WOODPECKERS 133 



then, as it does still, was this query: How did 

 he know this particular tree was shaky, for its 

 external appearance gave me no sign? I after- 

 ward found several dead trees gashed and cut 

 in his search for wood borers. Being less insec- 

 tiverous than most Woodpeckers, they also eat 

 cherries, acorns, beechnuts and berries of the 

 dogwood. They nest in a large hole far above 

 the ground, even as high as seventy-five feet. 

 The eggs are four to six in number. 



This is a large bird, seventeen inches in length, 

 very striking in color. The upper parts are 

 dull blackish with much white on the neck, 

 and when he flies much white is seen on the 

 wings, the basal feathers of which are half 

 white. The whole top of the head is scarlet, so 

 much like the cap worn by the Roman soldiers, 

 called pileus, that it has given him the name 

 Pileated Woodpecker. The throat is white, the 

 under parts smoky gray. The female is without 

 the red crown. 



Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. This bird seems to 

 have acquired among farmers, a bad reputation, 

 which, in a degree, he deserves. In addition to the 

 insects, eggs and grubs which he finds in the crevi- 

 ces of the bark, by drilling holes into the tree 

 which quickly fill with sap, he secures a delicacy of 

 which he is very fond. This habit has determined 

 his name. The sap attracts ants, flies and other 

 insects, so that when he returns for his fill of the 

 sweet liquid he can also regale himself upon these 

 more substantial morsels. He is said to have great 

 fondness for the inner layer of newly formed wood 

 fibre, the sapwood, which is soft and juicy. 



