Birds of Oregon and Washington 1 69 



holes, he does it with reference to the last work 

 done by his kind, and by degrees destroys the 

 channels through which the life substance of the 

 tree flows. He may gradually girdle a tree, 

 always making holes near together in a straight 

 line, and then, perhaps, girdle it again. Each 

 time that a hole is made, the healed wound 

 marks an obstructed passage for the sap. 



If the fruit-grower must protect himself against 

 the Sapsucker, it is of the greatest importance 

 that he should be able to distinguish the only 

 Sapsucker that we have in this section from those 

 Woodpeckers which are, as has been pointed out, 

 indispensable to the health of the orchards. The 

 red head and breast with the yellow underneath, 

 will give us the infallible marks of this enemy of 

 orchards. All of the Sapsucker varieties have 

 yellow underneath. 



Permanent resident. 



THE SIERRA CREEPER. 



General Description : 



Upper parts : brown, rusty, and white. 

 Under parts : white. 

 Length, 5 inches. 



