YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER 221 



obtain it they drill small holes in successive rows, which 

 often completely encircle the tree. Here they may he found 

 clinging to the trunk, which is already riddled with holes 

 and perhaps dying. About them fly hummingbirds, bees, 

 and butterflies, attracted by the sweet liquid. For a long 

 time there was doubt as to their object in drilling the holes, 

 many believing it was to attract insects. Mr. Bolles ("Auk," 

 vol. viii. p. 256) has shown that while insects do form a 

 considerable part of their food, their chief object in drill- 

 ing the holes is to get the sap. They also eat pieces of 

 one of the inner layers of the bark. Nearly every old 

 apple-tree gives evidence in its numerous rings of the vis- 

 its of the Sapsucker. The young while in the nest are 

 fed on insects, which the Sapsuckers often take on the 

 wing. 



On the breeding ground the Sapsucker is noisy, uttering 

 a squealing cry like a Jay's or Red-shouldered Hawk's, but 

 more subdued ; it also drums on resonant bark loud enough 

 to be heard at a considerable distance. While migrating 

 however it rarely utters a sound, and it is only when the 

 eye catches sight of its rather stout body, pitching from one 

 tree to the trunk of the next, that attention is called to it. 

 If it is an adult, the crimson crown extending over the 

 forehead serves to identify it. The speckled back and the 

 stripe of white which shows along the blade wing, even 

 when the wing is closed, serve to distinguish the young 

 bird. 



Amejkican Theee-toed Woodpbckee. Picoides 



americanus 



8.76 



Ad. $. — Similar to the following species, except the top of 

 the head, which is more or less mixed with white, and the back, 

 which is crossed hy narrow white bars. Ad. J. — Similar to J, 

 but without the yellow crown-patch. 



Nest, in a hole in a tree. Eggs, white. 



