16 



Mr. F. Stevens makes (1895) the following statement in re- 

 gard to the California Woodpecker: — 



At one of my camps in the pine region of Smiths Mountain, a family 

 of this species developed the sapsucking habit. I had noticed some fresh 

 holes in the bark of two live oaks, a foot or two from the ground, from 

 which sap was flowing, and later I saw the birds drinking; in one case 

 three were seen drinking at the same time. This is the only instance of 

 the habit of this species that has come under my observation. ' 



Joseph Grinnell records the following observation in 1908 

 regarding the same species : — 



At Seven Oaks, June 24, 1906, we had been watching a Sierra Sap- 

 sucker {Sphyrapicus v. daggetti) industriously running a luie of bark pits 

 around the branch of an alder, when a California Woodpecker . . . flew 

 down and drove off the sapsucker . . . then went the rounds of the 

 borings himself, "dipping" from each.^ 



Farmers operating maple sugar orchards in New England 

 assert that the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker 

 Hairy Woodpecker and the Nuthatches all take sap from the 

 trees when it is running. There is no reason to doubt this, as 

 squirrels and insects, such as flies, wasps, hornets and butter- 

 flies, are known to have similar habits when the sap is flow- 

 ing. In "Useful Birds" it is proved by the observations of 

 the late C. E. Bailey, a very careful and accurate field orni- 

 thologist, that the Downy Woodpecker sometimes taps trees 

 for the sap alone.^ Mr. Bailey followed a Downy Woodpecker 

 from 12.30 until 2.45. He saw the bird tap two small maples 

 4 and 6 feet from the ground, after which it spent most of 

 the time taking sap. The tree was tapped by pecking it a few 

 times. The perforations made by the bird are figured from 

 the specimens brought in by Mr. Bailey. The bird clung to 

 the tree and took the sap out of the lower cut. It then sat 

 for a long time in another tree, when it came back and took 

 more sap. This was done three times while Mr. Bailey was 

 watching it, and he was able to get within 6 feet of the bird 

 while it was actually engaged in taking sq,p. The illustration 



1 Bendire, Charles: Life Histories of North American Birds, 1896, p. 115 (Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution, special bulletin). 



! University of California Publications in Zoology, 1908, Vol. V, pp. 65, 66. 

 ' Useful Birds and their Protection, 1913, p. 256. 



