OUR WINTER BIRDS IN THEIR FOOD RELATIONS. 
81 
bark of trees. These birds visit them. They also do good service 
freely the kings of the forest as well in penetrating the cocoons of the 
as the fruit trees of the orchard and Cecropia Emperor Moth, shown in 
the shade and ornamental trees of the accompanying illustration, the 
the home grounds, the park, and larvae of which devour the foliage of 
the public highway. During their fruit and shade trees. A number of 
meanderings over the trunk and observers have reported that these 
larger branches, they often startle birds push their beaks through the 
moths and other nocturnal insects, tough cocoon until the pupa inside 
which they devour whenever possi- is reached ; the juices of the latter 
ble. A good idea of the general are extracted by the bird. 
diet of this species may be ob- 
tained from Professor King’s state- 
ment that of twenty-one specimens 
examined, “Eleven had eaten fifty- 
two wood-boring larvae ; five, thir- 
teen geometric caterpillars ; ten, one 
hundred and five ants; six, ten bee- 
tles ; two, two cockroaches ; two, nine 
ootheca of cockroaches ; two, two 
moths ; one, a small snail ; one, green 
corn ; one, a wild cherry ; and one, 
red elderberries.” In the presence 
of an unusual abundance of grass- 
hoppers, these birds feed freely upon 
Mr. F. E. L. Beal of the United 
States department of agriculture has 
made a special study of the food of 
the hairy and downy woodpeckers. 
His results show that from two thirds 
to three fourths of their food consists 
of insects. Wood-boring larvae and 
ants are the most important elements 
of their food. 
The downy woodpecker may well 
be considered a miniature edition of 
his hairy cousin. It is more com- 
mon than the latter in orchards and 
is often called the “sapsucker,” but 
