510 Roosevelt Wild Life Bulletin 



(Pyrus) to which the above belong, I am unable to say; but the 

 fact of their destroying some of these, notably the apple, and es- 

 pecially in the west, has often been recorded. The holes, which are 

 sometimes merely single punctures, and sometimes squarish spaces 

 (multiple punctures) nearly half an inch across, are placed so near 

 together that, not unfrequently, they cover more of the tree than 

 the remaining bark. Hence, more than half of the bark is some- 

 times removed from the girdled portions, and the balance often 

 dries up and comes off. Therefore it is not surprising that trees 

 which have been extensively girdled generally die, and mountain 

 ash are much more prone to do so than either apple or thorn apple 

 tree due, very likely, to their more slender stems. 



" The motive which induces this species to operate thus upon 

 young and healthy trees, is, I think, but partly understood. It is 

 unquestionably true that they feed, to a certain extent, both upon 

 the inner bark and the fresh sap from these trees, but that the pro- 

 curement of these two elements of sustenance, gratifying as they 

 doubtless are, is their chief aim in making the punctures I am in- 

 clined to dispute. As the sap exudes from the newly made 

 punctures, thousands of flies, ' yellow-jackets,' and other insects 

 congregate about the place, till the hum of their wings suggest a 

 swarm of bees. If, now, the tree be watched, the Woodpecker will 

 soon be seen to return and alight over that part of the girdle which 

 he has most recently punctured. Here he remains, with motionless 

 body, and feasts upon the choicest species from the host of insects 

 within easy reach. Therefore it is my firm belief that their chief 

 object in making these holes is to secure the insects which gather 

 about them. 



" Some time ago Mr. C. L. Bagg called my attention to a clump of 

 mountain-ash whose leaves had turned yellow and were fast falling 

 off. Here a pair of these birds, with their young, had established an 

 unfailing food supply, and at almost any time of day several of their 

 dark motionless forms might be seen adhering to the trunks and 

 branches of the young trees. Evidently this had been their headquar- 

 ters for several seasons, for all the main stems in the cluster were 

 girdled for at least five feet (commencing two or three feet from the 

 ground), and most of the branches of any size were likewise 

 punctured. In making each girdle they work around the trunk, 

 and from below upwards, but they may begin a new girdle below an 

 old one. They make but few holes each Hay, and after completing 

 two or three remain over the spot for some little time, and as the 

 clear fresh sap exudes and trickles down the bark they place their 

 bill agrainst the dependent drop and suck it in with evident relish, — 

 a habit which has doubtless given rise to the more appropriate than 

 elegant term, ' Sap-Sucker,' by which they are commonly known in 

 some parts of the country. I have several times watched this per- 

 formance at a distance of less than ten feet, and all the details of 

 the process were distinctly seen, the bird looking at me, meanwhile, 

 ' out of the corner of his eye.' When his thirst is satisfied he 

 silently disappears, and as silently returns again, after a few hours, 



