24 
BY THE WAY BIDE 
South Africa, the ground woodpecker 
is found by day in t lie valleys literally 
stuffing liimself on ants; at night he 
retires to the rocky hillsides where he 
sleeps .in holes or pockets. In the 
Pampas of South America is found the 
genus Colaptes whose members are 
noteworthy for their habit of seeking 
the ants that live beneath the sod. Our 
own flicker, a member of this same 
genus, illustrates this tendency, for 
whenever possible he finds his food on 
tlie ground. Other representatives 
live above the timber line in the Cor¬ 
dilleras of Bolivia and find their food 
by climbing over the rocks. Thus we 
can find other striking exceptions in 
other habits. A certain species in In¬ 
dia lives very largely on ants that 
build colony-houses out of their secre¬ 
tions; this particular woodpecker not 
only destroys the ants but hollows out 
their abode as well and himself uses it 
for a nest or shelter. Yet as a whole 
the woodpeckers are dependent upon 
trees for their food and for shelter; 
and, strange as it may seem, the trees 
are not a little dependent upon the 
woodpeckers to keep their trunks and 
branches free from the destructive 
ravages of certain insects upon which 
the latter feed. 
Suggestions: To the older bird stu¬ 
dents we would suggest that they ver¬ 
ify to their own satisfaction the state¬ 
ments in the above relating to the re¬ 
lation between the woodpeckers’ mode 
of life and their structure. Observe! 
for yourself the shape of the bill, no¬ 
tice the tail feathers and their use. By 
looking at a picture in some bird-book 
or at a skeleton in a museum convince 
yourself that the skull has been 
adapted to resist the shock of hammer¬ 
ing. Something should be done in the 
way of personal observation and in the 
way of reading the results of scientific 
research to determine the role of the 
woodpeckers in economic relations. 
Questions addressed to the Editor will 
gladly be answered.—Ed. 
We have maintained that subjects in 
Natural History make good topics for 
compositions. We should like to have 
teachers who are trying this to submit 
some essays for publication. 
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