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them, and have rarely examined one without finding it contained some of these 

 insects; it also devours great numbers of grasshoppers, beetles, moths, and other 

 ground insects. This bird is really a ground feeder, for, though classed among 

 the Woodpeckers by reason of certain similarities of structure, it does less wood- 

 pecking than any other of its class, the beak not being as well fitted for that opera- 

 tion as the beaks of the others. It has also the peculiarity of being able to perch 

 crosswise on a branch, a method rarely adopted >by its relations. There is one 

 other evil trait that I have seen this bird exhibit, on two occasions only, that is 

 the destruction by it of nests of the Bluebird ; both the nests destroyed were built 

 by the Bluebirds in holes in trees much higher than usual, probably from forty 

 to fifty feet from the ground. I am not certain what the nests contained at the 

 time, but I saw the Woodpeckers pull out the nests and throw them piecemeal to 

 the ground, in spite of the resistance of the Bluebirds, but I found no trace of 

 eggs or young; If there were any, they must have been eaten. It is probable 

 that the Woodpeckers wanted the nesting site for themselves, and so dispossessed 

 the owners. If so, they were disappointed, for I settled the question by killing 

 them, but I am sorry to say I omitted to examine the stomachs to see whether or 

 not they had devoured the young Bluebirds, if there were any. I am inclined to 

 think these were exceptional cases; they occurred over thirty years ago, and I 

 have never seen a repetition of the trick. If these birds become a nuisance in a 

 garden or orchard, they can easily be killed off while they are committing their 

 offence; but I think that through the country generally the good they do far 

 overbalances the little damage they may do locally. 



Yellow-bellied Woodpecker or SapsucJcer. Adult male, crown and chin 

 crimson, back and wing coverts black and white, wings black with large white bar, 

 tail black, inner web of the two central feathers white with black spots, breast 

 black edged with yellowish, the rest of the under parts dull yellowish, the sides 

 white with black streaks. In the female the crimson of the crown and chin is 

 wanting, the crown is black, with sometimes a few traces of crimson on the fore- 

 head, the chin is white. I give a description of this species in order that it may be 

 distinguished from the other small Woodpeckers, because it is principally owing to 

 the propensity for drinking sap, which the bird has, that a certain prejudice exists 

 in some localities against all the Woodpeckers, or Sapsuckers as they are called. 

 It is quite true that this Woodpecker does in the spring, when the sap is rising, 

 bore small holes in the bark of various trees for the purpose of obtaining the sap as 

 it flows from them, and perhaps to attract the insects upon which they feed to the 

 same spot, so that they can satisfy their hunger and thirst without having to over- 

 exert themselves in so doing. If life was not so short, I might be tempted here 

 to go into the question as to whether this bird had to acquire this habit, because 

 its tongue was peculiarly fitted for it, or whether the tongue became modified so as 

 to just suit the habit after the bird had acquired it; for the bird's tongue certainly 

 differs from that of other Canadian Woodpeckers and is admirably fitted for the 

 use to which it is put. A discussion of the question would exceed the scope of 

 this article, and probably not lead to anything after all. We know the bird has 

 this habit, and the question is, what is the effect of it upon the trees which are 

 bored? I have made what observations 1 could, and as many enquiries from others 

 as possible, and I have come to the conclusion that the only real damage done is 

 that a young tree may be rendered unsightly for a time, or it may even be perm- 

 anently disfi.gured by some peculiarity m the healing of the bark, but usually no 

 harm ensues. That a tree ever was, or could be, killed by it I do not believe, for 



