312 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 



On June 20th, 1883, at the spruce bush, I found the nest of a 

 sapsucker. It was in a new hole in a green poplar tree, about 30 

 feet from the ground. It contained five newly hatched young, 

 and in the chamber with them were some of the shells, out of 

 which I reconstructed two eggs. The male, length 8 J^, stomach 

 full of ants, the female, length 8^, stomach full of ants, her bill 

 also was full of black ants, intended probably as food for the 

 young ones ; excessively fat ; no red feathers at all except 

 three or four scattered on the front of the crown, which was 

 black. The eggs were each H by ^ and pure white. On 

 July 3rd, in spruce bush, found the nest of a sapsucker. 

 It was about 20 feet from the ground in a poplar, and facing the 

 southeast. Just over the hole was a large limb, which would 

 doubtless be of some service as a shelter from the rain. I shot 

 the female ; her crown was black, with but a very few red feathers 

 in the front, and some of these were tipped with yellow. The 

 gizzard was full of wood ants, Formica rufa. {Thompson-Seton.) 

 Excavates its nest-hole usually in living trees ; one that I took 

 was in an ironwood and there were nesting-holes of two or three 

 previous years in the same tree which had died the previous year. 

 {W. E. SauTiders.) I collected a set of five eggs from a hole in a 

 poplar about twelve feet from the ground, at Long Lake, Manitoba, 

 June i6th, 1894. {W. Raine.) Always nests in a hole in a tree at 

 Ottawa. Nest made of chips and dust. Eggs, four to six, pure 

 white. {G. R. White.) 



MUSEUM SPECIMENS. 



Seven ; one purchased with the Holman collection in 1885 ; 

 two taken at Ottawa and one at Belleville, Ont., by Prof. Macoun; 

 one taken at Wallaceburgh, Ont., by Mr. W. E. Saunders ; one 

 at Indian Head, Assa., and another at Medicine Hat, Assa., by 

 Mr. Spreadborough. 



402a. Bed-naped Sapsucker. 



Sphyrapicus varius nuchalis Baird. 1858. 



Osyoos and valley of the Columbia. {Lord.) Found common 

 everywhere in the interior ; breeds. {Streator.) I found this bird 

 very common east of the Coast Range, especially along the 

 Cariboo road. {Fannin.) Generally distributed and breeding 

 throughout the interior of British Columbia ; did not observe it 

 on the coast. {Rhoads.) In the summer of 1891 this species was 



