File:Birds and nature (1905) (14568897348).jpg

Identifier: birdsnature11905chic (find matches)
Title: Birds and nature
Year: 1900 (1900s)
Authors:
Subjects: Birds Natural history
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : A.W. Mumford, Publisher
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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flarge sugar and other pines, as well aspartly decayed oak limbs and telegraphpoles, completely riddled with small holes.Some trees certainly contained thou-sands of holes. A section of a partlydecayed oak limb now before me, whichis three feet two inches long and fiveand one-half inches in diameter, ofwhich only about three-fifths of the sur-face has been utilized (the remainderhaving probably been found too solid)contained two hundred and fifty-fiveholes by actual count. These holes arecircular, and average about three-quar-ters of an inch in depth by half an inchin diameter; each one is intended to holda single acorn, and they are generallyplaced from half an inch to an inchapart. The acorns fit these holes prettyaccurately, and are apparently alwaysdriven in point foremost, the base of theacorn being flush with the surroundingwood and not readily extracted. Tele-graph poles have been observed whichwere simply filled with these holes andMajor Bendire tells of a black pine tree 18-2
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FROM COL. CH:. ACAD. SCIENCE.. 36 C.ALIFORNIAN WOODPECKER. (Melanerpes fornmicivorus bairdi). About I Life-size. COPYRIGHT 1900, BY A. W. MUMFORD, CHICAGO the bark of which was perforated fromnear the base of the tree fully forty feetup and all around the trunk. This treealone must have contained several thou-sand holes. The smaller form of these Woodpeck-ers, found in Arizona and New Mexico,store their supply of acorns under theloose bark of dead pines and in all sortsof chinks and hollows, and it is saidthat in J^Iexico acorns are stored bythese birds in the dry tlower stalks ofthe yuccas and the maguay. There isquite a difference in the palatability ofacorns, some species being sweet andpleasant to the taste while others arebitter. The Californian Woodpeckersseem to be able to distinguish betweenthe two kinds and, so far as we know,always select the sweet ones. Dr. E. A.Mearns when lost from the commandof the United States army with whichhe had been traveUng in Arizona, andwhen sho

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