Life histories of North American woodpeckersBent, Arthur Cleveland
Science
Life histories of North American woodpeckers
Bent, Arthur Cleveland
Birds -- North America; Woodpeckers -- North America
From these experiments I draw the following conclusions:
(1), that the yellow-bellied woodpecker may be successfully
kept in captivity for a period corresponding to that
during which as a resident bird he taps trees for their
sap, sustained during this time upon a diet of which from
90 to 100 per cent is diluted maple syrup; (2), that this
fact affords evidence of an extremely strong character,
in confirmation and support of the theory that when the
yellow-bellied woodpecker taps trees for their sap he uses
the sap as his principal article of food, and not primarily
as a bait to attract insects.
Winton Weydemeyer (1926) in Montana “observed a pair of red-naped
sapsuckers * * * gathering sap to feed their young in the nest. A
regular tree-route, followed alternately by the male and female,
included a quaking aspen, a larger alder, and a large willow, in which
borings had been made. The birds flew directly from the nest to the
aspen, and gathered the sap that had accumulated since the last visit;
then flew to the alder and to the willow, repeating the process;
and finally flew back to the nest, without hunting for insects.
Occasionally the male would vary the process by catching a few flies
from the air, eating some and carrying some to the nest.”
Forbush (1927) gives the incubation period of the yellow-bellied
sapsucker as “probably about 14 days.”
A. Dawes DuBois furnishes the following note: “Yellow-bellied
sapsuckers were observed feeding young in a nest, in Hennepin County,
Minn., on July 5, 1937. The nest was about 25 feet above ground in
a partially dead tree at edge of willow-and-alder thicket adjoining
woods. Both parents were bringing food. The squeaky note of the young
was repeated with such regularity (about four times a second) as to
indicate that only one nestling was uttering it. When the nestling was
being fed at the entrance, by the poking method, these notes went up to
a higher pitch, and were sometimes choked off almost to inaudibility.
“Two days later, the parents were still feeding very frequently. The
male, who on the first day had been seen to bring a bright red berry
about the size of a pea, again brought a bit of small red fruit. On one
occasion, when the parents were away, the nestling put its head out
of the hole; but it did not do so when being fed. In general, alarm
calls of the parents had little if any effect upon the squeaking of the
nestling, though at one time, July 7, the squeaking seemed to cease for
a short interval when the parent gave the alarm notes. For the most
part the series of squeaky notes is continuous. It was by hearing these
sounds that this nest was discovered.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account