ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author presents various examples of waste of materials through maladaptive activities. Further examples of waste of materials through activities that are imperfectly adapted are found among birds. The most conspicuous examples are connected with food habits. The author offers various explanations of the origin of maladaptation in food-storing by woodpeckers. This explanation of woodpecker maladaptation by Peck may be compared with Henshaw’s explanation of a similar situation in the activities of the California woodpecker. Critical examination of the impaling and storing activities of shrikes from the standpoint of adaptation shows that, while the activities are useful and so adaptive, the adaptation is far from perfect, the activities often resulting in waste if not in actual loss of the food materials depended upon by the birds. The author examines the food habits of North American birds which are known to store their food to some extent.
