DOWNY WOODPECKER. 



13 



tree, and upon examining the tree when the bird had flown it was 

 found that wherever the bark had been iojured the young- larvae of a 

 wood-eating beetle had been snugly coiled underneath and had been 

 destroyed by the bird."^ 



In the matter of vegetable diet, the taste of the Downy Woodpecker 

 is varied, prompting him to eat a little of a good many things rather 

 than a large quantity of any one. The following is a list of the vegetable 

 substances that were identified : 



Grain : 



In determinable. 

 Fruit : 



Dogwood berries ( Cornus florida), ( C. 



alternifolia), and (C asperifolia). 

 Virginia creeper berries {Partheno- 



cissus'^ quinquefolia) . 

 June or service berries (AmeJanchier 



canadensis). 

 Strawberries (Fragaria). 

 Pokeberries {Phytolacca decandra). 

 Apples. 

 Unidentified. 



Miscellaneous : 



Poison ivy seeds (Rhus radicans). 



Poison sumac seeds {Rhus vernix). 



Harmless sumac seeds {Rhus sp. ?). 



Mullein seeds {Feriascum thapsus). 



Hornbeam seeds {Ostryavirginana). 



Nut, unidentified. 



Flower petals and buds. 



Galls. 



Cambium. 



Seeds, unidentified. 



Eubbish. 



Material believed to be fragments of grain was found in 2 stomachs 

 but the quantity was so small that it may be dismissed without further 

 comment. Fruit is by far the largest item of vegetable diet, forming 

 one-tenth of the whole food. Strawberry seeds were found in only 1 

 stomach, apple pulp was supposed to be identified in 2, and the other 

 varieties mentioned in the table were distributed in about the same 

 proportion ; so that no great economic interest can attach to this part 

 of the birds' diet. The seeds and other things included under the 

 head 'Miscellaneous' constitute about one-twelfth of the total food. 

 Seeds of poison ivy were found in 20 stomachs and poison sumac in 1. 

 These plants, far from being harmful to the birds, seem to form a very 

 agreeable article of diet, and are eaten by many species. Unfortunately 

 these seeds are protected by a hard, horny covering which successfully 

 resists the action of the stomach, so that they pass through the ali- 

 mentary canal uninjured. It is probable that we owe to birds, more 

 than any other agency, the presence of these noxious plants beside 

 fences, copses, and hedge rows. The remaining vegetable food, about 

 5 percent, was classed as rubbish, and will be discussed in connection 

 with some of the other woodpeckers. 



No beechnuts were found in any of the stomachs examined, but Dr. 

 Merriam informs me that in northern New York they feed extensively 

 on this nut, particularly in fall, winter, and early spring. On April 5, 



' U. S. Agr. Kept, for 1865, 1866, p. 37-38. 



^Commonly called Ampelopsis. See (List of Pteridophyta and Spermatopbyta), 

 prepared by a committee of the Botanical Club of the A. A. A. S., 1893-94, which 

 has been followed in all questions of botanical nomenclature. 



