HOW BIRDS AFFECT THE ORCHARD. 295 
of their contents. The trees attacked, mostly birches, mountain 
ashes, maples, and apple trees, often die the first or second year after 
the girdling is done. Fruit trees, however, are not very frequently 
attacked by this bird, and the species is not numerous enough to cause 
any perceptible harm to the forest. Examination of the stomachs of 
yellow-bellied woodpeckers shows that alburnum, or the soft tissue 
lying between the inner layer of bark and the hard wood of the tree, 
constitutes quite an important item of the diet, 23 per cent of the 
food of the year. Other woodpeckers also eat sparingly of the same 
substance, but the little they take is of no practical importance. 
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER.—The red-bellied woodpecker (Jelan- 
erpes carolinus), which is not common in the East north of Pennsyl- 
vania, has fallen into disrepute among the orange growers of Florida 
by its attacks on oranges. It does considerable damage by pecking 
holes in the ripe fruit, and sometimes causes serious loss. It is to be 
hoped that experience will show some way to prevent these ravages 
without destroying the bird, for its harmfulness is confined to the 
orange groves of Florida, and it is of much value elsewhere. 
OTHER WOODPECKERS.—The other woodpeckers, both eastern and 
western, are all more or less useful to fruit raisers. In the West and 
South, besides several subspecies of the hairy and downy woodpeckers, 
are other members of the same genus (Dryobates), which have food 
habits, as shown by stomach examination, that closely approximate 
those of the hairy and downy. ‘These include the red-cockaded (D. 
borealis), Texan (D. scalaris bairdi), St. Lucas (D. scalaris lwecasanus), 
Nuttall’s (D. nuttallz), and Arizona (D. arizone). Several woodpeck- 
ers belonging to the genus Picozdes, that inhabit the northern part of 
the country and beyond, are equally useful. The genus J/clanerpes, 
with its half dozen species, covers practically the whole United States, 
and, like the genus Dryobates, is a group of useful insectivorous birds, 
with the possible exception noted above. In the West three species 
of flickers are found whose food is practically the same as that of the 
eastern species. 
TITMICE, 
BLAcCK-CAPPED CHICKADEE.—The well-known titmice, or chickadees, 
though small in size and unobtrusive in habits, do much good in both 
orchard and forest. So far as known, the food habits of all are bene- 
ficial. The winter food of the familiar black-capped chickadee (Parus 
atricapillus), which has been investigated by Prof. Clarence M. Weed," 
of New Hampshire, and by the Biological Survey, consists of noxious 
insects, and more especially of insects’ egzs. The eggs of plant lice 
(Aphide) were found in a large proportion of the stomachs examined, 
and constituted an important percentage of the food. Besides these, 
1Bulletin 54, N. H. College Agr. Exp. Sta., June, 1898. 
