﻿298 Canadian Record of Science. 



however, has fixed this habit upon only one species, 

 the yellow-belUed woodpecker, or sapsucker {Sphyrapicus 

 varius.) This bird has been shown to be guilty of pecking 

 holes in the bark of various forest trees, and sometimes in 

 that of apple trees, from which it drinks the sap when the 

 pits become filled. It has been proved, however, that 

 besides taking the sap the bird captures large numbers of 

 insects which are attracted by the sweet fluid, and that 

 these form a very considerable portion of its diet. In 

 some cases the trees are injured by being thus punctured, 

 and die in a year or two, but since comparatively few are 

 touched the damage is not great. It is equally probable, 

 moreover, that the bird fully compensates for this injury 

 by the insects it consumes. 



The vegetable food of woodpeckers is varied, but 

 consists largely of small fruits and berries. Tlie downy 

 and hairy woodpeckers eat such fruits as dogwood, 

 Virginia creeper, and others, with the seeds of poison ivy, 

 sumac, and a few other shrubs. The flicker also eats 

 a great many small fruits and the seeds of a considerable 

 number of shrubs and weeds. None of the three species 

 is much given to eating cultivated fruits or crops. 



The redhead has been accused of eating the larger kinds 

 of fruit, such as apples, and also of taking considerable 

 corn. The stomach examinations show that to some 

 extent these charges are substantiated, but that the habit 

 is not prevalent enough to cause much damage. It is 

 quite fond of mast, especially beechnuts, and when these 

 nuts are plentiful the birds remain north all winter, 

 instead of migrating as is their usual custom. 



Half the food of the sapsucker, aside from sap, consists 

 of vegetable matter, largely berries of the kinds already 

 mentioned, and also a quantity of the inner bark of trees, 

 more of which is eaten by this species than by any other. 



Many other woodpeckers are found in America, but 

 their food habits agree in the main with those just 



I 



