YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER. 407 



Regarding the habits of this Woodpecker in northern New York, Dr. C. Hart 

 Merriam, of the Department of Agriculture, "Washington, D. C, writes : 



"The motive which induces this species to operate thus upon young and healthy 

 trees is, I think, but partly understood. It is unquestionably true that they feed, to a 

 certaiu extent, both upon the inner bark and the fresh sap from these trees, but that 

 the procurement of these two elements of sustenance, gratifying as they doubtless are, 

 is their chief aim in making the punctures I am inclined to dispute. As the sap exudes 

 from the newly-made punctures, thousands of flies, yellow jackets, and other insects 

 congregate about the place, till the hum of their wings suggests a swarm of bees. If, 

 now, the tree be watched, the Woodpecker will soon be seen to return and alight over 

 the part of the girdle which he has most recently punctured. Here he remains, with 

 motionless body, and feasts upon the choicest species from the host of insects within 

 easy reach. ... In making each girdle they work around the trunk, and from below 

 upwards, but they may begin a new girdle below an old one. They make but few holes 

 each day, and after completing two or three remain over the spot for some little time, 

 and as the clear fresh sap exudes and trickles down the bark, they place their bill against 

 the dependent drop and suck it in with evident relish — a habit which has doubtless 

 given rise to the more appropriate than elegant term Sapsucker, by w^hich they are 

 commonly known in some parts of the country. I have several times watched this 

 performance at a distance of less than ten feet, and all the details of the process w^ere 

 distinctly seen, the bird looking at me, meanwhile, 'out of the comer of his eye.' When 

 his thirst is satisfied, he silently disappears, and as silently returns again, after a few 

 hours, to feast upon the insects that have been attracted to the spot by the escaping 

 sap. This bird, then, by a few strokes of its bill, is enabled to secui-e both food (animal 

 and vegetable) and drink in abundance for an entire day; and a single tree, favorably 

 situated, may suffice for a whole season." 



The Sapsucker rarely breeds south of the 42° of latitude. In Wisconsin it is 

 invariably found in the extensive forests of white pines and other conifers, ranging 

 northward to Fort Simpson. Unlike most other members of its family, it is a strictly 

 migrating species, like the Flicker and the Red-head. It arrives and leaves with great 

 regularity. Although not a gregarious bird, it is fond of company, and it is not unusual 

 to find quite a number of its own species or other members of the family in the same 

 locality. Thus flocks of Woodpeckers are not uncommon during migration. The 

 majority spends the winter in the South Atlantic and Gulf States, where they are found 

 in great abundance in the dense iind extensive woods bordering streams and lakes. 

 Many also wander to the West Indies, Mexico, and even to Costa Rica. Thus the 

 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker occurs during certain parts of the year all over eastern North 

 America. 



Though exceedingly familiar and unsuspicious during the migration, this Woodpecker 

 always selects its haunts in the deep evergreen forests which still cover a large portion 

 of New England, northern New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. In the days 

 of my boyhood this w^as one of the most abundant birds in the immense pine forests of 

 Sheboygan County, Wis. At that time, so full of pleasant reminiscences of birds and 

 wild wood life, the Pileated Woodpecker was also common, and the woods swarmed at 



