10 



FOOD OF WOODPECKERS OF UNITED STATES. 



order of the average amount of animal food contained in their 

 stomachs. 



Name of species. 



Number of 

 stomachs. 



Per cent of 

 animal 

 food. 



Per cent of 



vegetable 



food. 



Three-toed woodpecker {Picoides americanus) 



Arctic three-toed woodpecker {Picoides arcticus) 



23 



28 



17 



76 



53 



382 



723 



80 



34 



183 



684 



313 



59 



443 



271 



84 



94.06 

 88.69 

 86.67 

 81.06 

 79.41 

 77.67 

 76.05 

 72.88 

 68.92 

 67.74 

 60.92 

 49.31 

 37.48 

 33.83 

 30.94 

 22.59 



5.94 

 11.31 



Williamson sapsucker {Sphyrapicus thyroideus) 



13.33 



Red-cockaded woodpecker {Dryobates borealis) 



Nuttall woodpecker {Dryobates nuttalli) 



18.94 

 20.59 



Hairy woodpecker {Dryobates villosus) 



22.33 



Downy woodpecker {Dryobates pubescens) 



23.95 



Pileated woodpecker {Phi ozotomus pileatus) . 



27.12 



Red-breasted sapsucker {Sphyrapicus ruber) . . . 



31.08 



Red-shafted flicker ( Colaptes cafer) 



32.26 



Flicker ( Colaptes auratus) 



39.08 



Yellow-bellied sapsucker {Sphyrapicus varius) 



50.69 



Lewis woodpecker {Asyndesmus lewisi) 



62.52 



Red-headed woodpecker ( Melanerpes erythrocephalus) . . 



66.17 





69.06 





77.41 







Total 



3,453 







Average 



64.26 



35.74 









It is not probable that these relations are absolute in every case. 

 The position of Sphyrapicus ruber above the two species of Colaptes 

 is perhaps accidental, and the examination of a few stomachs more or 

 less would be likely to change slightly the relative positions. The 

 vegetable food, of course, stands in an inverse ratio to the animal. 

 Mineral matter (sand) is not taken largely by woodpeckers. The 

 most is found in the stomachs of the flickers, but it is probably picked 

 up accidentally with ants, of which these birds eat great numbers. 

 Ants constitute the largest item of animal food — 28.41 per cent, 

 considering the whole 16 species collectively — and are actually the 

 largest item in the stomachs of 8 species. The Williamson sapsucker, 

 the red-cockaded woodpecker, and the two nickers take the highest 

 rank in this respect. Beetles stand next in importance, and amount 

 to 20.42 per cent. These two items together form nearly half the 

 food. The remainder of the animal food is composed of insects, 

 with a few spiders, millepeds, and sowbugs, and occasionally a sala- 

 mander, tree frog, lizard, or snail. In the following table is given the 

 average percentage of ants and beetles in the stomach. The species 

 are arranged in the order of their rank as ant eaters. 



Name of species. 



Williamson sapsucker {Sphyrapicus thyroideus) 



Red-cockaded woodpecker '{Dryobates borealis) 



Red-shafted flicker ( Colaptes cafer) 



Flicker ( Colaptes auratus) 



Red-breasted sapsucker {Sphyrapicus ruber) 



Pileated woodpecker {Phlceotomus pileatus) 



Yellow-bellied sapsucker {Sphyrapicus varius) 



Downy woodpecker {Dryobates pubescens) 



Hairy woodpecker {Dryobates villosus) 



Lewis woodpecker {Asyndesmus lewisi) 



Three-toed woodpecker {Picoides americanus) 



Nuttall woodpecker {Dryobates nuttalli) 



California woodpecker ( Melanerpes f. bairdi) 



Red-bellied woodpecker ( Centurus carolinus) 



Arctic three-toed woodpecker {Picoides arcticus) 



Red-headed woodpecker ( Melanerpes erythrocephalus) 



Average 



Per cent of 

 ants. 



Per cent of 

 beetles. 



85.94 



56.75 



53.82 



49.75 



42.49 



39.91 



34.31 



21.36 



17.10 



11.87 



8.29 



8.19 



8.09 



6.45 



6.35 



5.17 



0.13 

 11.02 



6.55 



5.14 



4.02 

 22.01 



6.02 

 21.55 

 41.42 



9.12 

 71.05 

 28.86 



2.67 

 10.18 

 67.66 

 18.85 



28.49 



20.39 



