Woodpeckers SONGLESS BIRDS. 



Downy Woodpecker : Picus pubescens, 

 Plate 46. 



Length : 6-7 inches, the smallest of our Woodpeckers. 



Male and Female : Closely resembling the last species. Wings and 



tail barred with white ; the narrow, red head band of the male 



is replaced by a white stripe in the female. 

 Note : A short, sharp note and a rattling cry, which starts and ends 



in an abrupt precision, suggestive of a mechanical contrivance 



set off with a spring. This it uses in lieu of a song. (Bicknell.) 

 Season : An abundant resident. 

 Breeds : Through range. 



Nest : In tree hole, varying from low apple to high forest trees. 

 Eggs : Similar to those of last species, but smaller. 

 Mange : Northern and eastern North America, from British Columbia 



and the eastern edge of the Plains northward and eastward. 



The Downy Woodpecker, the persistent apple-tree borer, 

 is a miniature reproduction of the Hairy Woodpecker, except 

 that its tail is barred with black and white. This is the 

 little bird that ornaments the fruit trees with symmetrical 

 rows of holes, such as would be made by small shot. He 

 does not, however, drain the vitality of the tree, as many 

 suppose, by taking the sap, but merely bores for insects 

 that lie between the bark and the tissue. In fact, the opera- 

 tion seems to be beneficial, perhaps acts as a system of 

 ventilation, for I have seen some very fine old trees where 

 the holes were so numerous as to form strange hiero- 

 glyphics upon every limb. This Woodpecker isjmich more 

 sociable than his big brother, and is present, about the 

 orchards and gardens, the entire year. 



Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: Sphyrapicus varius. 



Plate 47. 



Length: 8.25-8.75 inches. 



Male: Above black, white, and yellowish; below greenish yellow. 

 Tail black, white on middle feathers, white edge to wing 

 ooverts. Grown, chin, and throat bright red. Bill about as 

 long as head, more pointed and slender than in last species. 



Female: Throat and head whitish. 



198 



