The Hairy Woodpeckers 
now he covers a half-wooded pas¬ 
ture with great bounds of flight, 
shouting, plick, plick, from time to 
time; and he gives a loud rolling call 
—a dozen of these notes in swift suc¬ 
cession—as he pulls up in the top of 
a dead tree to begin the day’s work. 
He is an active fellow, hitching 
up or dropping down the tree-trunk 
with brusque ease, and publishing 
his progress now and then in cheer¬ 
ful tones. But he knows how to be 
patient too. In the search for hid¬ 
den worms and burrowing larvae, it 
seems not improbable that the Wood¬ 
pecker depends largely upon the 
sense of hearing—that he practices 
auscultation, in fact. A meditative 
tap, tap, is followed by a pause, dur¬ 
ing which the bird evidently marks 
the effect of his strokes, noting the 
rustle of apprehension or attempted 
escape on the part of the hidden 
morsel. It is not unusual for the 
bird to spend half an hour tunneling 
for a single taste, and even then the 
wary game may withdraw along 
some tunnel of its own, even beyond 
the reach of the bird’s extensible 
tongue. 
Nearly half of the Cabanis Woodpecker’s food consists of the larvae 
of wood-boring beetles (the Cerambycidce and Buprestidce ); and of the 
remainder the caterpillars of various injurious moths form a large per 
cent. Wild raspberries and blackberries are eaten in summer, and certain 
hardy fruits, such as cornel berries, acorns, and the pits of the islay, or 
evergreen cherry (Primus ilicifolia), eke out the winter sustenance. But 
the Hairy Woodpecker has never been accused of depredations in the 
orchard, while his services as a supervising forester are beyond recompense. 
The bird has other uses for timber besides that of larder. He loves 
a dry tree, as well, for its noise-making possibilities. And I suppose if 
we were astute enough in observation, we could decipher his signalling 
system, or musical scale. Speaking of this habit, as exhibited in the San 
HARRIS WOODPECKER 
Taken in Oregon 
Photo by Bohlman & Finley 
990 
