THE YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER 



trees which they work upon but do not kilL Blemishes 

 frequently render the trees unfit for anything except 

 coarse construction and fuel. 



"Hickory trees are favorites of sapsuckers. It is es- 

 timated that about 10 per cent, of the merchantable ma- 

 terial is left in the woods on account of bird pecks. On 

 this basis the annual loss on hickory is about $600,000. 

 To this must be added the loss on timber by the 

 manufacturer." ^ 



It is no wonder that war has been declared upon sap- 

 suckers; but it is very sad that because of a lack of care- 

 ful observation of the distinctive markings of tree-trunk 

 birds, many useful woodpeckers, especially the Downy 

 and Hairy, have been sacrificed. 



Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers may be readily iden- 

 tified by a broad white stripe extending down the center 

 of the back, a small patch of red on the back of the head, 

 pure white throats and breasts, and wings barred with 

 white. A red forehead and crown (and red throat of 

 males), a black crescent across the breast, large white 

 patches on the wings, a back with black and white bars in- 

 stead of a white streak, differentiate this sapsucker from 

 the Downy and Hairy woodpeckers. The yellow belly is 

 not a conspicuous "field-mark." 



There are several species of sapsucker in the West. 

 The YELLOW-BELLIED is found in western Texas; the RED- 

 NAPED SAPSUCKER in the Rocky Mt. region, from British 

 Columbia to northwestern Mexico, and from Colorado and 

 Montana to the Cascade and Sierra Nevada Mts.; the RED- 

 EREASTED SAPSUCKER in Uie Canadian forests of the Pa- 

 cific Coast region, from Alaska to Lower California, east 



3 Farmers' Bulletin 506, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Biological Survey. 



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