BIRDS OF PEASEMARSH 



and of their good deeds among the trees in a 

 chapter on resident birds. 



There is another member of the Woodpecker 

 family, however, whose usefulness is sometimes 

 wrongly questioned. This is the Sapsucker, 

 easily distinguished from the others by his 

 scarlet throat. Mrs. Sapsucker, however, 

 wears no scarlet at her throat. Sapsucker's 

 name denotes the habit which has brought con- 

 demnation upon him, although authorities on 

 birds declare that his sapsucking does not in- 

 jure the trees, and that in other respects the 

 bird is as beneficial as his relatives, Downy 

 and Hairy and Redhead. 



Long before man found out the use of sap 

 this woodpecker would bore small holes in the 

 bark in the spring when the sap ,was running. 

 This is why he is so often seen motionless on 

 a tree trunk. He is waiting for the sap which 

 is running from the hole he has made. Some, 

 however, believe that he does this more for the 

 insects that the sap attracts than for the sap 

 itself. 



Here, near the house, is a maple where every 

 spring the Sapsucker comes, and late and early 

 may be seen on the tree where he has tapped it. 

 [49] 



