576 
ECONOMIC EELATIONS OF OUR BIRDS. 
seem, upon soft inner bark (cambium); they injure fruit trees by stripping off 
the bark, sometimes in large areas, instead of simply boring hole^.” 
I have taken the inner bark of trees, or some material which closely resembled 
it, from the stomachs of six out of thirty specimens which I have examined; 
three of these specimens were taken in orchards in Aiu’il, one in August and 
two in September. The last three were obtained in heavy timber. It should be 
remarked, however, that in neither of these cases was there more than a trifle 
of this material; so small, indeed, were the amounts, that they can hardly be re¬ 
garded as proving much, especially if it is true that these birds are sap-suckers, 
for it might readily have been taken unintentionally. In cases where the bark 
is stripped off by these birds in large areas, there would seem but little doubt as 
to the object of the birds; but in the case of the punctures which these birds 
usually make, it does not appear that they offer the best way of getting at the 
inner bark, and the process necessitates the removal of a very large amount of 
bark in order to furnish even a meager meal for so large a bird. The horizontal 
series of holes, too, would furnish the readiest means of obtaining sap, while 
these do not appear to facilitate especially the gathering of the inner bark. No 
instance in which tlie bark of trees has been stripped off by these birds has come 
under my observation, nor do I know of an instance where their puncturings of 
the bark have been fatal or appreciably injurious to the tree. Their case must 
stand open at present for a closer investigation. 
Food; Of thirty specimens examined, twenty-six had eaten two hundred and 
forty-two ants: five, twenty-two beetles; one, a crane-fly; two, two grasshop¬ 
pers; one, a caterpillar; one, wild grapes; one, dogwood berries; one, small 
seeds; and six had in their stomachs a few bits of fibrous material. Of those 
birds which bad eaten ants, fifteen had nothing else in their stomachs. 
Pi-incipally insects, among them beetles (Wilson). Insects, worms and ber¬ 
ries (De Kay). Wood-worms, beetles, grapes and various berries (Audubon). 
Several alcoholic specimens sent to the Smithsonian Institution by Dr. Hoy, 
from Racine, were examined by Prof. S. F. Baird, who found in their stomachs, 
beetles, larvae and boring beetles, ants, and fragments of the inner bark of the 
apple tree (Dr. Biyant, Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., X, 91). Of four specimens, two 
had eaten beetles; one, hemiptera; and three, wood (Forbes). Sucks sap from 
the white beach (Am. Nat., Vol. XV, p. 810, H. C. Bumps). 
150. Centurus Carolinus (Linn.), Bp. RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER. 
Group I. Class b. 
This rather southera species is uncommon in Wisconsin, I have taken but a 
single specimen, in September, 1876. Wilson states that many of the young 
which leave the nest before they are able to fly, and climb to the top of the trees, 
are killed by Hawks. 
Food; The single specimen examined had in its stomach small fragments of 
beetles and pieces of acorns, corn, insects and Indian pepper (Wilson). 
151. Melanerpes erythrocephalus (Linn.), Sw, RED-HEADED WOOD¬ 
PECKER. Group II. Class c. 
This species is an abundant summer resident in openings, and in thickly set¬ 
tled heavy timbered districts. It is a frequent visitor to orchards and cultivated 
fields, but is only occasionally seen on the ground. Often it sits upon a fence 
post and watches for passing insects, which it takes upon the wing in the man¬ 
ner of the Bluebird. So far as I have observed, it is not destructive to wood- 
