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Fig. 327.—Lyre Bird, male.
Woodpeckers.—Careful observers have noticed that, excepting
a single species, these birds rarely leave any conspicuous mark on
a healthy tree, except when it is affected by wood-boring larvæ,
which are accurately located, dislodged,
and devoured by the woodpecker.
Of the flickers' or yellow-hammers'
stomachs examined, three
were completely filled with ants.
Two of the birds each
contained more than
3,000 ants, while the
third bird contained fully
5,000. These ants belong
to species which
live in the ground. It is
these insects for which
the flicker is reaching
when it runs about in the
grass. The yellow-bellied
woodpecker or sapsucker
(Sphyrapicus varius) was shown to be guilty of pecking holes in
the bark of various forest trees, and sometimes in that of apple
trees, and of drinking the
sap when the pits became
filled. It has been proved,
however, that besides taking
the sap the bird captures
large numbers of
insects which are attracted
by the sweet fluid, and
that these form a very
considerable portion of
its diet. The woodpeckers
seem the only agents
which can successfully
cope with certain insect enemies of the forests, and, to some
extent, with those of fruit trees also. For this reason, if for no
other, they should be protected in every possible way.
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Fig. 328.—Sacred Ibis. (Order?)