46 



CIVIC BIOLOGY 



this account they should be universally protected. The order 

 contains the cuckoos and kmgfishers. Types are : 



Yellow-billed cuckoo — Coccyzus americdnus. 



Black-billed cuckoo — Coccyzus erythrophthdlmus. 



Belted kingfisher — Ccryhi dicyon. This is an interesting bird, and 



we need not generally be- 

 grudge it the minnows which 

 it takes. About fish hatcher- 

 ies and trout streams, how- 

 ever, it is in general disfavor. 



Order Pici (picusy *^ a 

 woodpecker"). The wood- 

 peckers are in general of 

 great value as destroyers 

 of orchard and forest in- 

 sects. The sapsucker is 

 generally considered an 

 injurious bird, and should 

 be clearly distinguished 

 from the valuable spe- 

 cies which it resembles, 



and which may sometimes visit its sap holes. We should 



study the following common species: 



Hairy woodpecker — Dryobates v'dlosax. 



Downy woodpecker — Dryobates pubescens. 



Sapsucker — Sphyrapicus vdrius. 



Red-headed woodpecker — Melanerpes erythrocephalus. 



Flicker — Coldptes aurdtus. 



Order Macrochires (makrosy ^'long"; cheiVy "hand"). The first 

 three of the types given below are among our most valuable 

 insectivorous birds, catching, as they do, both day- and night- 

 flying insects. The humming bird feeds upon minute insects 

 and spiders, and also largely upon the nectar of flowers and 

 the sap of trees (from the holes of sapsuckers). It is most 



Fig. 21. Ruby-throat, nest and young 

 Photograph by E. E. Evans 



