L9 



middle of May ami leaving in September, I bavc once or twice rnei .vith tin-in in 



sheltered \vnmls ill sol It li fl - I I 1 1 < M , t ;i N . i II t I n \\ i 1 1 1 T, U 1 1. I', t 1 n 1. right pi II In 



show.-.! to gr.-at advantage again H 4 the 



The li;il)ils nl' til.- lied -bellied Woodperk- T EF6 VCl'V silnil;ir to i 

 above Species and its economic value about the same, bui M it only occur 

 south western counties ..I' tin- I'mvinc.-. ;iti'l then in very small numbers, it i 



Hot 1)C further considered. 



Golden-'ir\i:<j>,l WoodfX'ch'r. Hicker, High Holder. Yellow Hammer h_ 

 W >()dpecker, ami li;ili' a do/en other al ; lily that lln\ i ,i \\.-H known i!' 



not always a popular character, Like tin- la ..ue of this bird from 



tin- fruit -growers' standpoint is debatable, but it i^ not ijuite 10 much giv.-n to 

 fruit eating >* th<- Red-head, though \vht-n it has seven or eight liui.. n\i^ 



nncs to feed and it tinds a cherry orchard han-ly, it \\-ill In-lp iN.-lf boa 

 many cherries, for which it has a decided predilection Apart from this unlucky 

 habit the bird lias many good qualities. In some of its ways, it much re 

 the Meadowlarks; like them it may often be seen stalking about on th. -n.und 

 searching for ants, of which it destroys vast quantities. I have often found th-ir 

 stomachs tilled with them, and have rarely examined one without finding it c 

 tained some of these insects; it also devours great numbers of grasshoppers, 

 beetles, moths and other ground insects. This bird is really a ground feed, r 

 though classed among the Woodpeckers by reason of certain similarities of struc- 

 ture, it does less woodpecking than any other of its class, the beak not being as 

 well fitted for that operation as the beaks of the others. It has also the peculiarity 

 < f being able to perch crosswise on a branch, a method rarely adopted by its rela- 

 tions. There is one other evil trait I have seen this bird exhibit, on two occa- 

 sions only, that is the destruction by it of nests of the Bluebird ; both the nests 

 destroyed were built by the Blue-birds in holes in trees much higher than usual, 

 probably from forty to fifty feet from the ground. I am not certain what the 

 nests contained at the time, but I saw the woodpeckers pull out the nests and 

 throw them piecemeal to the ground in spite of the resistance of the Bluebirds, 

 but I found no trace of eggs or young; if there were any they must have been 

 eaten. It is probable that the woodpeckers wanted the nesting site for them- 

 selves, and so dispossessed the owners. If so they were disappointed, for I settled 

 the question by killing them, but am sorry to say I omitted to examine the 

 stomachs to see whether or not they had devoured the young Bluebirds, if there 

 were any. I am inclined to think these were exceptional cases ; they occurred 

 over twenty years ago and I have never seen a repetition of the trick. If these 

 birds become a nuisance in a garden or orchard, they can easily be killed off while 

 they are comitting their offence, but I think that through the country generally, 

 the good they do far overbalances the little damage they may do locally. 



Yellow-bellied Woodpecker or Sapsucker. Adult male, crown and chin 

 crimson, back and wing coverts black and white, wings black with a large white 

 bar, tail black, inner web of the two central feathers white with black spots, 

 In-east black edged with yellowish, the rest of the under parts dull yellowish, tin- 

 sides white with black streaks. In the female the crimson of the crown and chin 

 is wanting, the crown is black with sometimes a few traces of crimson on the 

 forehead, the chin is white. 1 --ive a description of this species in order that it 

 may be distinguished from the other small Woodpeckers, because it is principally 

 owin^- to the propensity for drinking sap which the bird has. that a certain pre- 

 judice exists in some localities against all the Woodpeckers or Sap xin-kei 

 they are called. It is quite true that these Woodpeckers do, in the ^pring. wln-n 

 the sap is rising, bore small holes in the bark <>f various trees for the purpose of 



