

 where they were 

 gathered. These 

 wood-boring ants 

 often gain an entrance 

 at some unprotected 

 spot on a living tree, and 

 so excavate the wood of,the 

 trunk that the tree is blown 

 down by the wind. This Wood- 

 pecker acts as a continual check 

 on the increase of such ants. 



The delicacy of that sense of touch or 

 audition by which the bird was enabled to 

 locate those motionless insects in their hid- 

 den burrow must ever command our admiration, unendowed 

 as we are with such delicate perceptive powers. 



Another Downy Woodpecker was seen on March 31 taking 



'?i- 



Fig. 109. 



Pig. no.— Downy- 

 Woodpecker and 

 his work. 



