YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER 



397 



a few acorns, small seeds, and a little woody fiber, apparently 

 taken by accident with the grubs. Three-fourths of the food of 

 one hundred and forty specimens examined by the United States 

 Department of Agriculture consisted of insects. Nearly one-fourth 

 consisted of ants, chiefly those which were caring for plant lice 

 or burrowing in wood (Fig. 390, and also Plate 3, Fig. 9). 





FIG. 390. Downy woodpecker. 



This common woodpecker, which is one of our most useful birds, 

 is only seven inches in length and has a scarlet band on the back 

 of the head of the male, not in the crown. On account of its size 

 and difference of coloration, it need not be confused with the 

 other species under discussion. 



Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. This is the only bad woodpecker 

 we have, but it has some champions. It preys upon birch, maple, 



