288 



BIRDS 



into trees. These birds diill holes into the trees, impale 

 the larva' on the long barbed tongues, draw them out, and 

 devour them. The yellow-bellied sapsucker is a wood- 

 pecker that is very 

 fond of the sap of 

 forest and fruit trees. 

 And, although it 

 devours many in- 

 sects, it undoubtedly 

 damages trees by 

 boring rows of holes 

 through the soft bark 

 to obtain the sap. 



Whippoorwills, 

 swifts , and humming 

 birds. — This group 

 of birds contains 

 forms that differ 

 so much from each 

 other in appear- 

 ances that their close 

 relationship M"ould 

 scarcely be recog- 

 nized. Their wings 



are long and pointed 

 With the exception 



Fig. 104. — Ne.^.t of a riibj'-tliroated humming 

 bird. 



and, in general, they are swift flj'ers. 

 of the humming birtls, they live upon insects caught while 

 the birds are in full flight. The whippoorwill is common in 

 the eastern United States and is kno\Mi by its peculiar call. 

 In the da^'time it remains silent and hidden in dark, deep 

 recesses of the wootls, commg forth only at night to 

 chase insects. 



