( 376 ) 

 SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE. 



Melanerpes formicivorus (Swainson.) — At a late meeting of the Royal 

 Physical Society of Edinburgh, Mr Andrew Murray read a notice of a 

 singular instinct possessed by a Californian woodpecker, which was said 

 to lay up a store of provisions for winter use by boring holes in the bark 

 of trees and placing in them acorns. (See Proceedings of the Royal 

 Physical Society, ante, page 363.) A habit so singular and so little 

 known among birds was listened to with some doubt, but on examin- 

 ing into the subject we find so many naturalists adverting to it that we 

 cannot now refuse to give it credit. The following remarks on the habits 

 of this woodpecker will be found in the very beautiful work on the Birds 

 of California and Texas, by Mr John Cassin, now in the course of publi- 

 cation in America. 



" Our present species (M. formicivorus) is one of the most abundant of 

 the birds of California ; it appears to take the place of the red-headed 

 woodpecker in the countries west of the Rocky Mountains. Dr A. L. 

 Heermann of Philadelphia made extended visits to California for the pur- 

 pose of investigating its Natural History, and has identified, for the first 

 time, this species of woodpecker, of which previously nothing could be 

 accurately made out from the statements of travellers, and which was 

 stated to possess the provident and curious instinct of storing away a sup- 

 ply of food for the winter in holes made for that purpose in the bark of 

 trees. 



" In the autumn this species is busily engaged in digging small 

 holes in the bark of the pines and oaks, to receive acorns, one of which 

 is placed in each hole, and is so tightly fitted or driven in that it is with 

 difficulty extracted. Thus, the bark of a large pine, forty or fifty feet 

 high, will present the appearance of being closely studded with brass nails, 

 the heads only being visible. The acorns are thus stored in large quan- 

 tities, and serve not only the woodpecker in the winter season, but are 

 trespassed on by the jays, mice, and squirrels. 



" The following intelligent account is from Kelly's Excursion to 

 California : — ' In stripping off the bark of this tree I observed it to be 

 perforated with holes larger than those which a musket-ball would make, 

 shaped with the most accurate precision, as if bored under the guidance 

 of a rule and compass, and many of them filled most neatly with acorns. 

 Earlier in the season I had remarked such holes in most of all the softer 

 timbers, but imagining that they were caused by wood insects, I did not 

 stop to examine or inquire ; but now finding them studded with acorns 

 firmly fixed in. which I knew could not have been driven there by the 

 wind, I sought for an explanation. It is regarded as a sure omen that 

 the snowy period is approaching when these birds commence stowing 

 away their acorns, which otherwise might be covered by its fall. I fre- 

 quently paused from my chopping to watch them in the neighbourhood, 

 with the acorns in their bills, half clawing, half flying around the tree, 

 and have admired the adroitness with which they tried it at different 

 holes until they found one of its exact calibre ; when inserting the pointed 

 end, they tapped it home most artistically with the beak, and flew down 

 for another.' 



" But the natural instinct of this bird is even more remarkable in the 

 choice of nuts, which are invariably found to be sound, whereas it is an 

 utter impossibility in selecting them for roasting, to pick up a batch 



