BIRDS. 138 



8;ip, .such as tlu' iiia})l('. l)iit, on the contrarv spend nearly 

 all their time on Apide-tree.s, Pines and otlnn- trees 

 whose sai) eon id liaidh' l)e resfarded as invitinir, thev 

 ri.sit the trees most in September and other fall months 

 and not so nnieh in the Sprini>' when the sap is most read- 

 ily ol)tained. The whole struetnre of the ])ill and toniiiu' 

 is against any snpposition that the hirds eat sa[) or wood. 

 One species is however an exception to these statements. 

 This is the Yellow-hellied A\'ood[)eeker or Sap-sneker of 

 the West. There is no (h)nht that the iiijnry done l)y 

 this bird has been uTeatly exago'erated l)nt yet it seems 

 donbtfnl Avhethei- it is wholly benetieial and it })r()ba1)ly 

 does eat some of the inner bark of trees while seurehinu- 

 for insects. Its tonu'ue is smooth and it differs in other 

 respects from the trne AVoodpecker, but yet an exami- 

 nation of the stomachs of quite a nund)er of these spe- 

 cies has shown that their chief diet is pro1)a1)ly insects. 

 It seems probable that, notwithstandino- the great outcry 

 that has l>een raised against them in some sections of the 

 country, this yellow-l)ellied Woodpecker will yet be ac- 

 knowledged as a very useful bird. But, setting aside 

 this dou1)tful species, there remain six or seven other 

 species, in regard to which there is no dou1)t and which, 

 instead of injuring the trees they visit, most certainly 

 l)eneht them. 



As every fruit grower knows well his worst enemies 

 are often the various borers. The borer is so hidden 

 Avhilc at work that man tinds it almost impossible to pre- 

 vent its ravages and wvy dithcult to even check them, 

 but the A^"ood])ecker linds just where the grub is located 

 and with its sharp chisel-like bill easily digs into the 

 wood and when the worm is reached the bai'bed tongue 

 transfixes and draws it out. So deftly is the work done 

 that a very small amount of wood is eut away and no in- 

 jilrv done the tree. It is the uniform testimony of obser- 

 vers that those trees which have been oftenest pierced arc 

 most thrifty. Jn more than fifty ap[)le orchai'ds examined 



