38 AMERIOAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



much like tlie Crow. With his strong beak he will dig into potato hills, take 

 out young potatoes and carry them away in such quantities that his ravages 

 in some localities, near woodlands, become very annoying to farmers and 

 oardeners, and his visits are looked ujjon here with about the same suspicion 

 that those of the Crow are by the farmers of New England. 



But with all his predatory habits he is a very strong, erect, stately and 

 beautiful bird, one that the naturalist never tires of observing. 



YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER, 



A. O. V. No. 403. (Sphyrapicus varius). 



Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are one of our most beautiful woodpeckers. 

 Adult males have a red crown, red throat, and black breast patch; adult fe- 

 males have the red crown but the throat is white; young birds have the head 

 and breast mottled with gray and blackish, the males often showing some red 

 feathers in the crown. Young birds in the second j^ear show all the stages of 

 plumage between their first dress and that of the adults. 



At different seasons of the year they are abundant in all sections of the 

 United States east of the plains. They nest in the northern tier of states 

 and in Canada, and south in the mountain ranges as far as North Carolina. 

 From October until April they may be found in the southern half of the 

 United States, usually spending the winte south of the snow line. 



Their habits are quite different from those of our other common wood- 

 peckers, such as the Downy, Hairy and Red-head. Thej^ are quite sluggish 

 in all their actions, fly slowly, and remain clinging to branches or the 

 trunks of trees, motionless for long periods at a time. They are, however, 

 adepts at hiding; they are very rarely found to be timid, but as you ap- 

 proach they will sidle around the branch so as to be on the opposite side, and 

 then remain motionless, knowing that their colors and markings blend well 

 with the tree trunk so that there is little chance of their being seen by a . 

 casual observer. At times they are quite noisy and their squealing "wheeu" 

 is different from the notes of any others of the family. 



Their homes are made in hollow trees, and range in height from five to 

 fifty feet from the ground. They dig their own holes, and usually select 

 a rather solid limb or tree stub to bore into. The entrance is very round and 

 the walls of the interior are smooth. The hole extends downward about a 

 foot and is unlined save by a few small chips. The first of the four or five 

 eggs that they lay, is usually deposited the latter part of May or early in 

 June, and three weeks later these have been transformed into helpless, 

 squirming youngsters, that in due course of time will attain coats like those 

 of their parents. To acquire the perfect plumage of the adult probably re- 



