YOUNG SAPSUCKERS IN CAPTIVITY. 163 



a most energetic way. It was their first acquaint- 

 ance with water. I at once supplied them with 

 a large dish of water, in which they bathed 

 occasionally during the summer, usually, it 

 seemed to me, towards evening, and when no 

 one was near. 



The smell of maple syrup which pervaded 

 their cage of course attracted insects, which 

 crawled up and down the outside of the wire net- 

 ting, occasionally finding a crack in the cage and 

 entering. The young birds were always on the 

 alert to catch one of these intruders, and made a 

 great fuss eating it, squealing, and crowding 

 into a corner to hold it securely between their 

 breasts and the boards, until they could swallow 

 it in just the right way. The number of insects 

 caught by them in this way was small, and I do 

 not think amounted at any time to ten per cent 

 of their food. 



Within a week after the birds' capture, I felt 

 sure that Number Two was a male, because red 

 feathers appeared on his throat. I surmised 

 that Number Three was a female, partly on ac- 

 count of her more subdued coloring and partly 

 from her gentleness. Number One bullied both 

 Two and Three and was more noisy than they. 

 By July 20, I had reduced the number of their 

 syrup cups to one a large earthen saucer 

 which I filled once a day, sometimes twice. If 



