AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



77 



Photo by S. P. Brownell. 

 Immature Sapsucker. 



sects. But more careful observation failed to confirm this belief. Not 

 once did I see any effort made by the birds to capture the insects thus at- 

 tracted. 



Nor were the hearts of the birds won, via their stomachs, by the suet 

 which I offered them. Of this they ate very sparingly, taking it more as 

 entremets than as a regular diet. This view was confirmed by their per- 

 sistence in driving away a pair of downy woodpeckers which were quite 

 anxious to feast on the fat, and incidentally to pose for a group picture in 

 so doing. But vain were my attempts to drive away the sapsuckers till I 

 could photograph the downies at their dinner. 



Again, I noticed that the mother birds bored the most of the sap cells. 

 It would appear that her nihte is not so indulgent to the ^''oung after they 

 seem old enough to shift for themselves. Before the young birds leave the 

 nest each parent shares equally the burden of support. On July 5th. 1902. 

 in Nova Scotia, I watched a pair of these birds feeding th.eir young. The 

 nest was about thirtv feet high in a dead birch. The old birds came turn 



