THE VEGETABLE FOOD OF BIRDS. 



31 



dries the stems of maple seeds before they have become 

 woody, so that they are tough enough to withstand the blasts 

 of autumn, and thus remain upon the trees indefinitely. 

 Under these conditions the grosbeaks find life easy and never 

 quit the neighborhood of trees thus laden until the last seed 

 is plucked. If the ground is not covered with snow, they 

 frequently obtain maple seeds after these are fallen. 



Among the other deciduous trees bearing dry fruits eaten 

 by birds are the poplars, sycamores, and ash-trees. None of 

 them are in general favor, however, the larger finches and 

 grosbeaks being their only patrons. 



The cone-bearing trees cater to a rather select company of 

 birds. This is particularly true of the white pine, the vaned 

 seeds of which are so 

 deeply hidden between 

 the scales of its great 

 cones that they cannot 

 be extracted by ordinary 

 bird tools. There are a 

 few specialists, however, 

 endowed with an appe- 

 tite for such seeds and an 

 adequate apparatus for 

 obtaining them. These 

 are the cross-bills, whose 

 falcate mandibles are 

 admirably adapted for 

 grasping the vane of a 



pine seed and thus withdrawing it from its hiding-place. The 

 siskin is another lover of pine seeds, and it is able to supply 

 its wants by having a bill which for a finch is very long and 

 acute. Although most of the white-pine seeds fall in Sep- 

 tember, enough remain in place to keep the birds supplied 

 until early winter. Besides these specialists, several other 

 birds occasionally eat pine seeds. Any of the seed eaters 



WHITE-WINGED CROSS-BILL. 



