DOWNY WOODPECKER 



557 



in length, and of a dark grayish color, with the top of head and 

 the tail blackish, with a distinct chestnut patch under the tail. 



Downy woodpecker. The woodpeckers are familiar to most 

 boys and girls because of their conspicuous color and their peculiar 

 habits. The male downy 

 woodpecker is six and a half 

 inches long, black and white 

 barred, with a patch of scarlet 

 on the upper side of the neck. 

 It runs quickly up and down 

 the trunks of trees, tapping 

 the wood to locate insect 

 holes. The bill is strong, 

 sharp at the end, and is used 

 as a chisel in boring into wood. 

 The tongue is spearlike, one 

 to one and a half inches 

 long, and is used to pull out 

 the larvae which lurk beneath 

 the bark. On the average 

 about 65 per cent of the food of 

 woodpeckers is insect, largely 



maple, birch, apple, and other borers. Woolly aphids, caterpillars, 

 and chrysalids are also its prey. The woodpeckers, called sap- 

 suckers, live up to their name and are said to cause a yearly damage 

 of over $1,250,000 to the lumber industry. On the other hand, 

 they destroy large numbers of insects injurious to the same trees. 



Flicker. This bird, a woodpecker, is twelve inches long. The 

 male is brown above and golden yellow under the wings and tail, 

 brown spots on breast, a scarlet crescent on back of the neck, and 

 a black crescent on the breast. It has a white rump which is 

 conspicuous in flight and makes an easily recognized mark. The 

 flicker is generally useful, feeding upon plant lice, ants (which 

 make up about 45 per cent of its food), grasshoppers, caterpillars, 

 and weed seeds. Like other woodpeckers, it nests in hollow trees. 



Baltimore oriole. This bright-colored and attractive bird is 

 about seven and one half inches long. The male has the upper 



L. W. Brownell 



Downy woodpeckers on a tree trunk. 



