D, CIRCULAR 412, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
and mammals. Yellow pine according to its height furnishes cover 
for both ground and above-ground fauna and when mature produces 
in seed years a food supply that is appreciated by many species. In 
the forests the various oaks, through their acorn crops, contribute 
heavily to the upkeep of wildlife; all the pines function in the same 
way as previously noted for the yellow pine; the hickory and walnut 
are valuable to squirrels and a few other species; the black gum, 
dogwood, persimmon, and red cedar yield fruits that are sought by 
a variety of forms of wildlife; the yellow poplar, locust, white elm, 
and hemlock bear seeds that are eaten in small quantity, and the red 
cedar in addition to its fruit-bearing role affords first-class cover. 
Thus practically every plant that the soil surveyor thought deserving 
of mention as a pioneer on eroded Cecil clay loam is of some value 
to wildlife. 
PLANTS UTILIZED BY WILDLIFE 
The story would be the same for other soils and regions, even with 
their different types of vegetation, for the reason that a very large 
number of plants are in some degree utilized by wildlife. Consider- 
ing land plants alone, the parts most eaten are the leaves (often with 
parts of the branches and stems in woody species, collectively known 
as browse), the buds, and the fruits or seeds. Fruits of the par- 
ticular type known as nuts are referred to in the aggregate as mast 
and are an important food supply for certain domestic as well as 
for various wild animals. 
In addition to browsing, there may be mentioned grazing (that 
is, feeding on grass and other herbage). This seems to have been 
the principal mode of feeding of the bison, or buffalo, and is impor- 
tant also to elk, especially in summer. It figures less than is popularly 
supposed, however, in the feeding habits of deer, antelope, rabbits, 
and hares, which depend more upon woody plants, or true browse. 
All these creatures take some grass and herbs, it is true, and the 
leaves of grass and of many other plants are freely eaten by quail 
and grouse and nipped by numerous smaller vegetarian birds. 
Buds, while taken by the browsers along with leaves and twigs, 
are sought alone as a substantial part of the diet by grouse and some 
smaller birds, especially in winter. Fleshy fruits are eaten by mam- 
mals in general (except the most pronounced carnivores), by practi- 
cally all land game birds, and by a great many smaller birds, espe- 
cially by such groups as the mockingbird, catbird, and thrashers; 
robins, thrushes, and bluebirds; waxwings; starling; orioles; and 
tanagers. Mast is the great dependence of squirrels but is taken by 
many other mammals ranging in size from deer to mice, by wild tur- 
keys, grouse, and quail, and among other birds by woodpeckers, jays, 
crows, titmice, and nuthatches. Tree seeds are sought while on the 
trees by squirrels, woodpeckers, jays, pine and evening grosbeaks, 
redpolls, siskins, goldfinches, and crossbills. When they fall, espe- 
cially in the case of common pines, black locust, and sweetgum, the 
seeds may be of great importance for the time being to doves, quail, 
and various other ground-feeding birds and mammals. Seeds of 
grasses, sedges, and other herbs contribute substantially to the diet 
of doves, meadowlarks, blackbirds, cowbirds, redpolls, buntings, 
finches, sparrows, juncos, and longspurs. 
