Agriculture, Mr. F. E. L. Beal, fol- 

 lowing Dr. Merriam, makes the fol- 

 lowing interesting reference to the sap- 

 sucking habits of this Woodpecker. 

 ''They really do considerable mischief 

 by drilling holes in the bark of apple, 

 thorn-apple, and mountain ash trees in 

 such a way as to form girdles of 

 punctures, sometimes two feet or more 

 in breadth (up and down), aboiit the 

 trunks and branches. ^ ^ ^ ^ fhe 

 holes, which are som.etimes merely sin- 

 gle punctures, and sometimes squarish 

 spaces (multiple punctures) nearly half 

 an inch across are placed so near to- 

 gether that not infrequently they cover 

 more of the tree than the remaining 

 bark. Hence, more than half of the 

 bark is sometimes 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 trees, 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 unquestion- 

 ably true that they feed, to a certain 

 extent both upon the inner bark' and 

 the fresh sap from these trees, but that 

 the procurement of these two elements 

 of sustenance, gratifying as they 

 doubtless are, is their chief aim in 

 making the punctures I am inclined 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 suggests a swarm of 

 bees. If now, the tree be watched, the 

 Woodpecker will soon be seen to return 

 and alight over the 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. In making each girdle they work 

 around the trunk, and ifrom below up- 

 wards, but they may begin a new girdle 

 below an old one. They make but few 

 holes each day, 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 against the de- 

 pendent drop and suck it in with evi- 

 dent relish — -a habit which has doubt- 

 less given rise to the more appropriate 

 than elegant term Sapsucker, by which 

 they are commonly known in some 

 parts of the country. I have several 

 times watched this performance at a 

 distance of less than ten feet, and all 

 the details of the process were dis- 

 tinctly 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, to 

 feast upon the insects that have been 

 attracted to the spot by the escaping 

 sap. This bird, then, by a few strokes 

 of its bill, is enabled to secure both 

 food (animal and vegetable) and drink 

 in abundance for an entire day; and a 

 single tree, favorably situated, may suf- 

 fice for a whole season." 



Mr. Beal states that the insect food 

 of this Woodpecker is made up of ants, 

 wasps, beetles, flies, bugs, grasshop- 

 pers, crickets, and mayflies ; a few 

 spiders are also eaten. Of these in- 

 sects, thirty-six per cent consisted of 

 ants, five per cent of beetles and six 

 per cent was made up of bugs, wasps, 

 caterpillars, crickets and mayflies. This 

 constituted a large per cent of the diet. 

 Of the spiders the 'daddy-longlegs' 

 made up by far the largest percentage. 

 Among the fruit and other vegetable 

 food are dogwood berries, black alder- 

 berries, Virginia creeper berries, wild 

 black cherries, blackberries or raspber- 

 ries, poison ivy seeds, mullin seeds and 

 juniper berries. From the above food 

 list it will be seen that this Woodpecker 

 is not entirely injurious, but does really 

 destroy some noxious insects. 



The tongue of the Sapsucker is very 

 curious. Unlike its relatives in the 

 woodpecker family it is not barbed nor 

 is it as long or as extensible. It is 

 comparatively short and thick and the 

 tip and sides of the end are provided 

 with fine, strong hairs. These are sup- 

 posed to aid in guiding the flow of sap 

 into the mouth. The tongue is not used 

 as a dart, as in many other woodpeck- 

 ers, the bill alone being used to pick 



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