90 Contributions from the Charleston Museum. 



cavate new holes until the tree is killed by this process of boring. 

 I have frequently counted as many as four holes in one tree, and 

 in two instances I have seen as many as eight. These birds seem 

 to know by instinct when the centre of the tree is rotten, or has what 

 lumbermen call "black-heart," and never make a mistake in se- 

 lecting a tree. The hole is bored through the solid wood, gener- 

 ally a little upward, to the centre of the tree (which is always rot- 

 ten), then downward to the depth of from nine inches to a foot 

 or more. 



This species lays from two to five very glossy white eggs; gen- 

 erally three, rarely four, while five are exceptional. I have taken 

 five eggs but once — May 14, 1902. The earliest set taken was 

 on April 27, 1884. The eggs average .95X.70 in size. Only one 

 brood is raised, and these follow their parents during the months 

 of July, August, and September. 



This woodpecker is one of the most interesting birds we have. 

 Its notes are harsh and discordant, and it is at all times very 

 restless. The young males have the crown marked with a red 

 patch. 



163. Sphyrapicus varius (Linn.). Yellow-bellied Sap- 

 sucker. 



This is the only member of the family Picidse which does not 

 breed in the State, being merely an autumn, winter, and early 

 spring visitant. It arrives with great regularity in October, and 

 I give these dates upon which the first birds have been observed, 

 namely— October 14, 1895; October 11, 1898, and October 9, 

 1899. Some birds remain until April 8, but the majority migrate 

 in the latter half of March. 



The Yellow-bellied Woodpecker inhabits primeval forests where 

 the growth is deciduous. It bores very small holes through the 

 bark of different species of trees in order to obtain the sap upon 

 which it lives. I have seen countless thousands of these small 

 holes girdled around a single tree, to which it repairs at regular 

 hours during the morning and evening to drink the sap, prefer- 

 ing as a rule the live oak and sweet gum. 



Fully forty per cent of the skins I have examined, as well as 

 the birds seen at close range, have the nape marked with red, 

 thus closely approaching the Red-naped Sapsucker (S. v. nuchalis) 

 of the West. 



