34 SEVENTH REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION'. 



fers fence posts and telegraph poles to trees as a foraging ground. Its food, there- 

 fore, naturally differs from that of the preceding species, and consists largely of 

 adult beetles and wasps which it frequently captures on the wing, after the fashion 

 of flycatchers. Grasshoppers also form an important part of the food. The Red- 

 head has a peculiar habit of selecting very large beetles, as shown by the presence of 

 fragments of several of the largest species in the stomachs. Among the beetles 

 were quite a number of predaceous ground beetles, and unfortunately some tiger 

 beetles, which are useful insects. The Redhead has been accused of robbing the 

 nests of other birds ; also of attacking young birds and poultry and pecking out 

 their brains, but as the stomachs showed little evidence to substantiate this charge 

 it is probable that the habit is rather exceptional." 



Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker {Sphyrapiens variiis). — It is this species which is 

 responsible for the numerous rows of holes so commonly seen in the trunks of apple 

 and other trees. They are made to supply the bird with sap and when numerous 

 may result in the death of the tree through girdling. The Sapsucker also feeds 

 upon the insects which are attracted to the sap flowing from the punctures it has 

 made, but that the bird is primarily a sap-eating rather than insect-eating species is 

 apparently shown by its brushy, instead of spiny-tipped, tongue. 



The Sapsucker, then, may become an injurious species when it pays too close 

 attention to one tree, riddling a section of its bark so thickly that circulation is 

 destroyed and death follows. 



NIGHT HAWK AND WHIP-POOR-WILL. Family Caprimulgidae. 



Both the Nighthawk and Whip-Poor-Will feed exclusively on insects, and feeding 

 at dusk and by night, when other birds are sleeping, they do unusually good service 

 by devouring species which might otherwise escape. 



Nighthawk {Chordeiles virginianus). — The food of the Nighthawk consists of 

 moths, beetles, including June bugs, ants, grasshoppers, flies, mosquitoes, and 

 crickets. Mrs. Bailey mentions one bird of this species, the stomach of which 

 contained 573 large winged ants, parts of 72 small winged ants, and 16 grasshoppers. 



In the south, where the Nighthawk is known as Bull-bat, it is often shot for 

 so-called sport in large numbers, though the facts show that no bird is more deserv- 

 ing of protection. 



Whip-poor-will {Antrostomus vociferus). — The Whip-poor-will feeds nearer the 

 ground than the Nighthawk and is more often seen than heard. It eats ants, grass- 

 hoppers, potato beetles, June bugs, moths, and other winged insects. 



