YOUNG SAPSUCKERS IN CAPTIVITY. 159 



ranged for perpendicular and horizontal perches. 

 A sliding door allowed me to handle the birds 

 when necessary. During the afternoon of the 

 day of their capture I fed each bird four times 

 with sugar and water. Holding each little crea- 

 ture in my left hand I slid the tip of a small quill 

 toothpick between its mandibles, when it quickly 

 drank the few drops of liquid held in the half- 

 filled quill. The second time I did this the bird 

 opened its beak willingly. By the fourth lesson 

 the rapid use of the long and nervous tongue in 

 draining the quill of every particle of moisture 

 showed that the quill was a satisfactory substitute 

 for the parent's bill. 



At 5 A.M. on July 8, the young sapsuckers be- 

 gan a lively " rat-tat, tat-ta-ta, tat-tat" on the 

 resounding sides of their box. They were un- 

 mistakably hungry when, an hour or two later, I 

 presented the point of the quill at a hole in the 

 wire netting. One bird after another drank the 

 diluted maple syrup with which I filled the tube. 

 I repeated this process at intervals of about half 

 an hour until evening, the birds becoming more 

 and more expert in draining the quill and more 

 and more prompt in responding to my offers of 

 nourishment. Number One was the most rest- 

 less and aggressive ; Number Three, the slowest 

 in feeding, and the least hungry. It was also 

 the dullest in coloring. On the 9th, the birds 



