14 BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA AFFECTING FRUIT INDUSTRY. 



favorite kinds/ and in some cases constituted the whole stomach con- 

 tents. Blades of grass are frequently taken. A few bits of acorn, and 

 perhaps other nuts, were eaten, but the quantity is insignificant. 



SUMMARY. 



From the above analysis of the food of the California quail, it is 

 apparent that under normal conditions the farmer and fruit grower 

 have nothing to fear from its ravages. When, however, large areas 

 of chaparral land are cleared and brought under cultivation, it is 

 natural that the products of garden and vineyard should be eaten to 

 a greater or less extent by quail, which abound in such localities. 

 On the other hand, its seed-eating record is greatly in its favor. 

 Usually there is little difficulty in getting rid of a superfluity of game 

 birds ; in fact, in most cases the trouble is to prevent their extermina- 

 tion. A bird so large, so easily trapped, so valuable as food, and 

 withal one whose pursuit affords such excellent sport as the valley 

 quail, will probably not become numerous enough to do serious 

 damage except locally and under unusual conditions, and then a 

 reduction of numbers is the easiest and simplest cure. Permits to 

 trap quail on one's own premises are obtainable in California on 

 application to the State fish commissioner. After the birds have been 

 sufficiently reduced, they can be kept within reasonable limits by a 

 moderate amount of shooting in the proper season. 



WOODPECKER FAMILY. 



(Picidse.) 



Among the useful birds of the State few take higher rank than the 

 woodpeckers. They are mainly arboreal, and most of them may be 

 designated as conservators of the forest in the strictest sense. The 

 larvae of certain species of beetles and moths live either under the 

 bark or within the solid wood of trees, where they are safe from the 

 attacks of birds, except such as are furnished by nature with special 

 tools for digging into wood and bark. In this respect our native 

 woodpeckers are in general highly favored. The peculiar structure 

 of their chisel-shaped beak, combined with sharp claws and a stiffened 

 tail for support, enables them, when they have located their prey, 

 to drill down to it through several inches of wood and draw it forth 

 with their tongue. This latter organ, in the more typical species of 

 the family, is long, cylindrical, and barbed at the tip, being particu- 

 larly well adapted for probing the burrows of boring insects. 



Twenty-one species and subspecies of woodpeckers occur in Cali- 

 fornia. Of these about half a dozen are sufficiently abundant and 

 widely distributed to be economically important. The average 



