214 WOODPECKERS 



but the chisel-like bills and long barbed tongues 

 of the Woodpeckers are especially adapted to the 

 work of extraction. So Woodpeckers naturally 

 become the great conservers of forests. As Pro- 

 fessor Beal says, "To them, more than to any 

 other agency, we owe the preservation of timber 

 from hordes of destructive insects." 



The Hairy and Downy are the most beneficial 

 of the Woodpeckers, from two thirds to three 

 fourths of their food consisting of insects, most of 

 which are noxious. The Flicker, as we have seen, 

 is the great ant-eater, nearly half of his food 

 being ants ; while the Red-headed is the grass- 

 hopper-eater, and the Sapsucker feeds on both 

 ants and grasshoppers. 



The Woodpeckers are easily distinguished. 

 The Hairy and Downy are the two black and 

 white ones, each having a white stripe down the 

 back, and in the case of the male a scarlet band 

 on the nape. They usually live on tree trunks in 

 the woods, but the Downy sometimes nests about 

 houses. The Flicker is the ground-colored ant- 

 eater, and the Red-head the tricolored red, 

 white, and black grasshopper-hunter. The Sap- 

 sucker is the only one with red crown, red throat, 

 and black breast, the only one to which the name 

 Sapsucker can be rightfully applied. The Pile- 

 ated lives in remote forests, is one of the giants 

 of the family, and may be known by his scarlet 

 head and crest and plain, blackish brown body. 



