256 



THE OOLOGIST. 



the ax, aud crack! more than half the 

 oak's top has passed the pine, when it 

 stops, it has bai'ely caught by a few of 

 the top-niost branches. From that mo- 

 ment I regarded the contents of that 

 nest as mine. Quickly taking off shoes 

 and other "impedimenta" in spite of 

 friends entreaties, I am bounding up 

 that faithful oak like a squirrel; aud 

 peeping into that large shallow mass of 

 sticks and weeds, I called to my friends 

 — three beauties! 



There was also a freshly killed mole 

 in the nest. I descended as quicklj^ as 

 my treasure would . allow and noticed 

 my friend drew a sigh of relief as I 

 landed safely on "terra firma." 



I had not finished blowing the eggs 

 when a slight wind carried my oak tree 

 to the ground with an alarming crash. 

 I am less venturesome now. 



William Wake. 



The Sap-Sucker. 



By Dk. Morris Gibbs. 



There are many species of birds in 

 America which have been dishonored 

 with the name of Sap-sucker, and the 

 name has beeu indiscriminately applied 

 to all of our smaller woodpeckers. In 

 Michigan there are nine species of 

 woodpeckers. Of these, one, the Ameri- 

 can thi'ee-toed Woodpecker, is alone 

 rare, and only found in our northern 

 confines. The Artie three-toed bird, is 

 abundant in sections north of the forty- 

 fourth parallel. These two little known 

 representatives of our northern forests, 

 never migrate to the south, while the 

 other seven are more or less variable in 

 this respect. The Downy and Hairy 

 Woodpeckers are harriy examples of 

 this interesting family, aud are often to 

 be found in our yards and groves dur- 

 ing the winter months. We may fre- 

 quently find the Red-bellied woodpeck- 

 er in deep beech forests in January and 

 February, while the Black or Pileated 



Wood-pecker is not rare in the wilder 

 sections. The Red-head, and Golden- 

 wing, or as it is commonly known, the 

 Flicker, are occasionally found in mild 

 winters. However, all of them, except- 

 ing the first two, are more or less giAen 

 to migrating in cold seasons. 



The Yellow-belly, or true sap-sucker 

 of the north, sp/iyrapicus varius is the 

 only one to migrate regularly. It ap- 

 pears from the south in late March 

 usually, and is a great loiterer on the 

 way, often remaining in our southern 

 counties till May is half over. 



It is an excellent judge of the quality 

 of the sap of the sugar maple — and no 

 farmer in the country knows better 

 Avhen to tap the trees than does this 

 strange lover of sweets. Soon after the 

 snow disappears, as a rule, though often 

 during a warm spell, and when the 

 snow is still upon the groilnd, a pecul- 

 iarly variegated bird may be seen upon 

 our maples in the city, village or in the 

 suburbs. It is dark on its upper parts,, 

 with lighter markings, giving it a strip- 

 ed appearance, while its head is orna- 

 mented with a red patch of a size to in- 

 oate age and sex, although immatures 

 are sometimes without the red mai'k- 

 ings. If the under parts are seen, the 

 yellow, from which it get its name, will 

 be observed, aud with very mature 

 specimens, a large blotch of red is to be 

 ■found on the upper part of the throat. 



This bird upon its apearance, imme-^ 

 diately proceeds to bore little holes 

 through the bark of the maples. The 

 holes are. from one-sixteenth to three- 

 eighths of an inch in diameter, averag- 

 ing about three-sixteenth in size. 

 These punctures are I'arel.y more than 

 one-quarter of an inch in depth, -are 

 generallj' illiptical, anil this shape is 

 much more noticable iu the borings on 

 the coniferous trees. 



Many claim that these holes are dug 

 to allow the bird to secure the insects. 

 But this is a ridiculous notion, as it is 

 well known that insects do not inhabit 

 live bai'k or wood. Furthermore I ha\e 



