WOODPECKER FAMILY. 27 



cherries, apricots, peaches, and prunes have been gathered. Septem- 

 ber is the month of greatest consumption, 48 percent. Fruit is taken 

 quite regularly during the rest of the year; but only 6 percent was 

 eaten in June, the month of cherries, and 7 percent in July, the month 

 when apricots are at their best, and none in August, the month of 

 peaches and prunes. The damage done to fruit by the nicker probably 

 consists in spoiling a few choice specimens, rather than in extensive 

 destruction of the crop. 



Various other substances make up the remaining vegetable food of 

 the nicker, 17 per cent. Of these the most conspicuous is the seed of 

 poison oak (Rhus diversiloha) . These noxious seeds were found in 41 

 stomachs, and 1 was entirely filled with them. Very few are eaten 

 in June and July, but they form an important article of diet through 

 the fall and winter. The month of greatest consumption is October, 

 when they constitute 40 per cent of the total food. The consump- 

 tion of these seeds would be a decided benefit to man if they were 

 ground up and destroyed in the stomachs. Unfortunately they are 

 either regurgitated or pass through the intestinal tract uninjured and 

 ready to germinate. The action of the stomach simply removes the 

 outer covering, a white, wax-like substance, which is probably very 

 nutritious, and is evidently relished by many birds. Birds are prob- 

 ably the most active agents in the dissemination of these noxious 

 shrubs. On the other hand, these seeds, which are wonderfully 

 abundant, afford food for thousands of birds during the winter, when 

 other food is hard to obtain, and thus enable the birds to tide over the 

 cold season to do their good work of destroying insects the next 

 summer. Seeds of a nonpoisonous Rhus, some weed seeds, and a 

 little rubbish were found in a few stomachs. 



The flicker of California, and probably of the west coast in general, 

 has one habit not observed in the eastern species. The mild climate 

 and abundant food supply render migration unnecessary, but, like 

 many other birds that nest in holes in trees, it likes shelter during the 

 winter nights. As trees in which cavities can be made are not numer- 

 ous enough, it pecks holes in buildings, as barns, schoolhouses, and 

 churches. It often happens that the hole leads into the interior of 

 the building and so proves useless to the bird, and it makes another and 

 another till it hits the right place — in the cornice, for instance. Usu- 

 ally several holes are made before suitable shelter is found, and the 

 consequent disfigurement and damage are sometimes serious. 



SUMMARY. 



In summing up the food of this flicker, two points are important — 

 the destruction of ants and the eating and consequent scattering of 

 the seeds of poison oak. The destruction of ants is a benefit, but it 

 does not appeal to the horticulturist and farmer as does the destruc- 

 tion of well-known pests. While people are often annoyed by ants, 



