An examination of the structure of woodpeckers shows the admirable way in which they are fitted for their work. They have short, stout legs; strong feet, usually with two toes in front and two in the back; large claws, and stiff tails tipped with sharp spines, to aid them in supporting themselves firmly against tree-trunks and branches. Mr. Forbush says: “The bird is thus more fully equipped for climbing than a telegraph lineman. The claws and tail take the place of the man’s hand and spurs.”[37]
Professor Beal writes the following: “As much of the food of woodpeckers is obtained from solid wood, Nature has provided most of them with a stout beak having a chisel-shaped point which forms an exceedingly effective instrument. But the most peculiar and interesting point in the anatomy of these birds is the tongue. This is more or less cylindrical in form and usually very long. At the anterior end it generally terminates in a hard point, with more or less barbs upon the sides. Posteriorly the typical woodpecker tongue is extended in two long, slender filaments of the hyoid bone which curl up around the back of the skull and, while they commonly stop between the eyes, in some species they pass around the eye, but in others enter the right nasal opening and extend to the end of the beak. In this last case the tongue is practically twice the length of the head. Posteriorly this organ is inclosed in a muscular sheath by means of which it can be extruded from the mouth to a considerable length, and used as a most effective instrument for dislodging grubs or ants from their burrows in wood or bark. Hence, while most birds have to be content with such insects as they find on the surface or in open crevices, the woodpeckers devote their energies to those larvæ or grubs which are beneath the bark or even in the heart of the tree. They locate their hidden prey with great accuracy, and often cut small holes directly to the burrows of the grubs.”[38]
Mr. Forbush calls attention to the wonderfully constructed head of a woodpecker “which is built so that it can withstand hard and continuous hammering. The skull is very thick and hard. Its connection with the beak is strong, but at the same time springy, and somewhat jar-deadening. The membrane which surrounds the brain is very thick and strong.”[39]
The Downy is the smallest member of the woodpecker family in North America, and is one of the most useful. He is especially fond of orchards and shade trees, and not only devours insects that infest them during the spring and summer, but eats the eggs they laid in the crevices of the bark during the winter. One Downy alone is of inestimable value in an orchard or a grove. Mr. Forbush writes as follows: “When the Metropolitan Park Commission first began to set out young trees along the parkways of Boston, some species of trees were attacked by borers; but the Downy Woodpeckers found them out and extracted the grubs, saving most of the trees.
“The untiring industry of this bird and the perfection of its perceptive powers may be shown by the experience of Mr. Bailey. On March 28, 1899, a Downy Woodpecker that he watched climbed over and inspected one hundred and eighty-one woodland trees between 9:40 A. M. and 12:15 P. M., and made twenty-six excavations for food. Most of these holes exposed galleries in the trunks in high branches where wood-boring ants were hiding.... These ants often gain an entrance at some unprotected spot on a living tree, and so excavate the wood of the trunk that the tree is blown down by the wind. This woodpecker acts as a continual check on the increase of such ants.”[39]
The Downy may easily be attracted to our yards by a piece of suet fastened securely to a tree. During the past winter, one has sought my suet-cage, in company with chickadees and nuthatches. This spring he brought his mate to a maple in front of the house. He has seemed excited and happy, and has drummed persistently on a certain broken limb of the tree. He has indulged in numerous rapid flights and his metallic, ringing call.
THE HAIRY WOODPECKER
Woodpecker Family—Picidæ
Length: About 9½ inches; nearly ⅓ larger than the Downy, whom he resembles almost identically as to general appearance, except in SIZE.
Male: Black and white above; white underneath; broad white stripe down the middle of the back; head with black and white stripes, a red patch at the back, and bristles at the bill; wings black, with white stripes and bars; tail black, with white outside feathers; the absence of black flecks on the tail-feathers and the larger size of the bird distinguishes the Hairy from the Downy.
Female: Like male, except for the absence of a red patch on the head.
Note: A loud, shrill call, difficult to imitate or to reproduce on paper for identification. The Hairy also “drums” on the boughs of trees; it has no real song.
Habitat: Tree-trunks in woodlands, rather than in orchards or gardens, though I have noticed these woodpeckers in winter frequenting the trees of village streets without shyness or fear. During the breeding season, they remain in secluded spots in the woods.
Range: Three species of the Hairy Woodpecker may be found in Canada and the United States; the NORTHERN HAIRY WOODPECKER, the HAIRY WOODPECKER, and the SOUTHERN HAIRY WOODPECKER. The northern species lives in the tree-zone of Canada, and is the largest of the three; the Hairy, next in size, may be found in the United States from Colorado, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, to the middle and northern parts of the Eastern States. The Southern Hairy, the smallest of the three, is a resident of our southern section.
The Hairy Woodpecker is so like his small Downy relative in appearance and habits that his characteristics are not usually dwelt upon; he is like an older neglected cousin of a baby upon whom much attention is lavished.
But he is very worth while attracting. He is as untiring as the Downy in his quest for beetles, his favorite kind of tree-food; he is also a lover of ants and other “borers.” His longer bill enables him to reach many that the Downy cannot. One Hairy Woodpecker alone saved an entire orchard that had become infested with “borers.” One tree had died before he began his rescue-work, but he saved all the others.[40]