. Food of the woodpeckers of the United States . Woodpeckers. 8 FOOD OF WOODPECKERS OP UNITED Fig. 1.—Tongues of woodpeckers. From these considerations it is at once apparent how important must be any agency that restrains or limits this great army of tree destroyers. Of all birds that further the welfare of trees, whether of forest or orchard, woodpeckers are the most important. The value of their work in dollars and cents is impossible to cal- culate, but careful study of their food in both field and laboratory has brought out many facts of practical importance. Woodpeckers are esse
. Food of the woodpeckers of the United States . Woodpeckers. 8 FOOD OF WOODPECKERS OP UNITED Fig. 1.—Tongues of woodpeckers. From these considerations it is at once apparent how important must be any agency that restrains or limits this great army of tree destroyers. Of all birds that further the welfare of trees, whether of forest or orchard, woodpeckers are the most important. The value of their work in dollars and cents is impossible to cal- culate, but careful study of their food in both field and laboratory has brought out many facts of practical importance. Woodpeckers are essentially arboreal in their habits and obtain the greater part of their food from trees. Their physical con- formation eminently adapts them to this mode of life. Their legs are rather short and stout, and the toes are furnished with strong, sharp claws. With the exception of the genus Picoides, all North American woodpeckers have four toes, two of which point forward and two backward. To further aid in maintaining themselves on the trunks of trees, their tails are com- posed of stiff feathers terminating in sharp spines, which can be pressed against the bark and so serve as a prop to hold the bird in an upright position while it is at work. Woodpeckers are thus enabled to cling easily to the trunks and branches and to strike effective blows with their beaks upon the bark or wood As much of the food of woodpeckers is ob- tained fromsolid wood, Nature has provided most of them with a stout beak having a chisel - shaped point, which forms an ex- ceedingly effective wood - cutting instru- ment. But the most peculiar and interest- ing pomt in the anat- ^"^ ^-SP^"*^' development of tongues of woodpeckers. omy of these birds is the tongue. This is more or less cylindrical in form and usually very long (fig. 1, a). At the anterior end it generally terminates in a hard point, with more or less barbs upon the sides (fig. l,h). Posteriorly the typical woodpecker tongue is. Plea
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Keywords: ., bookauthorfuerteslouisagassiz18, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910
