LOCAL BIRD NOTES. 133 



sive use. As discoverer he had an undoubted right to do 

 so. But in some way, mysterious to us, however simple it 

 may be to our feathered friends, othersapsuckers very soon 

 discovered his discovery. When they tried to make them- 

 selves free with it the pioneer seriously objected. The 

 trespassers came in numbers var3'ing from one to six, one 

 mature and four immature males, and one female compos- 

 ing the total. To the female, who may possibly have been 

 his mate, he manifested no special hostility so long as she 

 did not actually encroach on his particular feeding ground 

 for the time being. When any of the others came to the 

 tree, he drove them off with fury, at the same time utter- 

 ing tremulous, snarling cries, not unlike the scolding notes 

 of the yellow-throated vireos, but more nasal and disagree- 

 able. 



Our bird returned the next spring and has visited us re- 

 gularly at each migration since. His spring visits have 

 occurred early in Ma}-, lasting usually but a few days. In 

 fall he has arrived late in September or early in October, 

 remaining from ten days to three weeks. 



It has been a source of great amusement to us to watch 

 the conduct of the English sparrows during the sapsucker's 

 visits. With their usual inquisitiveness they follow the 

 sapsucker about, peeping into the holes he has made, and 

 inserting their bills when they can reach to do so. Occa- 

 sionally they essay the tactics of the humming bird and try 

 to remain motionless on the wing long enough to test the 

 quality of the sapsucker's larder. 



This fall our bird appeared October lo, and at once pro- 

 ceeded to bore a new ring, or rather zone, of holes, some 

 eight feet higher up the trunk than he had worked before. 

 His stay was short, and for a wonder he was not interfered 

 with by other individuals of his kind. But soon after 

 his arrival a succession of snarling cries notified us 

 that there was trouble in camp. On looking out we saw 



